United as a movement

[Note from Paul Cooke: I’m very grateful to Gordon for representing France Mission at this event as I was unable to attend this year. If you’d like to catch up with the talks from the 50^th anniversary France Day mentioned in Gordon’s report, you can see the morning sessions here, while the afternoon sessions can be found here.]

What a privilege it was for me to represent France Mission at the Perspectives annual congress this year in Taverny, in the north-west of the Paris suburbs! That’s how I’d describe my experience of participating in this event. How encouraging it was to be part of this gathering of God’s people from many Perspectives churches. The organisers had worked hard to prepare for the congress and the church’s splendid new building was put to good use, hosting approximately 150 participants.

The theme of the congress, held during the weekend of 25-26 May, was unity (Unis en union: “United as a movement”). Saturday’s programme began with the AGMs of different aspects of Perspectives’ work. At the main AGM, I read out Paul Cooke’s statement on FM’s activities during 2023 and my own reports (on my 26 years as Area Representative for Scotland and on the France Day in Bishop’s Stortford in April 2024).

Workshops followed, all of which focused on practicalities: working as part of a leadership team; how to train disciple-makers; how pastors prepare for retirement; how to share the gospel in discovery groups (the most popular); and the basics of fund-raising. I attended the first of these and took away much for consideration and prayer. I learned how important it is for leadership team-members to get to know each other and as a result become more confident and competent as they function as a team.

After dinner, we were entertained and challenged by the theatrical duo La Compagnie des actes. Their performance Il était une foi (a pun on the French equivalent of “Once upon a time”) tackled the themes of the meaning of life, the search for love, faith, and the message of the gospel. Audience participation further enhanced the duo’s fine performance.

Sunday’s programme consisted of the worship service followed by lunch. The theme of unity was emphasised at the service. Arnaud Schrodi, pastor of the Église de la Krutenau and one of Perspectives’ Directors, preached on Ephesians 4.1-16, focusing on preserving unity and using our spiritual gifts to serve unity. This diversity of gifts ideally allows every member of every church to serve as a team-player and thus unity and maturity may be fostered.

Testimonies from pastors drew our attention to the great need for more workers. Many Perspectives churches lack a full-time or part-time pastor, resulting in networks of churches being established on a regional basis. Thus, churches with pastors can help those without pastors in their regional network. Sharing expertise, experience, and resources is beneficial anyhow, but this way of operating has come about due to the shortage of workers. Please pray for those undergoing training, for those who are currently candidates for the ministry, and for more applicants.

Part of the privilege which I mentioned at the beginning of this article was to meet and have fellowship with so many in the Perspectives church family. I’d met only a few previously (mostly because of my participation in France-Mission summer campaigns 25-30 years ago) but what a joy to make so many new acquaintances! I hope that they left the congress as encouraged as I was. May God bless the Perspectives churches as they continue to serve Him in a country where the spiritual need is so great!