Why France?

     As one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, France is well-known for many things. Foreign missions, however, is normally not one of them! So it is reasonable to wonder how our family came to live and serve in France. First and foremost, we are here because this is where we feel God has called us to go and we have committed to surrender to His leadership. Secondly, we serve here because the French are an unreached people group and France has a dire need for more churches to model and proclaim the gospel. To date, less than 1% of the French could be classified as Evangelical Christians (For more stats, check out this short video). 

     Allow me to try to illustrate the need in another way. You may have never heard of the Engel scale (below) but you are probably familiar with the concept. It is not all inclusive, and many have since modified the scale to also include a person's level of receptivity to the gospel (how open or closed they might be), but it is useful in illustrating the fact that most do not convert to Christianity in one fell swoop, but rather pass through several "stages." Recent research shows that, on average, there is a period of 2 years between when a person was first witnessed to and when that person then decided to surrender his/her life to Christ. Additionally, some have concluded that a person will have at least 5 meaningful encounters with the gospel before making a decision.  

The point is this: person A might be much further away from committing their life to Christ than person B, and that making disciples normally doesn't happen instantaneously but takes place over a course of time and often involves multiple people. 

 

So what if that person lives in France, and like most of the French, have never opened a Bible? And how long would it take for that person to have 5 meaningful encounters with the gospel in a country that is less than 1% evangelical? For how many of my neighbors am I the only Christian that they know? For how many will I be the only "Jesus" they ever meet? This is a very real picture for so many of the French. This is why we have such a burden to make disciples and see new churches started in France. We're joining the effort among all the Evangelicals across France to reach 1 church per every 10,000 in pop. (currently at 1 per 30,000 people nationwide) and we would be honored to have your help. Check out the testimony below from Léa and see how God has been at work in and around Méru. After that, if you feel God moving you to help with what He's doing in France, click the "Get Involved" tab above.