Two years ago, the Judkins family left the rural French countryside to begin a new ministry near Paris, where Peter helps lead a local church and his wife Claire-Lise works as a midwife.
Sent by Christ Church Balham, the couple have a passion for sharing the gospel through their work and with the French people they meet in their daily lives.
For many years, the family were based in Madagascar, where both Peter and Claire-Lise served at the SIM-supported Good News Hospital in Mandritsara and Peter co-led the missionary team.
In 2018, they moved with their two daughters Naomi and Keziah, to the south-west of France to help a budding multicultural church in Castres.
“Few French churches are able to support their own pastors, especially small and newly-planted ones,” explains Peter, who helped the Castres church proclaim the gospel in an area with only three evangelical churches.
“There is a huge need for more gospel-driven churches to be planted in France and for existing churches to be revitalised,” he adds.
Evangelical Christians make up only 1.23% of the population in France – The Joshua Project
In 2020, the family began the latest leg of their ministry journey after moving to a town specifically built in conjunction with The Walt Disney Company, which wanted to create a town near the Disneyland Paris resort.
Peter is once again leading a relatively new church plant (started six years ago) and seeking to engage the local community and see the gospel grow.
Every week, he also volunteers to teach French to students from many different countries.
“Because of Disney, there is a large international population who live in the area and struggle to integrate due to language difficulties,” he explains.
Because of the rise of Covid cases, the Val d’Europe church streamed some of its Christmas events on YouTube.
“Our two English Christmas carol services were well attended, including some Disney staff who saw the Facebook event online,” says Peter.
And 2022 is set to be a busy year as Peter has already started a Christianity Explored course and is also launching a preachers’ club to train potential future leaders.
“We want to put an emphasis on building one another up for the gospel and will also be encouraging more one-to-one Bible reading and praying together as we seek to fulfil our motto for the year: To welcome as Christ welcomes us and to go as Christ sends us.”
By Kerry Allan
Please pray
- Give thanks Claire-Lise can share Christ’s love through her work as a community midwife.
- For energy and time for Peter as he leads his groups, as well as daily church responsibilities.
- That the gospel would bear fruit in the Val d’Europe.