Swedish Pentecostal Churches have been working with social development in Sweden and internationally since the beginning of the 1990s. In 1965, the Churches established PMU InterLife which was originally called, Pentecostal Mission’s Third World Aid. This was done to make it possible to manage international development efforts funded by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
PMU is now a part of the Pentecostal Alliance of Independent Churches (the Pentecostal AIC), that consists of the Swedish Pentecostal Mission (SPM – the international department) and Pentecostal Sweden (the national department). SPM includes organisations other than PMU that carry out church planting and development work, theological training, media and more. However, PMU is solely responsible for social development activities, i.e. development cooperation and humanitarian aid. For this reason, missionary work that focuses on evangelization, church planting and church development is not dealt with in this manual.
PMU has developed over the last 40 years in cooperation with Pentecostal churches in Sweden and developing countries, and also with other foreign aid organisations, both state and non-govermental. PMU is currently one of the four Christian organisations that have individual agreements with Sida.
Co-operation with Sida is based upon mutual trust and common goals. Continued future support is based upon continued trust and good results in development cooperation work.
The funds that PMU administers on behalf of Sida, The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) or other donors, Swedish churches and individual donors is channelled to local organisations and churches in approximately 60 countries where it is used in different types of projects in the hope that it will make it possible for people who live in poverty to improve their living conditions.
GOAL
PMU InterLife shall act to promote the development of a vigorous and democratic civil society, in which people work in groups for their own interests or the interests of others, so that people who live in poverty will have increased opportunities to improve their living conditions.
Our goal is also to increase involvement in global issues in Sweden, and to contribute to just and sustainable global development together with all concerned parties.
