The Healing Preacher Svein-Magne Pedersen (b. 1948) comes from the place Håkvik near Narvik. He has a Lutheran background and grew up among the Laestadians in Northern Norway. His parents belonged to this branch within the Church of Norway. Today, Svein-Magne belongs to the Pentecostal Congregation Philadelphia in Vennesla near Kristiansand.

One Day in 1964 he read the book Healing the Sick by the well-known evangelist T.L. Osborn from America. The book sparked faith and interest in him on the subject of divine healing.

One Day During Theology Studies at Ansgar School in Oslo, he listened to a Lutheran charismatic preacher from America (Herbert Mjorud) who taught theology students about healing through prayer. After this teaching, Svein-Magne asked God for the gift of healing. This happened on May 29, 1971. God baptized him in the Holy Spirit and gave him the power to heal the sick. Since then, he has practiced prayer for the sick. The first healing he experienced was when his sister-in-law Grethe was healed from flat feet one July day in 1971 while Svein-Magne prayed for her. She was 19 years old when the miracle happened. Her whole life she has been a nurse and later a teacher for nurses. She still walks on fine feet without signs of flat feet.

After Four Years as a Theology Student at Ansgar School, he moved in 1973 to Mo i Rana. His wife Solveig had then completed her education as a special teacher. Since then, he mainly worked as an evangelist in Norway. During this time, the Pedersen family lived in various places in Norway: Mo i Rana (1973-1974), Dyping in Steigen where Svein-Magne was a teacher at Dyping School together with Solveig (1974-1975), Drevja in Vefsn (1975-1976), Rossfjordstraumen (1976-1977), Drevja (1977-1979), Stoksund on Fosen (1979-1981). When Svein-Magne lived in Rossfjordstraumen, he took two carpenter courses at Bardufoss Upper Secondary School. When the Pedersen family lived in Stoksund on Fosen (1979-1981), Svein-Magne was an evangelist on Fosen, engaged by the Baptist churches on Fosen. Here he was also a freelance journalist for the Fosna-folket newspaper, which was published in Bjugn. Here he wrote a number of articles for the newspaper and took courses in journalism at NKS. In his last year in Norway (1981-1982), Svein-Magne was a pastor at Bøle Missionary Congregation in Skien. From there the journey went to Canada.

From 1982 to 1988 the Pedersen family lived in Canada. On July 29, 1982, Svein-Magne emigrated with his wife Solveig and three children to Canada. The congregation Grace Apostolic Church in the town of The Pas in the province of Manitoba called him over as “Assistant Pastor.” He served here for one year (1982-1983). In the summer of 1983, Svein-Magne was called to become a pastor in the congregation Full Gospel Christian Center in the town of Flin Flon, 140 kilometers further north. While living in Flin Flon, he started his own TV program “The New Dimension” on the local network (1986-1987). He studied sociology and cultural anthropology at the University of Manitoba. In addition, he studied theology at Canadian Bible College in Regina. 

While Pedersen was a pastor and missionary in Canada, he had extensive work among Native Americans in the districts in and around the places where he lived. He visited several Native American reserves deep in the forests there in the district. Svein-Magne also conducted prison missions in the area Egg Lake. Twice he was a guest on the Christian TV program “It’s a New Day” which was broadcast daily to the entire country from the provincial capital Winnipeg. It was here that he gained interest in TV production and missions. 

On August 11, 1988 the Pedersen family moved back to Norway and settled in Vennesla near Kristiansand. On July 13, 1989, they all became Canadian citizens. They have both Norwegian and Canadian citizenship. 

Soon after the Pedersen family returned to Norway, Svein-Magne was employed at the foundation Brevet in Kristiansand. Here he was an editor, intercessor, and evangelist for over a year. He left Brevet in October 1989. He wanted more independence. Shortly thereafter, Svein-Magne started his own foundation. On January 2, 1990, he and a friend set up an office in Meierigården, in the center of Vennesla. 

On April 6, 1990 the foundation Jesus Heals Ministries was approved by the county governor in Vest-Agder. Towards the end of the year, the first issue of the magazine Legedom was published. The following year (1991), Svein-Magne started his own publishing house, Legedom Publishing. So far, Pedersen has published 20 books, 15 of which deal with the subject of healing through prayer. In 1982 he began with a telemarket service to pay the employees. This arrangement ended on July 10, 2018. Today the foundation has 13 working in the foundation and for the foundation. Pedersen quickly became nationally known as the media showed great interest in his activities. It was the concept of healing through prayer that captured many people's interest.

From 1990 to 2001, Jesus Heals Ministries had its office in Meierigården in Vennesla. The work grew and the foundation needed more space. In 2001, Jesus Heals Ministries bought Sparebanken Pluss’s closed branch in Hægeland in Vennesla municipality. It eventually became too small as well. The foundation chose to set up a new center. On December 2, 2008, the foundation moved into its own modern building on Moseidmoen in Vennesla. The building cost 25 million kroner. Here there are 15 offices, a meeting hall for 200 people, a kitchen and dining room, a vestibule, a prayer room, a storage room, and a modern TV studio where the entire world can be reached with the world’s most important message about salvation and healing.

Establishment of a Canadian Foundation. Since Svein-Magne and his family had lived six years in Canada and were Canadian citizens, they wanted to establish a permanent mission in Canada. They contacted a Canadian lawyer in the province of British Columbia. He submitted an application to the Canadian authorities. On July 21, 1994, Jesus Heals Ministries Society was approved by Canadian authorities as a Canadian foundation with a clear goal: To conduct missions in Canada.

Doctorates. One July day in 2004, Svein-Magne received a Ph.D. theological doctorate from Life Christian University, Tampa, Florida. On February 25, 2012, he received an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Divinity) for a long and extensive work in God’s kingdom. Behind the doctorate stood 23 theological colleges in India.

On October 12, 1995 Svein-Magne was a guest on TV celebrity Per Ståle Lønning’s debate program “Lønning Direkte.” Five people who had been miraculously healed through Pedersen’s intercession testified about the miracles that had occurred. Doctors and theologians participated in a very engaging debate. Here Svein-Magne was given one minute to pray for sick viewers. Many later testified that they had been healed. During the program, viewers could call a special number if they believed in healing. As many as 81.6 percent called in to express their belief in this. 604,000 watched the program, which was a viewer record for TV 2 that week. Thus, Svein-Magne and the foundation Jesus Heals Ministries became nationally known. Lønning wanted to have him back as a guest in his popular program. The response from the viewers was highly positive. Six months later (March 7, 1996), he was again a guest on “Lønning Direkte.” And the viewer count increased to 613,000. 84.3 percent called in then and expressed their belief in this. Since then, he has been a guest on numerous TV programs that deal with prayer for the sick (including “Salig Søndag,” “Refleks: Health,” “Document 2,” “Tabloid” (2x), “Holmgang” (3x), “Faktor” among others). Newspapers and magazines wrote many column meters about his work. Se og Hør has had four positive articles about his work, as well as interviews with some who had been healed. Even Kvinner og Klær (KK) attended a meeting at Hedmarktoppen and wrote no less than seven pages on the work. Positive!

The Debate Program “Holmgang” Was a Great Success. Program leader Oddvar Stenstrøm dared to focus on the subject of healing through prayer when churches in Norway were afraid of being seen as adherents of “prosperity theology.” Stenstrøm had Svein-Magne as a guest during three programs in the years 2002, 2003, and 2005. Viewers could also call in to express whether they believed in healing through prayer or not. All three times the percentage of believers was over 80! When Stenstrøm ended the program “Holmgang,” he was asked which program he liked best of all the ones he had led, Stenstrøm replied: “It was the program where Pastor Svein-Magne Pedersen asked people to lay their hand on the screen while he prayed. Thousands laid their hands on the screen, and many reported that they had been healed.” Jesus Heals Ministries experienced progress and growth again.

Mission to Large Parts of the World. From the foundation’s healing center, Svein-Magne prays for around 100,000 individuals each year (phone calls, meetings, letters, emails, SMS, and personal attendance). He has had healing meetings and seminars on healing both domestically and abroad, in churches, community halls, hotels, and at Alternative Fairs. Pedersen holds campaigns at home and abroad where the main focus is on salvation and healing. 

The Violinist Was Healed and the Doors to England Were Opened. In 2004, an English violinist and organist were healed of a fracture in the left arm that neither Rikshospitalet nor a hospital in London could help her with. The woman had previously been a violin professor in England. Now her career as a violinist and organist was over. The fracture occurred in 1998. In 2004, she came for intercession at the Jesus Heals Ministries office in Hægeland, where she stayed. During the intercession, the injury in the left arm was miraculously healed. The violinist returned home, picked up the violin, and could play again! Her husband was then working in England. During a visit with him, she attended a meeting in the Anglican Church in a town in Northern England. Here she met an English lord. When he heard about her miracle, he said, “Get this man to England!” Svein-Magne was invited by the dean (“canon”) in the town of Middlesbrough. Shortly afterwards, he was back and spoke in a large Anglican church in the town. The meeting lasted six to seven hours. Several were healed and 20 were saved, one of them was the church custodian and a physiotherapist. The miracle opened the doors for more meetings in England for Jesus Heals Ministries.

This year (2023), Svein-Magne celebrates 50 years as an evangelist.

Each year, several thousand are saved and healed in Jesus Heals Ministries’ work in large parts of the world. Those who support Jesus Heals Ministries sow in very good soil. You can read about the fruits in the Legedom magazine or online: www.mjl.no.