Breaking up fallow ground in France: No easy task

A graduating seminarian stood out among his peers with the prospect of a most promising future. In fact, he was offered a position as associate pastor in a very prestigious city church upon completing his degree.

However, there was a small struggling church in a rather obscure village that needed a pastor. Former pastors of the church had typically resigned after a very short tenure because of discouragement and a sense of futility. Interestingly, the young graduate felt drawn by the Spirit of God to the struggling church rather than the prestigious church.

The gifted young minister decided to accept the pastorate of the struggling church and upon arriving in the community he did a very unusual thing. He purchased a cemetery plot. Upon doing so, he went to the cemetery and stood upon the plot he had purchased and declared, "God has called me to this church and here will I stay until God calls me home."

 

IMB missionaries from Georgia reach out in France

Keith Grimaud read the book containing this story and God used the unwavering commitment of the young pastor to convince both he and his wife, Deborah, that they should plant their lives as International Board Missionaries in France. After two years the Grimauds, members of Mountain Park Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, have learned the French language and are fully engaged in building relationships that will ultimately result in planting a church.

Keith is building relationships quickly and effectively by coaching Little League Baseball. A former high school player himself, Grimaud has been coaching the Saint-Germaine-en-Laye and Saint Nom la Bretche "Saints". The Grimaud-coached team recently played in the French National semi-final championship round in Clermont Ferrand and won the right to go on to the national championship series.

Through this effort Grimaud has endeared himself not only to the youngsters on his team, but to their parents as well. The first term missionaries now plan to invite the parents of each of the little league players to their home for a meal in order to cultivate a more meaningful relationship with the hopes of beginning a home Bible study and eventually a mission church.

Church planting is not easy in France. Baptist work started in France in 1810; and the Baptist Federation was organized in 1910. By the end of World War II there were approximately 30 Baptist churches in France, 70 by 1980 and 112 today. The largest church has only about 300 members and the average membership is 55.

Tony Lynn, one of our IMB missionaries, described Paris as a complex city with a veneer of Catholicism, Islam and Humanism - a spiritual city, but not a religious city.

Etienne Lhermenault, general secretary of the Baptist Federation in France said, "In Georgia, to become a Baptist is to become a Christian. In France, to become a Christian is to become a Catholic. In France, a Baptist is a strange, American, Anglo-Saxon type of Christianity. And since George Bush is a Christian, Christians (including Baptists) are scorned because of the war with Iraq."

 

Evangelical Christians less than 1%

Jerry Moyer, pastor of the church in Magny Les Hameux, was speaking of the evangelical church in France when he said, "Within a thirty-minute radius of our church there are 500,000 people and only 900 evangelical Christians. There would have to be 5,000 evangelical Christians in order to constitute 1% of the population. We are so few in number that we practically don't exist."

Moyer added, "The people in France know nothing of a non-Catholic Christian or Protestantism. We have no Christian radio stations, no Christian marquees and no Christian symbols. All the heroes of our youth come from pop culture. The heroes of France's youth are Johnny Hallyday, the nation's first rock'n'roll star; Zinedine Zidan, arguably the best soccer player ever, who led France to a memorable World Cup in 1998; and Pope John Paul II."

Moyer indicated that going to church is not a part of the thought process of the French people. He commented, "Bill Hybles has stated that those who come to church for the first time have thought about going to church at least once in the last two weeks. In France people haven't thought of going to church in two generations. People who have problems would never think of going to church to solve them."

The French people have little knowledge, if any, of Christ. In a discussion of the Trinity, one Frenchman thought the Trinity consisted of God, the Father; God, the Son; and Mary, the mother of Christ. Furthermore, he thought it strange that Jesus would be considered a part of the Trinity.

In France the code of tolerance reigns supreme, and there is a firm belief that no one has the right to impose his idea of truth upon another person. One of the pastors in France described the attitude of the French people as "laissez faire," which essentially is the practice of letting people do as they please. That lack of structure and the absence of moral parameters have resulted in France being one of the largest consumers of anti-depressant drugs of any country in the world.

It was into this environment that Georgia's contemporary Christian singing artist, Babbie Mason, and a team of young adult singers entered to share the Gospel in concerts of song last month.

The Grimauds, other IMB missionaries and local pastors and church leaders had worked hard to prepare for the concerts. Many prayers were offered prior to this mission undertaking. The diligent work of all involved paid big dividends. At each concert the auditoriums were filled. A love and passion for Christ was demonstrated in each song. The atmosphere was electrifying.

 

Breaking down walls of indifferance

The spirited songs of Mason and the talented ensemble of young adults from Georgia broke down walls of indifference. Invitations to receive Christ were given even though public appeals to respond to the Gospel are rarely given in France. The French people responded remarkably. Souls were saved! Lives were changed for eternity! The Baptists of Paris were greatly inspired and encouraged!

When William Carey went to Burma, he labored for seven years before he had his first convert, yet we regard him as the Father of modern missions. The work in France is not easy, but our missionaries labor faithfully and tirelessly in anticipation of a great harvest. They need our support and our prayers.

Lhermenault commented, "We need the prayers of Georgia Baptists. We also need churches in Georgia to help us with church building projects here. We need training for our pastors and would profit greatly from churches in Georgia adopting a church in France."

For additional information about how your church can become involved in our partnership with France, contact Mike Gravette at mgravette@gabaptist.org.