Marika paused the worship team for a few moments: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field,” she said. “He wanted it so much that he sold everything he possessed to buy the field. Are we ready to give our everything in exchange for Jesus? Let’s make Him our greatest desire!” Her words resonated profoundly in Lauren’s heart.
The last months have been a process of grieving as we say goodbye to a people group we’ve come to love deeply and let go of a place in which we’ve built many altars.
In 2011 we said “Yes” to the Father’s invitation to Quebec. He told a reluctant Natassia to move from BC with us because He “had something for her in Quebec.” Then He arranged for Luke to come from Virginia on a mission trip to meet her. Luke proposed to Natassia in Quebec. Alex proposed to Sarah in Quebec.
The Lord gave us spiritual children, brothers, and sisters in Quebec. He used us to mobilize Quebecois churches. He transformed us in Quebec.
It’s also been a process of letting go of many things to lay hold of God’s plans for us in France. We’ve sold our furniture, given away boxes of books, and thrown away
nonessentials, reducing our “load” to four suitcases and a 7 x 8-foot storage unit in Quebec. We’ve also experienced spiritual opposition in the form of physical pain, insomnia, freak car breakdowns, financial stresses, and the enemy whispering: “Will God really supply? Can He really build this movement in France? Isn’t it foolish to take this on?”
As Marika resumed worship, the Holy Spirit said to Lauren: Here’s what you’re doing: “I’ve shown you treasure hidden in a certain field. You’re letting go of other things so you can ‘buy’ the field and take possession of that treasure.”
- How much of Jesus do we really want?
- Are we willing to sacrifice ‘good things’ so we can take hold of the greater things He wants to give us and do through us?
- What preoccupies our imagination, feeds our prayer, directs our decisions, and determines what we treasure most?
Our Vision is a growing movement in France that:
- Equips thousands of French-speaking believers for dynamic daily life on mission with God.
- Catalyses hundreds of native French and immigrant church leaders to embrace missional thinking and create missional cultures.
- Releases a tsunami of workers to unreached people groups, both those who’ve settled in France and those who are still waiting to hear the Good News in their homelands.
FAQ
Who are we aiming for?
- France’s 2700+ evangelical churches
- French-speaking churches in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland
- The many immigrant churches being planted in France, but who are uninterested, unequipped, or unfruitful in reaching people outside of their own ethnic groups.
- French-speaking church movements in Africa
Who will we work with?
- A small, multinational core team in France. Kairos courses started off with a bang in 2016 but lost momentum when several leaders moved out of France or underwent
major life crises. The team now needs to be rebuilt, especially after Covid. - Other Simply Mobilizing teams across Europe and Africa
- Missionaries, pastors, and ordinary believers who are passionate about seeing all of God’s people living on mission with Him and every people group having a chance to hear the Good News.
What other ministries will we be part of?
- We’ll encourage a couple of local churches we’re in relationship with and a plant that began 2 years ago when some friends felt they were to start holding Sunday meetings in a vacant church building. They now have up to twenty-five people attending regularly, most of whom are unbelievers!
- Jerry and Brenda—ACOP Global Harvest Directors, are working with us to see how we can help build Global Harvest’s presence in Europe and the Middle East.
Where will we be based?
For at least the first year, we’ll be based near Lille where:
- We’ll be close to churches we worked with from 2005-2010.
- We’ll be 50 to 60 minutes by high-speed train from Brussels, Paris’ main airport, and France’s national rail hubs.
