| Big News: Partnering with Team Expansion
Team Expansion is a wonderful missions organization who is effectively reaching the lost in many corners of the world. We are so thrilled to announce we are partnering with them to form a brand-new team here in Paris. Following is a message from Team Expansion President, Doug Lucas:
“Please join Team Expansion in celebrating the creation of a partnership with a purpose: that of sharing the Good News of Christ with one of the great megacities of the world (Paris). In early November 2017, we began praying for some kind of next step in Paris. We feared we were going to have to muster the energy, resources, people, and plans to launch things on our own. Because we were tackling projects in some two dozen new cities simultaneously, this was a sobering prospect. Then in December, we essentially overheard a conversation by a French Christian Mission board member (Mark Pike). It was the first we had ever heard about the work of the Shadys and French Christian Mission. We were in one moment both shocked (how had we missed this!?) and overjoyed (could God be at work?). Upon learning that the Shadys and the board of the mission were not only open but actually interested in forming a partnership, we gave thanks to God. To us, this is the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer in John 17 – that “they would be one, so that the world would be won.” We’re thankful that God called the Shadys to this work and we are grateful for their openness and cooperative attitude to join together in this terrific challenge and this tremendous opportunity. May His Kingdom grow because of this unity and may He be glorified in our attempts to work as one body for the accelerating of the fulfillment of the Great Commission.”
It truly thrilled us to discover that Team Expansion felt a burden to reach the many people of Paris, and we believe God is who brought this partnership together. (To read more of the story of how this was knitted together, visit our blog). The initial conversation I had with Doug in December started a process which culminated in us signing an accord with Team Expansion in April. Per this accord, we are still independent missionaries serving under the banner of French Christian Mission, and we firmly believe God has a plan to use FCM to reach many people in the greater French-speaking world. This agreement establishes an open door for Team Expansion to build a team of workers in Paris. Glen is the leader of this team and will work within Team Expansion’s processes to guide it and build it together. We are grateful for both their respect of our desire to keep the door open for God to use FCM in big ways while also generously sharing their knowledge and experience.
We have found that their vision for reaching the lost, including church-planting methodology, is very much in line with our own, so it is a beautiful opportunity and a win-win for both sides. Start praying expectedly for this union to produce a growing team of full-time workers and interns who are making disciples and planting churches which will effectively multiply themselves. All of this is for God’s Kingdom, and we rejoice at being a part of it.
Planting a Church in September
We have always had a motto that is important to us: “We are independent missionaries, but we will never work alone.” As such, what is described above falls right in line with our focus for being effective missionaries, and it’s not even our only partnership! Since our arrival, we have worked to network with local churches, believers, and organizations, and we did this with the belief that the best missions organization is the Kingdom of God at large.
As such, we are forming a “God’s Team” which is building the foundation on which the Team Expansion team will be built. We call it a God’s Team, because it is united through the Kingdom and the mutual desires of each missionary to serve here in France. Looking at the core of this team, we would love for you to start praying for the Underwood family. They have ten years’ experience planting churches in India but were forced to leave India in 2015. They now follow a new calling here in Paris and are truly part of our family here. It is amazing how much our views mirror each other’s, including our pray-first approach, our strong belief in the truth and authority of Scripture, and our vision/hope for planting and multiplying churches. This summer the Underwood family will move to our community, and our families will work together to start a church in our home in September. We have an exciting and growing vision for how this will then push forward, but for now we are thrilled to have you pray for this initial plant.
Send Us Questions
We yearn to be clear in communicating our status, goals, and activities, especially for those of you who are FCM partners, but we know this newsletter comes with some big news for our work. Obviously, we are limited with what we can share in a single newsletter, so make sure to contact us if you have any questions about how this is all coming together. We would love to set up a call with you.
Blessings! |
