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"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." - John 17:20
Missions to Military is not the only mission board in France,
far from it; however, it may be one of the smallest. In our 25 years on
French soil, we have had the privilege of meeting many other
missionaries, both French and American, and seeing how God is and has
been blessing their ministries, as well as sharing with them some of
the same obstacles and problems common to all ministries in this
country. Our little mission board has been at work there for about 35
years reaching French military with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and
training some that He has called for full-time ministry. Between our
little team and the other boards there, much has been accomplished.
Though I don't know the full story of the different gospel ministries
in France, it seems that some of them were the result of a vision some men had as they served as soldiers in FranceEurope. during WWII. Of course, ministries of all kinds have been active there even before that war broke out in
Whether
it be decades or hundreds of years that these works have been
operating, and given the small number of true born-again French
believers, France
continues to be a mission field where so much more remains to be done.
In some regions, the witness of born-again believers is almost
non-existent. One large branch of Baptists in the United States considers France
the third most difficult nation in which to evangelize and to teach the
Word of God. Another survey done by the French edition of Readers
Digest (know as Slection) seems to indicate that even among evangelical
born-again Christians, church attendance doesn't appear to be of vital
importance. Could it be that French believers find it more difficult to
live their faith as compared to their counterparts in other Western
cultures?
Pastors
and missionaries have confronted these problems and lack of results in
various ways. For some it meant a change in methods; for others, it was
a change in form or offering practical service to people. Sadly, a
number of good missionaries were not able to cope with the apparent
lack of success and returned home or looked for greener pastures
elsewhere, usually in another country.
Our
few years of experience have taught us many things and we still have a
lot to learn. One principle, however, has come back with new power for
us. Its found in 1 Corinthians 3:5-9, with that verse 6 that we so
often quote (but somehow conveniently forget): I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. Then, how many of us remember that God nowhere demands fruitfulness, but He does require faithfulness (1 Corinthians 4:2)?
In France, then, with the lack of fruit being so obvious, we need to arm ourselves with patience. The kind of patience we need is so powerfully illustrated James 5, from verses 7 through 18. One key word in this passage is prayer
and verse 16 sums it up well: The effectual fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much. But do we really believe it? Do we have
that special patience mentioned in verse 7? It says long patience, and
in the context of the work of the Gospel in France, we often need it. One day, somewhere in France,
as we sow the seed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, watering it daily
with love and prayer, God will bring that long awaited harvest of souls
and that revival among born-again Christians that we long to see. Lets
become an army of intercessors for France and see what God will do (Jeremiah 33:3).
Please pray for our MTM Missionaries in France as they seek to demonstrate the love of Christ and proclaim the Truth to the wonderful people of that great nation!
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