A CEMETARY OF MISSIONNARIES
by Pastor Vincent Bourrel (translation : Virginia Bozzi)
The situation of the church in France is both critical and alarming--and that for several reasons. There is a great lack of pastors, an almost total loss of missionary vision in French churches and inadequate and unadapted training of future Chrisian workers.
A study among French Evangelicals shows that there are presently 2880 active pastors. (This includes preachers, evangelists, Bible teachers, chaplains and other unclassified Christian workers such as the Salvation Army, etc.) Twenty-five per cent of these are foreign missionaries. Twenty per cent are 56 years of age or more, and therefore approaching retirement. This means that approximately 600 pastors will be retiring by the year 2005! Their replacement is already becoming an urgent preoccupation. In spite of the large proportion of experienced workers, in fact nearly 46% of the pastors in France have been in the ministry for less than ten years. Consequently the average age of the pastoral body is lowering. Unfortunately, this does not mean that there is a great wave of young Christians entering the ministry. On the contrary, Bible Institutes are emptying. The problem lies in the fact that many pastors are "dropping out" after just a few years in the ministry. More than half of those who receive a diploma after completing their Bible studies and who begin a church ministry leave the ministry in less than 5 years. Besides this, only 13.5% of the students who graduated in the past 20 years are still in the ministry here in France today--only three per year. (One must keep in mind that some of these students were foreigners who returned to serve the Lord in their native land and some French students went to other countries as missionaries.)
The picture darkens even more when one considers that the majority of churches founded since 1960 were begun by foreign missionaries. This is praiseworthy and good news at first glance, but it has its problems in the long run. Many of these new-founded churches, begun by missionaries supported through their own mission board, are abandonned when the missionary feels called to another work, or simply returns to his own country discouraged and worn out by all the obstacles, the hard labor and meager fruit in this country where unbelief and indifference are so deeply ingrained in the hearts of the French people. When the missionary leaves, the future of the work raises many questions, including who will become pastor and how he and the church will be supported. Today there are 2420 established or beginning churches. If church planting continues at the same rate as in the past decades--which is probable--there will be another 400 "baby" churches needing pastors by the year 2005.
More than ever France needs men who are ready to lose their lives completely to try to win the 60 million French people who are without Christ. France needs pioneers, shepherds and builders, yet the Bible Institutes in France and French-speaking countries are turning out theologians, doctors and professors. If ever we are going to reach this country with the Gospel of Christ, the training of men must equip them for the job. These men must be practical servents of God, men who have been formed on the field as well as in the classroom, men who are able to evangelize and establish churches, men who are versed in Scripture and who know their doctrine. This is the kind of training needed in French Bible schools to meet the great needs of this country. This is the challenge before our SEE Bible Institute today.
Excerpt from « France Now », S.E.E.'s news journal