Three years ago Gina and I joined a mission organization and began to prepare to plant a church in Paris, France. Over the past year or so, however, God has begun to move in our hearts to do more that just plant a church. We began to talk about planting a church that would be a catalyst in France for a larger church movement.
This month Gina and I made the decision to step down from our missions organization and become more closely aligned with like-minded church partners. This led to the formation of Catalyst France (It's our new website still in progress).
Our vision is to see France impacted with the gospel through the multiplication of high-impact churches where French people have an opportunity to hear the gospel clearly communicated in a culturally relevant way, see it lived out in the lives of transformed believers, and to experience lasting life-change through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
We're really excited about what God is doing. We are still working out the administrative details of Catalyst France, but we hope to have everything setup for tax-deductible contributions in the next week or so.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can be involved in planting a church in Paris or would like to give financially to this ministry please contact us at info@catalystfrance.org.
5 comments:
May God Bless the socks off Catalyst France and the entire Witcher family as they follow their hearts and build the kingdom of God!
lylJ!
I am all about the teachings of Christ and religion but why did you decided to do this in France ? Did they ask you to ? It seems like the French have a great sense of religion and spirituality already . I know most of them are Catholics and I go there alot and have French friends so I am just curious to your choice .
Yes, may God Bless you, but I question the need for planting churches in, of all places, France. But, look, if it works out for you to get to live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, then I applaud you for figuring out a way to do it. Especially if you are supported by the ministry financially! Brilliant! Also, I hope the children do well with the move, but since you are quite consumed by them, and who wouldn't be at their tender ages, I'm sure it will be just fine. But, please remember, Catholics do know Jesus Christ: he is the focus of the Church. Thanks.
Anonymous and Deborah,
While it may seem like the French have a good sense of religion and spirituality and that many of them claim to be Catholics, the reality is that only about 6-8% of the population claim to attend any kind of church on a regular basis. France also ranks highest in a recent survey of people who never or almost never attend church.
We are not coming to France to reach the Catholics. We are coming to reach those who have no church experience and no desire to attend church as they perceive it. Most churches function in a historically cultural way that young people don't connect with. We plan to start a church that speaks the language of the younger (20-30s') generation and deals with the issues they are facing. People are looking for answers and for meaning. We know that Jesus offers those, but we have failed to communicate in ways that new generations understand.
We have shared this plan with young people we met on the streets in France and they were all very excited and wanted to attend.
Anonymous & Daborah,
I would hope to get to meet you someday and share more about why we chose France and why we believe, from going there and talking to French people and seeing the statistics of depression and the amount of antidepressants they take (it is the highest in the world) there is a desperation for something spiritual. After a number of visits and talking with many French people and sharing that we wanted to plant a relevant exciting church, where you can wear flip flops and jeans, that shares how the Bible is relevant to their internal happiness, and feels more like a youth concert than church, every single one of them said, "I would go to a church like that."
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