Andy is now on the national leadership team of the French
Reformed Church (here pictured with members of the Pôle national de
formation, which he leads). He's in charge of training and
equipping local churches for ministry and mission, a huge brief
which includes overseeing and developing strategy for children's
work, youth work, ministries in the local church, equipping for
evangelism... A lot of it is about encouraging and envisioning the
teams he is working with. Here are some areas of prayer.
- Saint Paul
project: One exciting part of the new job is the
opportunity to try and discern the fresh things God is doing in and
through local churches in France, and then to accompany and equip
these initiatives. One such initiative is the ‘Saint Paul
project’, rooted in a local church in Paris. This
innovative project is seeking to equip church members theologically
and practically to grow and serve as mission minded disciples of
Jesus. We hope the project will develop as a resource for the wider
church. This year, the programme is being run in partnership with
the DEFAP, the French protestant mission society. It is also a real
joy that Bob Ekblad (US theologian and pastor) is joining us for a
year to give theological and biblical input. For more info, visit
http://saintpaul.pro
- Interns in
local churches: While we were in Mantes, our church
benefitted significantly from the presence of short term interns
from the UK. So it’s great that Andy’s new post has
enabled him to propose an intern programme for local churches
throughout France. We are delighted that in the UK, this will be
coordinated through the Crosslinks Smile programme. Things
are starting small this year (2 students from UK), but from
September 2012 we hope to be able to welcome many more! Please pray
for this initiative... and do encourage any students (French
speaking) you may know who are seeking to serve God in France to
contact us. More info: www.crosslinks.org
- Leadership
training: one of the important challenges in
the years to come is the training and equipping of leaders for
ministry and mission in the local church. Currently, training for
local leaders is not adapted to the mission challenges, and
frequently lacks biblical depth and spiritual dynamic. Local
ministries are also underdeveloped. Please pray for wisdom as Andy
heads up the group in charge of developing new approaches to
this.
- Teaching
and training opportunities: as Andy gets
settled into the new job, there are numerous opportunities to input
into local and regional contexts, through preaching, teaching and
training. But there are also aspects of the job that are more
mundane. Please pray for clear vision and strategic thinking, that
he will be able to stick to this priorities and keep his focus on
the Lord!