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France V Highlights
Our outreach to the city of
Marseille, France marked our 5th ministry outreach to the nation
of France. It was a wonderful
time of ministry! We
conducted evangelistic outreach, and had opportunities to encourage
the Pastors and believers there. 
France is a country with great spiritual
needs, with less than 1% of the population estimated to be
born-again Christians. (See table
below.) The needs are significant, but the workers are few;
moreover, workers are usually heavily overworked and many receive little
encouragement or support. Johnson
Outreach Ministries is committed to helping to share the gospel in France
and to strengthening the church in France.
Our ability to speak French is an added tool in
our outreach to the French-speaking peoples of France and Quebec.
When doing evangelistic concerts, Marla did over half of the
concert in French. Kurt
was able to do some of his preaching in French.
Our goal for the near future is to be fully fluent and do all
preaching in French.
Some highlights from our most recent time in
Marseille:
In one evangelistic coffee bar, Marla gave a
concert, and Kurt preached. The
place was packed out, and the Lord touched many who were there. We were
amazed to find out afterwards that almost the  entire
crowd consisted of non-Christians; people who may have never heard the
gospel before. The Pastors of the sponsoring church told us that there were
quite a few people who expressed interest in Christianity after the
concert. This concert was
part of an ongoing outreach by the church to reach out to the community
with the gospel. In the
coming days, people from the church will be able to follow up on those who
attended the concert. This is
a very effective
method of evangelism in France, where many are reluctant to attend any
kind of church service.
As we ministered in churches, it was our
heart’s desire to truly be a blessing to the congregations and to the
Pastors. France can be a
difficult place to pioneer works for
God, and the enemy tries his best to discourage those who are making
progress for the Kingdom of God. Thus
it is our goal to preach more than just a good sermon, but to share a
timely, God-directed message which specifically addresses  the needs of the
Pastor and congregation. One
Pastor told us, “The Lord used you to speak prophetically to me, and
to give me the strength to go on.” He and his church had been under
heavy attack. Many in the church told us afterwards that the sermon had
been a prophetic word for them.
We also had the special privilege of ministering at a citywide
youth meeting, where youth from all over Marseille gathered to worship
and hear a message on “The Pursuit of Revival”.
It was a powerful and very special time for all of us.
Many youths were deeply touched, and we all emerged with a deeper
hunger for God, and a passion to see God move mightily in Marseille and
all of France.
Many
thanks to our friend Cordula Dombrowski, YWAM director of Marseille, who
arranged our itinerary. She is doing outstanding work in this very
important area of ministry.
Please
join with us in prayer for the people of France. Once a
"Christianized" nation, the vast majority of the French have
turned their backs to the gospel, and very few have a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, pray that believers would be
strengthened and encouraged.
Click
here for more France Outreach.
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