First Baptist Atlanta, Construction Mission trip to Mercury, France; April 6-15 : March 2019

Ministry Update from Paul & Karan Davis: We moved to Pontcharra in July 2010 to help the handful of believers (three couples and two adults with non-believing spouses) start the first evangelical church in Pontcharra, the hub city for a valley of 80,000 people with no other Bible-teaching church.

We have seen amazing things during our 8 years of ministry in Pontcharra. The city officials who had opposed our presence now see us favourably and include us in city activities. The small group of believers has continually grown numerically and spiritually. French leadership is now in place for all church ministries. We were able to purchase a wonderful facility at a very good price, ideally located in the center of the city and more than suitable for our present and future needs. In partnership with the Geneva Bible Institute, we are training an intern (Michael), who is ideally gifted and experienced to take over the leadership of the church.

We are now planning our transition to a new place and ministry. We are building a house in the town of Mercury, a suburb of Albertville, host city of the 1992 Winter Olympics and hub city for four valleys in the French Alps. The major construction is now finished, leaving the rest to be done by summer 2019 when we plan to move to the house. We are very grateful for the team that will be coming from FBA to help us get the house ready for our move next summer.

From summer 2019 to summer 2020, we will still be officially in charge of the Pontcharra Church, commuting from Mercury and giving more and more space to Michael and the local leadership team. In summer 2020, we will turn over the leadership to this team and become a part of the church in Albertville. We will then focus on mentoring and coaching French pastors in starting new churches in cities in the French Alps and beyond that still do not have any Gospel witness.

Saturday, March 30, 2019

We are one week from departure and all is on schedule. We are giving thanks that our team financial goals have been met! Please continue to lift our team members and families in prayer as God brings us to mind. Also pray for our Faith Promise Missionaries, Paul & Karan Davis as they prepare for our time with them!