Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God… (Genesis 35:1)

John Andersen is the pastor of the Christiania Church, known in Danish as Christianiakirken.

John has been involved with mission and ministry in Christiania since 1990, when he was brought to the freetown by Sten Thomsen to build the foundations for a house given by the Church of Our Saviour. John, Sten and Else then led many missions in Christiania from the church Frikirken på Havnen that Sten and Else had founded in 1990, in which John was one of the elders.

John and Sandra founded the Christiania church in 2004, together with Ellen Gylling, a priest from the Danish state church Folkekirken who had conducted missionary visits to Christiania from the mid-1990s.

John holds a degree in theology from Malmö University in Sweden. He lives in Christiania with his wife Sandra and their three children, and works as a professional carpenter/joiner for the free state’s construction office.

John heads the group of elders who run the Christiania church, and is responsible for the church’s dealings with Christiania’s various committees and institutions, as well as the church’s bank account.

The painting of John titled ‘John Andersen: Faith, Hope and Love’ was painted by artist Leah Robb, who attends the Christiania church.