Ministry Wrap-ups

Group Biblique Universitaire—Count it a Privilege

As opposed to other areas of ministry and life here, I hope and think I’ve provided a good glimpse into GBU. But for a final wrap, here’s a go at it:

The Students: GBU met weekly throughout the school year, never gaining official club status at UTC but nonetheless able to use a room every week for our Bible studies. Throughout the semester, students participated in weekly studies, received Bible study facilitation training, traveled to regional and national events, and gathered for various non-official events in Compiegne. We saw our numbers grow from roughly 7-10 to approximately 18-20 every study!!! That’s big folks! We also saw increased participation from a variety of Christian and other expressions of faith, namely Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim students. This is indeed a huge praise! All of these students as well as the core group leaders were present for the end of year picnic, which of all the other end of year student bashes taking place, was quite impressive to have their presence well-accounted for.

GBU next year will undergo some transitions. Namely, Armel will be moving into a regional leadership role (hooray!) and less responsible on the whole for Compiegne. Nari as well will be moving to Laos for her final internship then out into the working world, for which we praise God but see as well an administrative and energy vacuum being created. These two have been faithful however to pass the baton to four students—Clement, Sylvain, Natacha, and Corine with a strong participating core at their back. Armel, Natacha, and Corine will all be headed to GBU camp in August, the same place I began my time here, for further training and equipping for the year ahead.

Prayers and Praises:
Praises all around for the formation of this group and for the depth and sincerity in the heart of students. They are on the whole an impressive, engaged, and thoughtful group and we can continue to pray God’s covering over their presence on UTC campus.
Pray for continued shared responsibility among students and increased fervor, not just in the organization but in their faith.
Pray for those in our midst who are searching, asking first questions of their systems of belief, or are simply curious. Pray for a solid and loving testimony.

My Role: I have not facilitated Bible studies this year but have served as encouragement and support for various GBU and outside initiatives. It has been my great delight to serve alongside these students, speak when asked, and at all times, seeking how God would have me serve them. Whether it was through community building, worldview education, one-on-one discipleship, prayer, or being a resource of questions and connections, it has been my utmost privilege to encounter these precious lives.

(I will follow up with a specific women’s discipleship post at some point.)

Les Jeunes Adultes D’Oise—Learning as You Go

This ministry has had its ups and downs for me personally and as a team member, mainly ups until the very end. Throughout the year since the end of November and the Hemmerle’s relocation to the states, I have worked with two French people Francois and Joel to serve as JAO leadership transition. We continued as Dave begun, assembling young adults from the region in January, March, and June for teaching, worship, and prayer. As a team we met 6 weeks in advance to plan and divvy up responsibilities, and it is only in hindsight that I can say we should have assigned each person the same tasks for each gathering according to gifting. As a team we were determining those gifts as we went in our context and by the end, it was apparent that Francois and I shared teaching and administration while Joel offered his sensitive people skills and prayerful heart.

After a meeting with Francois last week, the future of JAO is in question. From the beginning Joel said he could not carry it on his own, and as Francois became a newly-wed in May, his attentions are admittedly needing to shift elsewhere for the coming year. I will be leaving, as you know, July 8th so can no longer offer my role. That said, Francois will be contacting Dave for wisdom on how to move forward or curtail the effort.

In some ways, this is a “ministry disappointment” if you can call it that. “Learning situation” perhaps is less harsh. Understandably Francois cannot carry the leadership baton alone, and is better acquainted with who would be a fit to replace me on the team. Joel is a kind man who is ready and willing, but recognizes his limits in terms of leadership and so does require a team.

From this, I have the following request for you. As a participant in a local French church and being involved with both students and young adults here, I ask you to pray for specific church-connected young adult ministries to be birthed here. The Oise is much more oriented toward families and senior citizens than young adults compared to, say, Paris. However, the need exists for good teaching, spiritual direction, discipleship, and overall Christian faith development for this segment of the population, as Dave and Virginia readily saw and responded to with JAO. For next steps depending on the direction Francois’s conversation with Dave goes, I pray for leaders to rise up in churches that can help respond as well to this need. Pray for specific church young adult ministry.

Le Moulin—A Lesson in Courage

From day one at Le Moulin, an adult workshop for handicapped residents of the Compiegne area, I have been asking, what am I supposed to do here? What am I to learn? How am I to serve? It came daily, in being assigned to various activities, at first always accompanied and then taking groups all my own. Then it came through community events, where I began learning and seeing the larger role of L’Arche in Compiegne, as a Christian witness to love and belonging. I felt so many times at L’Arche incapable of providing thorough and professional service, as I have no training in anything remotely connected to L’Arche community needs except what falls under the broad label of “Christian ministry.” With time, however, I began to see that while training helps, it is more often knowing a person than a technique that creates a situation into which I might enter and serve.

But another reality arose from my time at Le Moulin. I began to be braver, both there and in France. I sang more out loud, and invited others to join with me. I acted goofy and made jokes and took great pleasure when our kitchen group was rendered incapable of work due to our volumes of laughter. I confidently filled in for Martine during women’s gym class, always spicing it up a little bit with African drums and some cha-cha. And in other areas of ministry, while never being the fully bold American Jennifer I am, I nonetheless stopped being so careful and became me again. In a country that collectively stares if you do anything outside of the box, which I am prone to do, it can be hard and frustrating to not take chances.

As my departure from Le Moulin was announced, I took a moment to share a few words. And this is roughly a part of what I said—You have taught me the lesson of courage, found in the text of Joshua. “Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous? Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will go with you wherever you go.” In a land of the terrified and timid, L’Arche stands as a hopeful witness to courage that only God can give as we choose to not live in fear. More often than not, I have said, I needed Le Moulin more than they needed me. And while I was able to serve there, it was them who reminded me that the testimony of God’s love through Jesus can never be dimmed when we are living in the fullness of the his embrace.