UFM missionaries Maxime & Demelza Soumagnas are praying for co-workers
Note from Paul Cooke: I was introduced to the Soumagnas by Peter & Rachel Calvert who’ve worked with them on InterAction camps. Maxime is French and Demelza is English; they were members of St Helen’s Bishopsgate and Euston Church in London before becoming missionaries with our friends at UFM Worldwide (ufm.org.uk).
Imagine a city whose population has exploded in recent years to nearly 1 million, but which can count the number of French-speaking evangelical churches on a few fingers. Welcome to Bordeaux, a mission-field ripe for harvest! Will you pray with us for a new church for each of the eight quartiers of Bordeaux? Each area has its own character, from the 80,000 students who move here for university, to the Parisian families escaping the rat race, to the vibrant North African community.
We’ve been in Bordeaux since 2018, working to build a network of church plants, each focused on reaching their local community. We’re praying for a team to help us reach our area of Bordeaux: Bastide. With 3,000 new flats under construction, start-ups moving into the area, and new families arriving daily, we have plenty of opportunities to make friends for the gospel.
We currently hold Sunday services in our home and are fundraising to rent a bigger, public space soon. With English clubs for children on Wednesdays and opportunities to serve the Christian Union here, there’s lots happening! We’re seeking to build an outsider-friendly church, deeply rooted in the local area, a place where people of all backgrounds can come and hear about the Lord Jesus for the first time. Many here are not hostile to the gospel, they’ve simply never met a Christian or heard the gospel explained.
With our focus firmly on people rather than programmes, we’re praying for more workers for the Bordeaux harvest-field. For Christians to join us in loving God, loving their neighbour, and living in the neighbourhood as faithful believers. From local evangelism, to encouraging Christians and serving practically, if you speak some French, the Lord can surely use you here!
