France

So much to Marseille

The first thing that struck the Crowded House (TCH) team about Marseille, France, was the scale of the challenge: impoverished neighbourhoods, cultural tensions, and a hugely diverse population desperately in need of the gospel.

MarseilleThe second, however, was the evidence of God's grace: small but passionate churches dotted across the city reaching out to the largely-secular French culture and to the disparate immigrant population - and seeing people saved for Christ.

Members of TCH in Sheffield, UK, have long hoped to plant churches in France, and last october Del de la Hoyde, Chris Thornton and Tim Bridge, along with Radstock's Katy Jones Parry, began to explore the potential for partnership with Marseille churches to do just that. They were based with Lonnie and Debbie Smith, an American couple who are part of a French congregation and looking to plant household churches in their local community of varied nationalities, cultures, classes and religions.

"Our dream is to plant a first church with a multi-ethnic team to reach this multi-ethnic city and reflect the multi-ethnic gospel message," explains Del. "From there, we'd hope to keep spreading out..!"

Marseille's strategic position is unparalleled: the gospel being proclaimed to people there could lead to churches being planted throughout France, into north Africa and beyond. Things are moving on all the time, with another team visit in March, joint short-term mission planned for 2009, and hopes that members of TCH, the Smiths and others might form the core of that first church plant in 2010.

Lonnie and Deb Smith

The vision so far agreed between TCH Hub and their church-planting network, and the Smiths is:

To see a network of missional communities planted across Marseille to the glory of God - starting in 2010 in the La Rose/Les Olives area (where the Smiths live), and looking thereafter to plant more churches across the city, across France and across the world, as the Lord leads us and gives the growth.

Connect logoTo be part of reaching Marseille, France and beyond with the gospel, contact: 

Del de la Hoyde (deligola[at]hotmail.com) or Katy Jones Parry (kjp[at]radstock.org)