Intercessors' Reports - Paris

17 of us travelled to Paris by EuroStar. There we were met by Anita Cleverly, responsible for local arrangements, and our other hosts. During the next five days the French Christians welcomed us and made us feel a part of their families and communities, they loved us and fed us that wonderful French food. What joy!

On Thursday and Friday we had meetings with an average of 15-20 pastors and leaders of churches in the city. Each night we were in a different church and on Sunday morning we scattered to several churches. Flavio spoke on Thursday night and Sunday morning at the "Eglise Reformee de Belleville". Anita Cleverly with her husband Charlie came here from England to lead the Belleville church five years ago, since then attendance has risen from 50 to 220-250 most Sundays. However most of the fellowships in France are small and meet in old church buildings, have low attendance and little resources.

On Friday night we were with a French-Portuguese church of 200 led by Samuel Rodrigues. 600,000 Portuguese people live in Paris along with ethnic Minority Groups from Africa and the Middle East, together the make up 10% of the Parisian population. Then on Saturday night we were with Alan, a white French pastor in east Paris. Once again the church was full, with about 200 people, 60% of whom were black people. My! Oh! My! How we praised the Lord, Paulo Marciano, who had been a missionary in New York City with a Brazilian church gave a tremendous message that night.

In Paris we were amazed! Such broken-ness, so many tears, such joy in praise to the Lord! Such fervent prayer! The leaders led the way. Truly, God was in our midst! We hadn't expected this. We were overwhelmed! We were humbled!

As in London, members of our team would thank the European church for having sent missionaries and Bibles to Brazil beginning 150 years ago. They would tell about how they were reached by the love of Jesus Christ. They would declare that the seed of the Word planted in Brazilian hearts was giving an abundant harvest. In Paris we reminded the church that the first Christians of the Reformed faith (evangelical) to come to Brazil were French Huguenots who colonised Rio de Janeiro in the 16th century. They had been constantly persecuted in France and Brazil was one of many lands they sought out where they might live in peace. They were soon killed and driven out by the Portuguese.

We declared to the French church that these seeds of faith watered by blood and with the seeds of the gospel planted two centuries later by Scottish, English, Swedish, American and other missionaries were producing a great harvest. (Today, with 25-30 million evangelicals, Brazil has more followers of Christ than all of Europe.) We declared that as spiritual children we had come to thank them and to bless them with this anointing of fertility. Our French brothers and sisters were deeply touched by our coming and especially the purpose of our trip. Our word about fertility was especially important because

Charlie and Anita, pastor and wife of the Belleville church told me later that they believe that the spiritual atmosphere of Paris was changed. Pastors entering into the same move of the Spirit. Now, the churches believe that they can and will grow, that as Durval Tosta of Patos de Minas preached, the gospel cannot be kept within four walls, that there will be a great harvest of lives in Paris and France.

One sign of this faith that was already in progress is that the Reformed Church of
Belleville is negotiating for a building that is on the lot behind their church property. Besides apartments it has a lot of space for class rooms, halls and offices. They are already renting one floor of this building. But also, this building has in it the old Belleville Theatre that will hold 1,200 people. It will take a lot of renovating to get it in shape but the church in now moving ahead in faith to buy this building. We prayed with Charlie and some of the leaders in this theatre asking God to give it as a place for the growing Bellevile church and also as a point of unity and revival for the church in Paris.