Campaign URL Copy * Twitter *0 /tweets/* * Subscribe * Past Issues * RSS * Translate o English o العربية o Afrikaans o беларуская мова o български o català o 中文（简体） o 中文（繁體） o Hrvatski o Česky o Dansk o eesti keel o Nederlands o Suomi o Français o Deutsch o Ελληνική o हिन्दी o Magyar o Gaeilge o Indonesia o íslenska o Italiano o 日本語 o ភាសាខ្មែរ o 한국어 o македонски јазик o بهاس ملايو o Malti o Norsk o Polski o Português o Português - Portugal o Română o Русский o Español o Kiswahili o Svenska o עברית o Lietuvių o latviešu o slovenčina o slovenščina o српски o தமிழ் o ภาษาไทย o Türkçe o Filipino o украї́нська o Tiếng Việt "A Burning Passion for French-Speaking Gospel Movements." Southwood Baptist Church, God surprises in France in a big way for... View this email in your browser October, 2021 /"A burning passion for healthy, Christ-Centered Gospel movements in the French-speaking world... that each person might know."/ *Hey Southwood Baptist Church!!!* God is moving in the French-speaking world. A few days ago Rob... ... dropped Caleb off at the Torchbearer's school in /*Germany*/, met with their international director (Peter Reid), then worked to build relationships with key contacts in /*... Strasbourg*/ (Mark & Lisa DeNeui, Justin Dodson), /*... Paris*/ (Steve Thrall, Noela Lumande Saleh), and /*... Barcelona*/ (Titus & Stephanie Folden), before flying back to /*Montréal*/. /*The movements in the French-speaking world for which we have prayed for so many years are slowly becoming a reality... */ ... and He invites you and I to participate. *1* *CALEB IS HAVING A BLAST AT BIBLE SCHOOL IN GERMANY* Rob dropping Caleb off at the Bodenseehof Bible School (Torchbearers ) in Friedrichshafen, Germany. He his having a blast studying the Bible for six months with 83 other young people from all around the world. *2* *UNEXPECTED INVITATION TO PREACH IN PARIS* Montréal, Paris, and Kinshasa are connected. As Gospel impact grows in Kinshasa, a French-speaking city of 15 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) , the growing wave of French-speaking missionaries and church-planters they send to every part of the French-speaking world grows as well: to Côte-d'Ivoire, France, Belgium, Québec, and elsewhere. One remarkable example is Alain and his wife Alphonsine, a couple sent from a Kinshasa-based church, who caught a vision to reach Québec with the Gospel shortly after their dramatic conversion to Christ. The process was long and arduous, but they finally made it to Montréal. Then, in humility, they joined our rigorous 2-year church-planter training process. Still in the early stages of their church plant, already, */several dozen people have put their faith in Christ. /*They are a model of integrity, humility, prayer, courageous Gospel proclamation, growth in theological precision, and willingness to adapt to cultural differences. Intrigued by the quality of this couple, I wanted to learn more about the Kinshasa-based network that sent them. I reached out to one of their sister churches in Paris and asked if I could meet with the pastor after dropping Caleb off in Germany. My goal was to have coffee together. At that point I knew very little about him, or about the church in Paris. On Thursday, September 23^rd , he responded, and asked if I could preach Sunday, September 26^th . Unbeknownst to me, the pastor had researched my background and even reached out to people in Québec before asking me to preach. I was expecting to have coffee, but ended up preaching instead. This was not my plan. God was up to something. What I discovered was a young megachurch in the Paris suburbs with African roots, experiencing rapid conversion growth, having vibrant spiritual vitality, being deeply influenced by Tim Keller resources as well as ongoing mentoring by French missiologists like Daniel Liechti, and French theologians like Henri Blocher and Émile Nicole, and a desire to reach the French-speaking world. As I interacted with church members, they shared stories of suffering and cancer, repentance, faith, radical sacrifice, and unshakeable joy through every hardship or persecution for His glory. Their joyful faith brings me to tears even as I type these words. God is moving in the French-speaking world, and we are invited to participate. The pastor and I plan on meeting again in Montréal, and Lord-willing, again in France or even Kinshasa (as God allows). Oh God, we are humbled. May we welcome the immigrant and the refugee made in Your image, embracing the intercultural Gospel movements You are sending to and from the ends of the earth! For Your glory, Amen. *3* *Lucie, a French artist transformed by the Gospel* Lucie and I in the art gallery run by AgapeArt in Paris. (Her work is hanging on the wall.) I met Lucie in Oregon three years ago, before she met Christ. She was a French university student taking a few months to experience the U.S. One evening after a presentation, I shared the Gospel with her in French for about 30 minutes. Friends later told me that It was the first time she heard the Gospel in her heart language. A few weeks later, through amazing people like Charlie and Anita Marble, Titus and Stephanie Folden, and others, /*Lucie put her faith in Christ!*/ Today, Lucie is finishing her last year of University in Paris. I met up with her at an incredible ministry called AgapeArts where she is enrolled in an internship in the heart of Paris. She overflows with joy in Christ, passionate to use her gifting to express that Christ-centered joy in the art community of Paris. We never know when a Gospel conversation might lead to a transformed artist proclaiming the Gospel halfway around the world three years later. Thank you God for inviting us along the journey. "Some plant the seed, some water, but God makes it grow" (1 Cor. 3) /I met up with Steve Thrall in Paris. He and his wife Miki have accompanied hundreds of Parisians who put their faith in Christ through the arts. They run an artist residence in Normandy called *La Pommeria* ./ I celebrated my birthday in Barcelona, with Titus and Stephanie Folden , and their three amazing children, before flying back to Montreal. Based in Spain, they bring the Gospel into the most broken places throughout the Spanish-speaking world. *4* *Gospel Advance in Québec and Beyond:* /Our passion is that the Gospel would engage each of the *8 million* inhabitants of Québec, then overflow to the *275 million* global French-speakers. Here is a small part of how God is making this happen:/ *--- WE PLANT CHURCHES : * We are deeply involved with four different church plants, working as teacher, elder, coach, and partner. We dream of self-replicating healthy Christ-centered communities blanketing this Province and beyond. *--- WE TRAIN NEW CHURCH PLANTERS: * In our 5th church-planter cohort, twelve church planters meet for monthly training, coaching, and follow-up. We are on module 10 of 16: Building and leading healthy teams. *--- WE MOBILIZE DISCIPLEMAKERS: * We began our 2nd Simple-Church Training (Zume). COVID put discipleship on steroids. With the absence of large gatherings for so long, networks like #Zume, #NoPlaceLeft , #2414 , and others experienced a dramatic increase in online one-on-one discipleship multiplication. One of my friends experienced several hundred professions of faith which resulting in several hundred new discipleship groups during COVID. This explosion now dominates his time, energy, and prayer life. He rearranged his life and schedule to be able to pray for, train, and multiply the leaders of these new groups. And yet, one on one and small group multiplication is almost impossible to see from the outside. These are not mass-gatherings, evident to outside observers. This happens in living rooms, on Zoom calls, in text groups, in prayer meetups, and on phone calls. Our experience in Québec is more modest. But we just launched our second, French-speaking disciple-making training online. Please pray for the 9 people who are committed to beginning the disciplemaking process, that it would be a liberating, life-changing experience for all involved. *--- WE LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR GOSPEL MOVEMENT...* I'm part of new team is preparing to leverage social media, targeting specific neighborhoods where new churches are starting or existing churches desire to reach out. Preparations are slow, but moving forward. *--- WE MOBILIZE TO COVER OUR CITIES WITH PRAYER: * The Prayer Walk App: I'm part of a small team that is building a social app to mobilize the church to pray for every street, every person. Imagine Strava, but for prayer walking! We are super excited about the progress. Can't wait to show you when it's ready. *5* *Three Quotes to Grow and Share: * *6* *What to Pray / Praise For:* * /*Praise: */Caleb just began Bible School in Germany. He's loving it. * /*Pray: */Rob's father's transition to Quebec, Lord-willing, very soon (We have moved and are finishing work on a house where he will live with us.) * /*Praise: */Rob's doctoral studies with Enoch Wan at Western Seminary are advancing well: " A relational missiological strategy for Quebec and beyond." Almost halfway done!!! * /*Praise: */Martine began her counseling studies this fall, in French. She's excited to learn and grow in her ability to help people find healing in the midst of brokenness. * */Pray/: *October 20th, Church Planter Training. * /*Pray: */Rob needs to travel to the NW to meet with several key people/churches. Please pray that an appropriate window for that trip would open up. Caleb standing in front of the Bodenseehof Bible School in Friedrichschafen, Germany, where he will spend the next six months studying the Bible with 100 other students from all around the world. *7* *One Tough Question to Ponder: * *Together in Christ, Rob & Martine, Caleb & Constance, & Southwood Baptist Church* If this letter was helpful, /*feel free to forward it or the photo quotes */to others. (Forwards and printing are fine. No Social Media... except photo quotes). Or, you can sign up by clicking below Current monthly support needed: $1,900/month MONTHLY NEWSLETTER SIGNUP PRAY GIVE GO *WORLD VENTURE * 20 Inverness Pl E, CO 80112-5622 karch@worldventure.net www.robertkarch.com www.worldventure.com This email was sent to mail@southwoodministries.org /why did I get this?/ unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences Rob & Martine Karch with World Venture · 20 Inverness Pl E · Englewood, CO 80112 · USA Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp