Junior has been working in France for nearly 20 years, planting and pastoring churches. He tells us what it’s like to pastor a church in an area where Baptists are thought of as a cult.
WEC: What took you to France initially?
Junior: My wife and I had been missionaries in Senegal. We first came to France to work amongst the muslim population in the Lille area. Later, I became the chaplain of an organisation working with street-living people and eventually, the Baptist church asked me to pastor local churches. We moved to pastor a church in the Basque country in 2012.
WEC: Which part of the work do you enjoy the most?
Junior: I enjoy teaching and reaching out people through drama and music. I enjoy writing, acting and directing plays for God.
WEC: What's the most challenging part?
Junior: Working as a pastor in a French church can be a big challenge. The evangelicals are a minority group in this country and most of the time considered as a cult. It's tiring always trying to prove we are true believers in Jesus Christ. The slow growth and lack of fruit can be very frustrating, too.
WEC: What have you seen God do through your work?
Junior: Most of the street-living people I supported in Lille died very young and only a few came off the streets. But what a joy to see even one person come to Christ! Here in the Basque country, we have seen people becoming Christians. Many of them contact us out of the blue, because they started reading the Bible, looked for someone who would answer their questions and found us online.
WEC: How do you hope to see the work develop?
Junior: Our goal here is to reach the Basque people with the gospel. We have a few house groups in friends’ homes, where people come to study the Bible. I’ve started learning Euskera (the Basque language) and hope to use it to reach out to the people living on the coast.
Our overseas workers need our prayers. Could you help? Click here to find out more about how to pray for WEC and our missionaries.
Find out more about our Church planting ministry
One
third of the world does not have access to the stories of Jesus. WEC’s aim is
to work with God’s church to see worshipping communities established among these
people groups.
Our
teams live alongside local people, journeying with them and sharing the good
news. Ultimately, their aim is to plant vibrant churches, empowering local
Christians to lead and transform their communities.
We need you to get involved
Would you like to play a part in building communities of God's people where there are none? Fill in our ‘connect with us’ form below or email us.