Greetings everyone!
Summer vacation is upon us and it is hot here in Grenoble... This update has become a little longer than usual. Maybe you can add it to your summer reading list!
July 11th, 2010
As many of you will remember summer in France means a different pace for our churches. At the ICG we've been enjoying "simple" church. This idea is attached mainly to the house church movement. While we aren't organized as a house church we sure do like the idea of simple church... Here's how we live in our in our context, we gather to sing songs, pray, read Scriptures and share the Lord's supper. This way of doing church has been present throughout church history. It is a wonderful way to emphasize the priesthood of all believers, everyone can contribute. It also places the emphasis on worshipping our risen Lord and Savior. The focus is the Lord's Supper and remembering Jesus.
Last Sunday as Sylvie and I were walking to our building I was lowering my expectations (yes, I do this often). I was asking, "What if no one shows up?" Then reassuring myself with the truth the point of gathering to worship God is not counting how many come but that we are there, that the doors are open and whoever is seeking to worship could find us.
We arrived at the building and at the scheduled time 16 people were gathered together. We represented 5 nationalities (Indian, Chinese, Polish, American and French). With the help of Michael, an 11 year old from the States who's been in France with his family for nearly two years, I reviewed what we meant by simple church. The song sheets were passed out. At that moment Thomaz, who's from Poland, asks if our piano works. We turn it on and he joins in with my guitar playing. The next hour was a wonderful moment of worship. By the end of our time I had realized that Thomaz is a gifted woship leader. I asked him if he had any original compositions. He then blessed us with a song he had written. Thomaz is in France for a couple of weeks for his work. He showed up at the ICG because he had learned about us through our website. We finished our service joyful and full of thanksgiving. God had revealed himself to us.
It is a unique moment every time God's people gather together to worship Jesus Christ. May we never loose sight of this...
Sylvie and I are thankful that we can be a part of what God is doing here in France. At times it is very much in the simple things of making sure the doors of our building are open on Sunday so people can worship together. Thank you for being a part of this.
"Hey Matt, how does pastoring an international english speaking church help you reach the French?"
After our last update, where we explained our reasons for leaving International Teams, I was asked this question from a leader in one of our supporting churches. As I answered his question I realized this would be a good thing to share with all of you... Here's the question in its entirety and my response...
I’m trying to understand how your becoming pastor of the ICG helps reach the French. It seems you are working primarily with English speaking people, whether British, American, or elsewhere. The CAEF letter states you will be encouraging the CEP. Again, I’m trying to understand how.
I realize the present situation requires some explication. Your question can be understood by understanding the vision and one of the values of the ICG.
First our vision
ICG Vision and Mission summary...
Our vision is to be a church composed of people from all nations who glorify God, recognize Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and join with God in accomplishing his purposes for our world.
We summarize our mission with this phrase...
A place for the sojourner, a heart for Grenoble
To this you can add one of our values...
We partner with the CEP (Centre Evangélique Protestant).
We recognize that most of us are strangers in a strange land. We are sensitive to the cultural differences that separate from the community around us and realize we are utterly unable to fully bridge this difference without the help of our French brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore see our relationship with the CEP as vital to our desire to be the community that God has called us to be.
The ICG exists to have an impact on France in two ways. First by providing a place of worship and belonging to those who are sojourners in France. Secondly by encouraging those who are a part of our fellowship to proclaim the Gospel to the their neighbors.
Over the 4 years of the partnership with the CEP we have seen God do some amazing things. The CEP being able to call a pastor is in part dependent on this partnership. The CEP is growing because it has a full-time French pastor. The CEP/ICG partnership also creates a multicultural context that has opened doors to the proclamation of the Gospel. Our bilingual activities (worship services, women's breakfasts, concerts) all are well attended by the French. These activities are almost always characterized by the proclamation of the Gospel. It is so easy to draw people's attention to the truth that something out of the ordinary is happening when people from many different nations gather together to talk about God.
Another part of this answer concerns our relationship with the leadership of our church family. We look to them for guidance. Their commitment is seeing churches strengthened and multiplied in France. We serve in partnership with them. While my primary responsibility is to lead the ICG I am also involved in a number of activities with the approval of the church leadership and the denominational leadership that will contribute to the proclamation of the Gospel in France. I participate in the pastor's fellowships the coordinate activities among the evangelical churches in Grenoble and am often involved in the planning of projects that impact all of our churches. I also am a board member for a campus ministry and through this work I influence the proclamation of the Gospel to students. In the coming years I will get more involved on a national level in order to stimulate thinking on church planting.
In addition to my response I asked some of the leaders at the ICG to read over my answer and to add anything they saw missing. Here's what I received...
I like your answers Matt. I especialy liked the comment about helping the English speaking people who come here to reach out to their neighbors to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. In a sense, by you becoming the pastor of the ICG, the support that you receive from the US is being multiplied by each active member of the ICG. As a pastor, you have the ability to encourage us to be bold and corrageous in this strange land, to share the gospel with all the people that we meet. In my own experience, becoming an active member of the ICG has strengthened me in my personal walk and has given me the desire to partner with you and the other supported missionaries here in Grenoble. The sermons, the Bible studies, the LSM of ministry have all been a part of equipping me in the type of "missionary' work that I am doing now with the CUEF student outreach.
I am mainly writing this to encourage you in your decisions. If you would like to use any of my words to share with your supporting churches as they struggle to understand why they are supporting you as the pastor of what seems to be an american church, you are very welcome. What I love about France is that so many people come to France and find God, they don't all have to be French. Look at my friend Yue who didn't know anything about God before the beginning of May. Now she is studying the Bible every day to try to figure it all out. Wonderful isn't it!
Thank you for helping her!
Anne
I hope all that helps you to better understand what we are doing.
With love in Christ,
Matt for the 5 of us
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