I had the privilege of serving on three mission teams to France in the summers of 2000, 2002, and 2004. Working with the Ball and McFarland families, we participated in many activities and learned much about God’s work in France and the needs and challenges of the Reformed Presbyterian Church there.

Malcolm Ball and Blair McFarland, sent by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Northern Ireland, pastor a church in the suburbs of Nantes. One of the largest cities in France, Nantes was historically part of Britanny. It is the site of the signing of the Edict of Nantes in 1598, which granted religious freedom to the Huguenots, the French Protestants. (The edict was revoked in 1685.) A historic seaport, Nantes lies along the Loire river, about an hour from the west coast.

The children’s clubs were the highlight of our work. We held them each afternoon in the playground area of a neighborhood. We led games, sang Psalms, encouraged Bible memory, and presented short talks on gospel topics. Sometimes 20 kids would attend, other times only two or three.

We saw a wide variety of reactions to the club. Some kids would watch from a distance. Some would come every day and others only once or twice. In France there is a pervasive fear of “sectes,” or cults. The most extreme, negative reaction we had to the club was in 2000. Some Muslim young men started talking with Malcolm. Then they started yelling at us, “Une secte! Vous etes une secte!” They shouted at the kids that we were teaching them bad things and that the candy was poisoned. It was almost frightening because it seemed that they would try anything to break up the club. An older Muslim girl took the verses we had given the kids, tore them up, and threw them in our faces.

In spite of this tumultuous event, many kids continued to come throughout that week. Malcolm later had an encouraging conversation with one of the Muslim men.

Most reactions were more subtle. On several occasions, parents came and listened in curiosity. Some even expressed appreciation for having a summer program for kids. At other times, children interjected comments such as “You can’t talk about Jesus to an Arab” or “Jesus isn’t the Son of God.” It was wonderful to see two African girls, Nè Nè and Daloba, come to the club all three summers.

During the door-to-door work, we would go in pairs to the apartments near where the children’s clubs were held. We began by asking people if they were interested in the club and if they knew about the church. We met three main types of people. There was the typical French atheist, who had been raised to be an independent thinker and hardened to all religion. One such person was a grandmother we met who was very friendly in discussing trivial matters. Once we showed her the church newsletter, she immediately said, “Ca ne m’interesse pas,” a common response, which means, “I’m not interested.” She proceeded to argue vehemently against our beliefs. We also met people who had been raised Catholic and were putting their faith in the church. We also met many Muslims, who had mixed reactions, sometimes talkative, other times hostile.

Other activities included distribution of tracts and the church’s newsletter in hundreds of mailboxes around the suburbs of Nantes. During distribution we got to enjoy the French countryside and gardens, though we had to be careful of threatening dogs!

One of the things I enjoyed most during my time in Nantes was getting to know the missionary families over dinner each night. We had many fun discussions about politics, languages, and mission work in other countries. There was, of course, much Irish teasing! We were also able to visit several sites in Brittany and travel to two Protestant museums near Nantes.

In our travels, I was surprised to learn that there are many towns in France that have very little gospel preaching. We would drive through a town and Malcolm would point out that the only houses of worship were a Catholic church and perhaps a Jehovah’s Witnesses kingdom hall.

Although many French people are nominally Catholic, only 8 percent of the population attends Catholic services. Evangelicals are a minority of the Protestant church in France, and the mainline “Eglise Reformèe” is the only Protestant church recognized by the government. There are 16 Protestant churches in Nantes. Evangelicals have grown in France by 400 percent since the late 1960s, but that figure does not distinguish between native French people and immigrants from North Africa and Eastern Europe. Missionaries have generally seen a more positive response from Africans than from native French people. Church attendance tends to be sporadic. French people are very independent and don’t feel obligated to attend regularly.

Thirty to forty people attend the Reformed Presbyterian church in Nantes. The congregation meets in a small building in a room called the “Salle.” This is a good size for a church in France. Apparently, 30 people is the threshold many churches struggle to cross. We enjoyed getting to know many people in the church at soirées at the Balls’ home and taking kids from the church on park outings.

In general, French people are very friendly and polite. They pride themselves in their intellectual prowess and like to discuss philosophy. They also have a great national pride, which is somewhat of a hindrance to the missionaries, who are Irish. In fact, there are very few French evangelical pastors. But missionary work in France goes beyond France, as France holds a much stronger influence over French-speaking countries than Spain does over Spanish-speaking countries.

In our door-to-door activities, we would often need to allay people’s fear that we were a cult. In Europe, people are paranoid about cults, partly as a result of the 1994-95 suicides and murders by Solar Temple members in Canada, Switzerland, and France. Laws have been proposed to imprison religious proselytizers for up to two years for “mental manipulation” of the public. The law aims to limit the spread of “dangerous sects” in France, which include Jehovah’s Witnesses and Scientologists but also well-known evangelistic denominations such as Baptists.

One possible reason cults have been growing is that, as more people are falling away from the Catholic church, they have been looking for alternative spiritual help. Scholars say Western Europe is the most secular part of the world; so many young people are looking at unconventional approaches to spiritual life.

The political situation between France and the United States was another source of tension in mission work, especially in 2004. Many French, including some French Christians, see President Bush almost the way we see Al Qaeda. Bush’s evangelical Christianity scares them, partly because many French consider evangelicals to be a cult. This combined with his foreign policy, which the French despise, is seen as a threat. This perception makes it more difficult for evangelical missionaries, because some people see them as aligned not only with Bush’s religion but also his politics.

During 2004, the clubs brought particular tensions with the Muslims. During the first week, many of the Muslim children had been told not to come near the clubs. The door-to-door work was also discouraging, as we had very few fruitful conversations. At the end, Malcolm reflected on the work and said, though he felt we had particular challenges this summer, to be careful about judging the results: “We have no idea what is happening.” We cannot judge from outward results alone. We may sow seeds that others will reap later. But sowing seeds involves tears—it is not an easy task.

However, the church in Nantes is growing. Since 2000, six more Protestant churches have been planted in Nantes. It was exciting to be able to work with a new person from the church, Martin, from Cameroon, who found out about the church through his nieces who came to the clubs two years ago. He helped us with the clubs and some door-to-door work, and his enthusiasm and warmth were very encouraging.

During each mission trip I learned many great lessons. One important lesson was from Zechariah 4:10: “For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice.” Malcolm often said that if you’re looking for big results quickly your mission work will not survive in France. He said he doesn’t believe in going only where the Spirit seems to be working, because Christ said to go into all the world. “We shouldn’t despise the places where not many fish are biting,” he said.

As an example, one day the children’s club was rained out. Malcolm took us to visit an old woman named Madame Boissier who occasionally came to church. A hunchback with hair on her chin, hardly any teeth, and a frizzy-haired dog named Lulu, she was elated that we came to see her in her musty apartment and gave us all big kisses!

Mission work in France is hard and slow, and the people seem hardened and blinded to the truth. We saw God work in spite of the difficulty. God has a purpose for France in His kingdom, and He will fulfill it.

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France Facts:

The Christian faith made its appearance in Gaul at an early date, probably in the first century.

John Calvin was born in Noyon, 60 miles northeast of Paris, in 1509. Obliged to flee Paris, in 1541 Calvin began his work in Geneva, which received many refugees from other countries of Europe. These people often returned home to spread the gospel. At one time, 1/10 of the population had embraced the Calvinist doctrines with perhaps twice that number in sympathy with the cause.

In 1905, a law was passed that decreed the complete separation of church and state. Sometimes called “the eldest daughter of Rome,” paradoxically, France today is deeply secular.