Joyeuses Pâques:
Celebrating Easter with a church in France!
This Easter, let’s celebrate what trusting in Christ means to Christians in Paris, France. Introducing some of your brothers and sisters at the church run by BMS World Mission workers John and Sue Wilson!
Lily
Lily* was facing a troubling time in her life when she discovered John and Sue’s church. Having been disappointed by church in the past, she was hesitant about trying another congregation. But when the church hosted a concert in 2019 and invited Lily in, she knew this was where God was calling her to be.
In 2019, she attended the Connexion youth conference, which is supported by BMS, and was amazed by her experience there. “It was the first time that I saw a big group of young people praying to Jesus at the same time,” she recalls. “It was a very big for me and that was the moment that I accepted Jesus into my heart.”
In 2021, Lily stared preparing for baptism with Sue and, wonderfully, she was baptised in September 2022. And she’s using her gifts for the church community too, helping out regularly with the children’s work at church.
Lily says: “I think the real change in my life came when I came to this church.”
Silvère
“The first church I went to was this church, but I don’t really remember because I was just a kid! But then I moved to French Guiana with my parents, and when I came back to Paris with my mother we went to a Catholic Church.
“When my parents got divorced, my mother became a Protestant and we went to a community church, and my sister started going to a charismatic church. She told me to go too, but at the time I was 18 years old, and when you’re 18, nobody can tell you to go to church if you don’t want to go! So I would only go to church about once a month.
“I started going to church again when I studied for a year in America, and then when I came back to Paris, I wanted to get baptised. I came to this church in 2016 and the third time I came, I was about to leave but at the end of the service, John said that the people who want to get baptised should come and see him. And I went.
“That’s where my journey started with Jesus. Before that, I believed in Jesus, I used to go to church, but it was like Santa Claus for me. When I asked to get baptised, this was the start of my journey.
“Now, I’m a member of the church council, I’m one of the youth leaders and I help manage the worship band. I almost never say no when it comes to God!”
Aline and Julie
When Julie and her mum Aline moved to Paris from Lebanon, they left a nation in crisis – but they didn’t expect crisis to follow them to France. Julie lives with chronic illness, and had to be admitted to hospital as soon as she and and her mum arrived in Paris. Aline had left a community where support was always around the corner – “Lebanese people are very welcoming. They’re over-welcoming!” Julie chips in – and found herself alone in a city with her only daughter in hospital. Her husband was still in the country she had left and she knew no-one. Fortunately, John and Sue were there to help.
The Wilsons managed to get Aline settled into a flat in the building next to the church, and prayed with her regularly until Julie was able to leave hospital.
“For three weeks [the church] didn’t see us, but we knew from John that every Sunday they were praying for us,” says Aline. And when they were eventually able to join the church, they were welcomed by a community who knew them and wanted to help them however they could.
Now, Julie’s settled into her studies in interior design, and Aline into life at church. They hope that Julie’s father, Fadid, will be able to join them soon.
Julie says: “People at church know when we're not feeling OK. They know when you're sad or homesick and they just come up to us and they tell us that they're praying for us.”
Jean-Frédéric
“I’m originally from Martinique, and I moved to Paris in 2017. I discovered this church around the pandemic. I liked how small it was, everyone knew everyone and it felt like a home for me. It was difficult during the pandemic and it was hard to connect with people because everybody was wearing masks. So finding a church for me was very important.
“I grew up in a very religious family in Martinique. My mom was raised Catholic, but my dad was raised Protestant, so I kind of had both traditions. When I was a teenager, I had to answer my own questions and find my own path in the journey of spirituality and Christianity. That’s when I started to get more into faith and I started to have a closer relationship with God.
“When I moved to Paris, it was a hard change for me because I was alone in a new city. So I started having a deeper relationship with God and in 2022 I took the decision to get baptised, to really show my commitment to Jesus, and the church. John and Sue have had a big impact in my life because this is where I got baptised and I did the preparation with John. I’ll hold this church in my heart for the rest of my life.”
Jean-Frédèric says: ``This is where I got baptised... I’ll hold this church in my heart for the rest of my life.”
This thriving church family is made possible by your dedicated support for BMS. If you want to see God’s Word reach even more people in France, why not consider supporting John and Sue Wilson financially today? Click here to find out more!
You’ll be able to read even more about John and Sue’s ministry in the next issue of Engage, the BMS magazine. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss out!
*Lily requested her name be changed.
Interviews conducted by Hannah Watson and Laura Durrant.
