Called to a difficult field of work
Stacey does not come from Brixworth (she originally comes from Lancashire and trained at Aberystwyth University), but we have "adopted" her as one of ours and committed ourselves to support her and work with her in her ministry in France.
We have been to visit her on several occasions while she was training in Orléans and living in Paris, and hope to do so once more when she settles in Tours in 2010. These visits are quite easy for us as France is close and the Channel Tunnel makes the sea 'crossing' fairly straightforward, but of course their value lies in us being able to see her work close up, as well as express our support for her in a practical way.
Stacey's passion is for evangelistic work and one-to-one discipleship - her enthusiasm for these is infectious! And she will need that enthusiasm, as France is one of the tougher mission fields in the world. France is a secular country with a strong mistrust of "clericalism" (church interference in society) and a sharp separation of religion and state, but also has a Catholic history and at the same time has one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe. Evangelicals, meanwhile, make up a tiny minority of the population with less that 1% (which is less than some of the major cults). This means that church planting is painfully slow and relatively unfruitful - new fellowships can sometimes take years to be established - and the work itself can be frustrating. Patience, perseverance and faith are needed!
But this is not to say that nothing happens! Stacey will be part of a team that has already planted a new church in the north of Tours and which is looking to plant another elsewhere in the city, so we excited to pray with her about new possibilities. Elsewhere in France, new churches are being planted at a rate of about 1 every 9 days (source: France Mission), so things may have a long way to go, but they are definitely starting to move! Join us in praying for her:
Try reading her blog - it's fun, informative and will give you a really good idea of life out there and help you to pray for her. Go to http://staceyinfrance.blogsome.com
European Christian Mission's website: www.ecmbritain.org
ECM factsheet on France: www.ecmbritain.org/Countries/france.pdf
Churches in France - a French site with all evangelical church groupings listed: www.eglises.org
Churches in France - an interactive map taken from the France Mission website to their own churches: www.france-mission.org/files/carte.cfm
