I ended last week’s post by saying that 2024 was off to a good start and that I’d tell you more about it in this week’s post.

Well… here we are, and from the title of today’s post, you’ll no doubt be able to guess what, in part, leads me to qualify it as a “good start.”

Let me tell you more…

A Beautiful Baptism

Last Sunday we had the honour of baptizing one of the young people who was originally in the church when we first arrived in 2015 (9 years ago this week!!).

There was a time when we didn’t seem James regularly for a while, but he & his brothers attended youth convention in 2022 and the Lord got ahold of him & began a new work. He’s been thinking about baptism ever since and working through his questions & hesitations.

He was wonderful… just like the Berean Christians of Acts 17.11. He would hear what was preached and then he would read, read, read… and read some more.

Finally, two weeks ago the Lord just spoke to him and asked “James, what are you waiting for?” He asked and, knowing the way he’d been preparing … it was an easy answer! “Of COURSE you can be baptized next week!”

Testimony to a Sermon

James asked if he could give a word of testimony before being baptized.

Again, we said “Of course!” and his “testimony” lasted for about 25mins. This young man walked us through his very cartesian and intellectual approach to resolving the question of God – in a way that was very unique to him, but not all that unique for the French in general.

I didn’t preach after that because I knew his testimony had already left an imprint on the hearts of his family and the other French members of the church… The Lord spoke. So we went straight from there to baptizing him.

It was absolutely beautiful!

Vision Vienne

You may recall, from my early 2023, that we’ve set ourselves a goal, as a local church. We have committed to spending time in each of the 266 communities of our department (state / province), praying for those communities.

Since the beginning of 2023, we were able to go into 56 communities… that’s a little better than 20% and roughly one community per week. Those 56 communities are highlighted in green below.

We believe in the law of sowing & reaping. I remember our pastor E.E. Goddard, in Saint John. He talked about how they’d evangelize in one part of the city and there may seemingly have been little to no response, then, from another part of the city, they’d get a call about a child wanting to come to Sunday School … “out of the blue.”

This is always in the back of my mind with this project. We may or may not see any direct results in the specific communities through which we’ve passed, but as long as we’re sowing… the Lord can allow a harvest to come from somewhere else.

… and he has.

We saw more visitors in 2023 than I think we have in any previous year since our arrival. Praise God!

… so, we continue.

These are your victories too!

If you are regularly praying for us, for the work in France & for our local church… you are part it. Thank you! Celebrate with us! … and please continue!

God bless you today!
…keep looking up, God is at work!