Spotlight on French-speaking Europe

Jean-Claude Souillot, Europresse, Chalon-sur-Saône

Several years ago a book was published with the title – 'France – forgotten mission field'. As one who endeavours to work there for the cause of the gospel, I can assure you that this is very true! It is estimated that the total Protestant population (of any sort) in France is between 0.5 and 1%. This includes all who claim to be protestant, whether this claim is real or simply has a social and a historical meaning. The general population is indifferent to anything religious, having its own godless religion of self. Recent reports in the press on the activities of various sects have further hardened people’s attitudes, creating opposition against anyone who believes anything passionately.

For me, however, the question is: ‘How do we address this situation?’ Over the past several years, there has been a reported growth among evangelicals in France. Unfortunately this growth has been largely numeric, rather than as a result of true conversion, following the introduction of entertainment into churches and the lowering of the entry-level requirements. This ‘new’ gospel is centred on man’s wishes and fancies. Even Switzerland, which has traditionally shown an interest in serious Christian literature, has been assailed, in many parts, by the Toronto aberration and other such things.

However, all is not dark, for God is still at work. It is so encouraging to see people from every walk of life responding to the message of sovereign grace, often in very unlikely places. But numbers are very small. The great need is for preachers who are really opening the Word of God and preaching the Gospel. Most of those who lead churches seem more interested in management techniques rather than relying upon the Spirit of God and His Word.

But there are a few churches or groups where the Gospel is loved. Because they are small and few and far between, the temptation is to 'count Israel' as David did, with the attendant danger of taking one’s eyes off the Lord Jesus alone. Another constant danger in France stems from the French educational system, with its emphasis on philosophy. The French mind is very tempted by intellectual pursuits per se. The great danger is intellectualism – divorcing truth from life. Sadly, we have seen this tendency influence the spirit of preaching and the contents of conferences.

But the Lord is good! Because of several ministries, such as that of Stuart Olyott some years ago and the publication of reformed books in French, there has been a renewal of interest in serious and experiential Christianity. This is a fledging movement that needs to be watered by much prayer. It is such a relief to know that God has His elect and that they will come to Him! Yes Europe is a dark place, in many ways more so than Africa. But the Lord works day by day, according to His wise purposes. Please pray for us, as we labour for the advancement of His kingdom in Europe.

Russian language work

In the last few months, we have unfortunately had to close our office in Latvia. Nick, who ran the office, now works for the Bible Institute in Riga, the Latvian capital. Over the years that we operated in Latvia, we found that a decreasing number of people were interested in reading Russian. Many now learn Latvian. Others would rather read books in English than Russian! After much prayer and discussion, we reluctantly came to the conclusion that the best thing to do was to close the office. Supplies of books to Latvia continue, however, as they can be sent in from Russia.

Misha, a local pastor in Vitebsk, Belarus, standing in front of the site where the church hope to build a new building. They have been facing much opposition

During a recent visit we had the privilege of meeting up with some local pastors in Belarus, including Misha who pastors a church just outside Vitebsk, some 4 hours from Minsk. The work is small and meets with great opposition, particularly from the Russian Orthodox Church. However, people are eager to hear the Word of God. It was a great blessing to meet with brothers and sisters and know that we serve the same Lord.

One of the most troubling developments in Belarus has been a new law that may significantly impact the Gospel there. The law, which has the full backing of the Russian Orthodox Church, is one of the most repressive religious laws in any former Soviet republic other than Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan. According to our reports, the law:

Outlaws unregistered religious activity.
Introduces compulsory prior censorship for all religious literature.
Restricts publishing, education and charitable activity to faiths that had 10 registered communities in 1982 (i.e. during the communist era).
Bans all but occasional, small religious meetings in private homes.

Nevertheless, there have been some encouragements. In the past year, we have sold over 10,000 Russian books. We do so much pray that these books will continue to be used for the glory of God.

Please continue to pray for the work in French and Russian (as well as English and Spanish). The challenges are great, but our God is so much greater! We desire his glory.