Grannes was born in 1909 in LaCrosse, Washington, on the west coast of the United States. Both his parents were Norwegian. When Grannes was 11 years old, his family moved back to Norway for a short time. While in Norway, Grannes often accompanied his mother to non-denominational Christian meetings. At one of these meetings, a man from the church spoke, and his message made a strong impression on Grannes’ mother. Before leaving for America again, they tried to visit the church this man attended. They arrived at the meeting hall only to find a note on the door: “Gone for the summer conference. Back in two weeks.”Grannes and his family moved to Portland, Oregon, and around this time his mother was given an issue of the church publication, Skjulte Skatter. She recognized that the message in the publication was the same as what she had heard in the meeting she had attended in Norway, and began to subscribe to it. Thus, contact with the church was established.
Monrad had made a personal commitment to Jesus at a very young age. Early in his spiritual development, Grannes already possessed a burning zeal for the gospel and had a deep longing to serve God. This early enthusiasm to spread the gospel was the driving force in Grannes’ life. Because of his willingness to serve God in everything he did, God was later able to use him to do a great work.
Grannes had a prophetic vision for what would benefit the church. In 1948, wire audio recorders were introduced in North America. Grannes immediately saw that they could potentially be a great blessing for the church. He bought two of them, and in December 1949 sent one to Elias Aslaksen, the leader of the church at that time, as a Christmas gift. Recognizing that the gospel could be spread using these machines, Aslaksen joyfully accepted it. The wire recorder was used for the first time to record a church service on January 1, 1950. Soon Ronald Henriksen began taking these recordings to people who had not been able to attend the conferences. He was thus able to bring the conferences right into their living rooms. Recordings were also sent to Grannes, far away in the United States. This was the start of what today is known as Brunstad Multimedia (BMM), which still brings the Brunstad conferences into living rooms—the difference is that now they are transmitted around the world via satellite and Internet.
In 1950, Elias Aslaksen went to America, visiting churches and proclaiming the gospel of victory over sin. He also visited the little group that Grannes had gathered. In 1952, Grannes met his future wife Sarah. In her, he found his greatest support for the work he was to do in God's service. Sarah shared his longing to serve God, and they were united in their spirit of sacrifice and care for everyone they met. Over the course of the next 30 years, until his death in 1983, they remained unflaggingly hopeful and enthusiastic in their ministry.
In 1953, Grannes visited Norway for the summer conference. He also spent a week with some of the spiritual leaders of the church and experienced edification and true fellowship. During that week, he saw the life of faith and brotherhood that he had heard of and longed for. When he came home from this trip, he prayed with all his heart that God would allow him to continue in America the work that had taken place in Norway. In 1959, he again went to the summer conference at Brunstad. Soon after he returned, he began to work as a salesman for a machinery company. This was the answer to the prayer he had prayed six years earlier. Now he was able to travel to every corner of Canada and the USA, searching for hungry souls and sharing the gospel wherever he went.
Monrad Grannes’ life was a gift from God to the churches in North America. He had faith for each and every soul that had a longing to live a victorious life. After Grannes died in February 1983, Sigurd Bratlie wrote a commemorative article about his life in the April 1983 issue of Skjulte Skatter saying, “Everything he did was for the sake of peace. Monrad Grannes had a special wisdom to serve, so that there was always peace, wherever he was.” (Rom 14:19).
The many seeds that Grannes quietly sowed and patiently tended have been increased by God a hundredfold. In 1965, the first fellowship in North America was formed in Winnipeg, Canada. In 1967, the first US church was conceived in Salem, Oregon. Now in 2008, there are 15 North American churches, united by faith in the gospel of victory over sin.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Heb. 11:1.
Sources:
“Monrad F. Grannes:Nidkjærhet for ditt hus.” Skjulte Skatter.Tanganger, Norge: Skjulte Skatters Forlag, April 1983: 72.
Bratlie, Sigurd.“Herren gav og Herren tok. Herrens navn være lovet!” Skjulte Skatter. Tanganger Norge: Skjulte Skatters Forlag, April1983: 72.
Article written from information gathered from interviews with Sarah Grannes, old letters from Elias Aslaksen, Ronald Henriksen and others.
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