5 things we’ve learned from our ministry in France 

John and Sue Wilson served with BMS World Mission in France for 36 years. During that time, they led youth work, taught mission workers French at a language school in Massy and encouraged Baptist pastors and congregations across the country.

As their time of service comes to an end, it was a privilege to talk to them about what they’ve learnt from their years of ministry in the country, writes Chris Manktelow

1. Welcome the stranger

'The church in France has always had at the forefront welcoming the stranger,' Sue said. 'It’s in our DNA and even going back in the history of our own church in Paris, they were involved in the resistance during the Second World War. Members from the church helped some of the Jews to escape France.'

'Most of our churches have some form of social action,' she went on to say. 'While many people feel anxious about the increasing number of immigrants, our churches are finding ways to help people who are being displaced and finding out that many have a more vibrant faith than our own.'

She adds, 'Churches across France have been strengthened by the influx of Christians from across the world who have been displaced because of conflicts or economic reasons.'


2. Don’t get stuck in the past

Baptists in France are a much smaller and relatively new denomination compared to Baptists in the UK. Yet John didn’t think that this was a problem for French Baptists. Whether it was by supporting outreach during the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, with the publication of a special edition of the New Testament, or planting a Farsi-speaking church led by refugees from the Middle East, French Baptists are finding creative ways of sharing the gospel.

'Often people talk about Islam as being the second religion of France and it's certainly dominant in the sense of there being 5.7 million Muslims,' he said. 'But in terms of growth, it’s the evangelical churches that are actually multiplying. And in intelligent ways. They're thinking through issues together. They're trying to help one another be relevant to today’s needs.

'Building on the Protestant heritage brought about through the enlightenment, Baptists in France are building bridges between the historic churches and the newer and more diverse expressions of Christianity.

'While giving thanks for the past, we are learning to embrace the future.'
 



3. Even in secular France, people are searching for God

The French Government maintains a strict separation between religion and the state, and most French citizens do not identify as being religious. But John and Sue have both noticed a change in the spiritual climate since they first started their ministry.

'We used to talk about working in France as a difficult place and we'd ask people to pray for a change in the spiritual climate,' said Sue.

'At some point, there seemed to be a shift, and in fact one of the examples of this shift is that we noticed that young people with no church background at all were starting to look towards faith to find some answers to their questions.'

'We even had two or three people come into the church just because they bought a Bible and wanted somebody to explain it to them,' John added.


4. Ministry is about learning to receive, as well as give  

'I think it's interesting when you're in ministry because you can start with the viewpoint of giving to others, which is what you do in so many ways,' Sue told me. 'But it's also about learning to receive from others… It wasn't all about us, you know bringing hope and change to others. It was about us receiving that hope and change in our own lives.'

John often reflects on the moment in the gospels where Jesus sends the disciples out to heal the sick and preach the good news of the Kingdom. 'How much of that was to change the disciples as much as to change the world?' he said. 'The one reflects the other.'


5. God is more hopeful and faithful than you could ever imagine

After 36 years of ministry, John and Sue never cease to be amazed by how faithful God is.

'God is more hopeful, more open and more young in spirit than we are!' John said, laughing. 'Because we're now stepping away from ministry, you reflect a lot more on it.'

Sue also said. 'I think it's part of the process - and just seeing the great faithfulness of God toward us.'

Both John and Sue Wilson are retiring and looking forward to spending time with family and friends back home in the UK.

They ask you to pray that God will keep them young in spirit and full of vision. I hope that you’ll find their wisdom helpful as you serve your community and share the gospel here in the UK.
 

After responding to God's call to 'go', Sue and John became the first mission workers to serve with BMS in mainland Europe.

After learning French at Massy language school, they moved to Lyons in 1988 where they were involved in a church planting project.

Since then, they helped to grow a church in Morsang-sur-Orge, on the south side of Paris, and then Lyons. This church developed into a thriving cosmopolitan congregation with students and young people, running Alpha and marriage courses.

More recently, John and Sue returned to Paris to encourage more church planting there, before retiring this year.
 

Chris Manktelow is a writer for BMS World Mission