Jean-Claude SOUILLOT
31, rue du chêne
71370 Ouroux-sur-Saône
France
tél.: (33) 3 85.96.79.80
e-mail: jeanclaude.souillot@free.fr
Chalon, March 9, 2007
Dear Friends in the Lord,
It is high time for me to share with you what the Lord has given us to do in the past few months in spreading the Gospel of Christ in French-speaking countries. 2006 marked 20 years of publishing Sovereign Grace with Europresse, and 2007 is the 15th year of publication for Les Échos de la Vérité, our quarterly newspaper. The Lord has provided for the work and it has been a joy and a cause for thankfulness to see His Word change lives and ministries. To Him be the praise and the glory.
August 2006 - Church camps in Bénin and Togo
I preached at two Bible camps, at the invitation of the Grace churches in Bohicon, Bénin, and in Atakpamé, Togo.
Just over 300 people attended the Bohicon camp. Several local preachers shared the ministry and it was very encouraging to hear of the full salvation that is in Christ for guilty sinners. Rooted in the Scriptures, the messages challenged the hearers to come to Christ and live Christ-centered lives. The interaction among the campers from several countries reminded me how the Gospel breaks down all barriers.
The camp in Togo lasted only half the week. About 100 people came to hear the Gospel. Atakpamé spreads along a valley in a mountainous area. There are two Grace Churches in the town and they unite in a number of initiatives such as this Bible camp and a live radio programme on Saturday mornings. They cannot finance the broadcast, but one member who is a radio technician operates the station on Friday nights (which nobody wants to do) in exchange to being on the air for one hour at peak time on Saturday.
Both camps had a well-furnished book table and many books were sold, despite economic difficulties in Togo. It is such an encouragement to see the spread of the Gospel message in all circumstances.
December 2006 - Haiti
The Lord opened up the way for me to go to Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. Only an hour and a half from the USA, this little French-speaking country is one of the poorest and most unstable in the world. Kidnappings and murders are daily news. Many Haitians preachers have enrolled on our Preachers’ Correspondence Course.
Communications have been very difficult, with many letters and parcels being lost. Until now, we have not been able to develop proper channels to make books available there. Haiti has been on my heart for a long time, so the opportunity to go and be introduced to contacts was not to be missed.
It seems that we may have found ways to make our books regularly available in Haiti. A number of logistical aspects are still to be worked out, but it is very positive. This will also help us to have more regular interaction with our students there.
I preached in a few churches despite an ever present insecurity and was asked to give a lecture on “Predestination from Romans 9” at a local Bible Institute – quite an experience – for me and for them !
Before going to Haiti, I was in Philadelphia for a convention of Haitian church leaders living in the US. Although I had only a few minutes to present the work, there was a lot of interest. This highlighted the need to make the books available to these people. I came away with a list of about 60 names, and great expectations for this open door.
February 2007 - Central and West African Preachers’ Conferences
The weather was very hot and sultry in Douala, Cameroon, but 17 men attended from Cameroon, Central African Republic and Tchad. Several others had planned to come but could not make it. Julien Naka (Bénin) and Paul N’Goran (Ivory Coast) joined me for the occasion.
The ministry was well received and generated many questions on the part of the students. Each I felt was glad of the opportunity to attend. The men from Central African Republic were especially thankful to be there although it took them from 3 to 4 days each way to come, with many difficulties on the way. A policeman asked one of the men for a document with a technical name. It turned out to be a pregnancy test !
Our friend in Cameroon, Jean Katla, soldiers on in a difficult situation. He continues to go around the main cities to sell the books and preach, but he is getting on in years. We need to find someone to work alongside him, so this is a subject for prayer. We met a young man, André, who could be the person we are looking for. We will be looking at any development in this direction over the next few months and pray that the Lord will prepare his own man for such a ministry.
We then moved on to Bénin for the other Conference and brother Robert Strivens, from England, joined us. About 45 men were present. We were especially blessed with high quality preaching and teaching. The main theme, “The pastor and preacher”, was dealt with from different angles and proved very helpful. Julien spoke on “Preaching – the preparation of the man” ; Paul dealt with “The pastor – who he is and what his charge is”, and Robert looked at “Preaching according to Paul”.
Again, the Conference provided us with the opportunity to share news with the various students and exhort them to faithfulness to the
Word.
Is a door opening in Central African Republic ?
Over the past years, I have had various contacts with men in Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic. The country is gradually coming out of civil strife and, so far, we have not been able to do anything except follow a few students on the Course. I have been wondering whether, through these contacts, the Lord is not showing us a new door of opportunity. Only this week, a pastor in Bangui told us that he has negotiated for our radio programmes to be broadcast by a local station. I am planning to go there sometime in the next few months to “spy out the land”. Please pray that the Lord will make His will clear.
Publication of Study Commentaries in French
I believe that the availability of good Bible commentaries would be a great asset for the French-speaking Church. We have been considering this for some time, and we believe that we should move ahead with the preparation for publication of William Hendriksen’s Commentary on Mark. There is nothing similar on the market, but this presents us with many challenges, both in logistics (a translator would not be able to work on anything else for a whole year) and financially (after all, most of the French-speaking world is in Africa). We need much prayer to find what the will of the Lord is and the best way forward.
So, there is much to be worked out and prayed over. This is the Lord’s work, and I feel very inadequate for it. It is easy to get things wrong. Yet, with such a God as our God, we can move forward confidently, knowing that His will and His purposes of grace will come to pass without failing. What a blessing, what a Saviour !
Jean-Claude Souillot |
