What countries come to your mind when you think about missions? Unfortunately, for me, I tend to think only about countries that are impoverished or heavily persecuted. I don’t usually think about countries that are similar to America in economic and cultural status. What I fail to realize is that God desires ALL nations to come to Christ, including ones that look like me. My problem is that I separate where I would like to visit from where I would like to minister. For me, Europe is where you go and vacation and all other areas are where you take Jesus. Terrible thinking, isn’t it?
Today’s country is France.
France, like much of the rest of the Europe, has become increasingly secular. The rise of Muslims moving into France has led some to believe that in the near future Mosques will outnumber churches. Even among native French people Christianity, and religion in general, is seen as irrelevant. This poses a tremendous challenge to the Gospel.
Ways to pray:
- According to Operation World, the “drop rate” for missionaries is very high. Pray that missionaries would feel called to go and that God would give them courage to stay in the midst of hard times.
- Occult workers outnumber Christian workers. Pray that God would raise up more Christian workers among the French people.
- Pray that God would open the eyes of the French people to see that Jesus is not simply about following religion, but he is the greatest treasure in the universe.