Visit to Limousin, France
Between Wednesday 16th and Friday 18th August 2006, representatives from the Ark Leadership team visited what has become a thriving fellowship of English speaking believers in the heart of France.
Vision
Two years ago Chris and Liz Barge brought together a group of Christians who have come together to form a number of housegroups, they have adopted recognised successful bible teaching methods of outreach and training such as Alpha and other well known teaching courses. Their vision was to bring English speaking Christians together for fellowship and encouragement. Christians were encouraged to attend French speaking local churches on Sundays.
Results
There are now several groups meeting regularly throughout the week at varying locations, some Christians travel up to 70 miles to enjoy fellowship in the homes of Chis and Liz and other Christian leaders.
There are now a total of 42 attendees to the various meetings. These are predominantly retired men and women attending, but we had the privilege of meeting 4 members of a family consisting of Sue and her four teenage children, Tabby, Mandy, Megan and Tom age between 14 and 19 years old, who attend local French schools and colleges.
During the Alpha meeting, Eric spoke and presented a challenge to those present to receive forgiveness and surrender to Jesus. Sue and her family expressed a desire to rededicate their hearts towards the Lord.
We were also privileged to hear the confession of faith of Mike for the first time in his life after the Lord has been challenging him for the last week. The meeting had to stop to allow his wife Christine to embrace him for what must have been one of the very special moments we experience too infrequently. There was then an orderly queue for the other members of the Alpha group to give him a hug. Eric and I were very touched to be present at what turned out to the highlight of our visit.
Fellowship
Besides the Alpha, we spent an evening with a number of fantastic Christians, meeting Ron and Iris, Cedric and Barbara, who all help lead small groups. We were treated to wonderful meals at Chris and Liz and David and Andrea’s homes.
Future
It seemed obvious to Eric and I that the original vision had not only been realised, but the groups had become a unique church in God’s plan and we offered advice, council and vision for what will undoubtedly be a bright future.
With all change, there is a cost, but in the short term, we offered advice concerning baptisms in the local setting for those who would find it difficult to join with a local church. We feel sure that if candidates are found, Chris and Liz will be baptizing converts in the near future.
We offered ourselves as a link church, which, if accepted will produce what will be a great opportunity for both churches to move forward in the work of the Lord. Please pray particularly for the leadership of Chris and Liz and for Peter and Hilary, who Eric and I were unable to meet on this occasion. |
