The other day, I was privileged to sit through one of my church's missionary's presentations on his work in the Philippines. During his presentation, he showed many pictures depicting the poor living conditions of the people and described the dangers (think typhoons and terrorists) of living and ministering there. He also shared the ways in which the Lord is working there and how responsive the people have been to the Gospel. Praise the Lord for that.
But here is what struck me: the God that called this missionary to the Philippines, is the same God that called me to France. The French may be wealthier and more educated than the people in the Philippines, but they need Jesus just as much.
The sad thing is, most people don't realize that the need in France (or Europe in general) is so great.
Yep. There are countries outside of the 10/40 window that need the Gospel, too. Now, some of you (maybe all of you) are probably thinking, "France has had the Gospel for hundreds of years. They're Catholic." True. Sort of.
France is a traditionally and predominantly Catholic country. They have a rich (often brutal and violent) religious history. However, France has seen a sharp decline in religious faith. The vast majority of baptized Catholics (58%) never attend Mass. In fact, only 12% of the French population as a whole attend any sort of religious service more than once a month. Nearly 50 million French people have no real link with the Christian church.
France is the most visited country in the world, and one of the least evangelized.
Furthermore, Evangelicalism is often seen as a cult in France and looked on with suspicion. France is less than 1% Evangelical. Meanwhile, half of the French population believes in faith healing while 1/4 believe in clairvoyants or astrology. There are only 2,350 Evangelical churches in France but over 30,000 registered mediums and spiritual healers.
I want the people of the Philippines and the rest of the 10/40 window to know Jesus, but I want the French to know Him too. Please join me in praising God for the work He is doing in both countries, and ask Him for more workers into these harvests.
