But God can use us in many ways in the mission field. When despair was greatest during her second pregnancy, and Karin was close to taking her own life, she handed over the little child who had not yet been born in the hands of God. Then peace came to Karin, she knew the child would be a fisher of men in far of places; just as she had dreamed.
“At the same time, an inner conflict grew within him in a matter of seconds: for the gospel to be credible, not only faith but action must be required.”
Erik Gunnar was the child, he was given to the Lord, meant to be a missionary, however, this would not be an easy walk to Christ, he would fight this destiny. Especially after he found out about the event with his mother. Instead, Erik Gunnar’s life was set in is own ways, protests against God and a life, always in a hurry and so on. He became famous in the village. As a child, he was kicked by a horse and lost the knowledge to read and write. As a nine-year-old, he began to “re-start from the beginning”, which meant that after the incident he had reading and writing difficulties. There were not yet any great qualities in young Erik Gunnar.
One evening at a Tent revival meeting, Erik Gunnar completely and unexpectedly surrendered to Christ and it became for him a dramatic repentance and a fire was lit in him to earn God’s favor.
After the Bible school at Swedish Mission school in Orebromissionen, Erik Gunnar became an evangelist in a couple of parishes within the Örebrom mission.
Maranatha revivals began to germinate in Sweden, which attracted Erik Gunnar, who quickly became a front figure in the renewal revival. After some time that movement and its leaders separated and Erik Gunnar Eriksson formed the “Tent Mission” in Dalarna. Tent Mission’s revivals and meetings were becoming known and the organization grew. Tent Mission started to spread to other parts of the world. By collecting money for education and teaching of national pastors, evangelists and leaders then encouraging church plants, sensitive countries would not be so vulnerable to foreigners who were sent out. Erik Gunnar was an early adopter to the missions theory of training nationals and not sending out.
During a remarkable revival campaign in Brazil in 1969, Erik Gunnar visited a slum area and a woman handed a dying child into Erik Gunnar’s arms. Erik Gunnar felt sad where he realized that this little child could not survive. Instead of the prayer of the mother for help from the god of the white man, he quietly prayed that God should take the child home. At the same time, an inner conflict grew within him in a matter of seconds: for the gospel to be credible, “not only faith but also action is required.” At that moment, as Erik Gunnar told many times, “Star of Hope” was born. The following year, Christmas Eve 1970, the first children’s home was opened in Brazil. The first child who came there was the little dying boy who, with the help of God, had survived. Paolo, whose name was 40 years in 2009, is today a successful business leader and a warm Christian.
Almost ten years after the event in Brazil, Tent Mission started a special humanitarian unit for social assistance and it was called “Star of Hope”. The latter has grown into a relief organization serving over 20,000 children in 14 countries with education, food, health, and community development.
In parallel, Tent Mission remains the classic missionary workforce started years ago by Erik Gunnar. The work is done in cooperation with local congregations, often linked to the Pentecost and Baptist Movement yet nondenominational in its work.
Education of pastors, local leaders, and evangelists, bible schools, pastoral seminars has continued since the mid-1960s.
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