Bible Studies Going Well
February 14, 2024
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Hope this finds you enjoying the Lord’s blessings. This past Sunday, Timo (a young man who started coming with his family when he was in Primary School) gave the message at our church service. He made a public profession of faith and was baptized about a year and a half ago. He has grown by leaps and bounds. Though he is a quiet guy, he has brought many friends.
Timo gave a message based on “A Case for Christ”. He got the word out to his friends, and we had a room full of university-aged young people. One young man who was present has recently left the Watch Tower Society religious group. He has trusted Christ and is excited about serving the Lord.
Our Bible Studies with the former Jehovah’s Witness participant are going well. She and her family desperately need a church with which they can fellowship. This is a great problem here in France. The closest Baptist church that we know of is over an hour drive from this family. They are about a three-hours’ drive from us. It would cost them about $50.00 in toll plus about the same amount in fuel. Judy and I are thankful that we are able to have Bible study with them using the Internet.
A couple of days before our Bible Study in L’Union last week, Blandine (the host) texted inviting us to dinner and indicating she would like to talk to us. We were not able to have dinner together as we had another Bible Study scheduled at this time. However, we did manage to get to her house a bit ahead of time. When asked what she wanted to discuss the answer was, “I want to get baptized.” She has been saved for many years and has had the dream of getting baptized in the Jordan River. She decided that she need to stop dreaming and follow the Lord in baptism. So, it is on the schedule!
There is a lady who comes to one of the Bible studies in Mazere has not made a profession of faith. She is married to a man who is a vocal atheist. Last night at the Bible study she mentioned someone that she wanted to invite to come.
We have been touched by deaths and serious surgeries during the last few days. Our hearts go out to the families touched by these painful circumstances here and in the USA. It reminds us of the necessity of sharing the Good News.
Thank you for your participation in the work God has sent us to do.
John and Judy
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
2 T Impasse de la Picardie
31830 Plaisance du Touch
France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Numerous New Opportunities & Many Answered Prayers
January 17, 2024
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We hope this finds you enjoying the beginning of the new calendar year. Thank you for your faithful support. Things are going well here and God has blessed us with good health.
The Lord has encouraged us during the last few months with numerous new opportunities and many answers to prayers. Here is one example: On the eve of the 29th day of December we received a lengthy text from someone we thought had brushed us off two months earlier. We had been having Bible studies with this individual and then it seemed like they were avoiding us by making excuses about not being able to schedule the next Bible study. My opinion of what had/was happening was totally wrong. We are now back to regular meetings with this lady. She has been through some trying times.
Our weeks are filled with meetings with individuals and groups. Some of these are with people who are seeking but not yet believers. Some are with people who have recently put their faith in God. Making disciples takes time. There are 9 different meetings in 7 different locations with people from 6 different cultures. Most are in person, but some are over internet. Each of these is a different study. Most of these meetings are with Judy and me. Some involve other believers. There are also other encounters that are one-time events that open new doors.
The enabling and wisdom we need come from God. Only God can give eternal life to people. However, just as our Father used many people to prepare us for the work that He has given us, He uses us to give the Good News and prepare other disciples to serve Him in the work He is doing. It is not mass production and simply ticking steps off the chart. Every individual is different and it is not a cookie cutter production. Our example is Jesus. No two encounters between Jesus and those who needed Him described in the Scriptures are the same. He sought the Father’s will and we want to do the same.
Thank you for your prayers and contribution to what God is doing here.
Serving the Savior with you,
Judy and John
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
2 T Impasse de la Picardie
31830 Plaisance du Touch
France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Many Opportunities to Witness Over Meals
December 15, 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We hope this finds you enjoying the New Year. Judy and I are very grateful for the many blessings received from our Heavenly Father during 2023. Among other things, our home and meeting place is now in a new house. More importantly, we have had new young people attending our meetings who show a great interest in spiritual matters and one young lady who trusted the Lord and participates regularly in Sunday worship. She is the only believer in her family.
In my last newsletter I mentioned that we were going to be dining in two different locations later in the week. The meals with friends were a great blessing. The first was in the home of a Swiss couple who are participants in the Bible study group in Mazere. They invited the whole group to their home for a Swiss Fondue. Two ladies who are believers and regular participants in this Bible study are married to men who claim to be atheists. Both of them were at the dinner and much of the conversation revolved around spiritual issues. It was a great witness to these two men.
The second dinner was in the home of our neighbors. They have eaten with us in our home, but it was the first time that we had been invited to eat in their home. When we sat down to eat the lady said, would you pray before we eat. She had liked it when we prayed before the meal at our table. Our evening was great, and the couple was very open with us about their lives. Please pray for them to trust Christ.
One of the ladies in our church who is a chiropractor loves to invite folks to her home for a Thanksgiving meal. Thanksgiving is not a Holiday in France, but most people know about it because they have seen American-made movies that include Thanksgiving meals. Because it is not a Holiday in France, Annaelle holds the Thanksgiving meal on a Sunday and invites the church to come for service at her house and eat some of the desserts. She invites her dinner guests to stay for the service. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet people and share the gospel with them. After the service, one of the ladies who Annaelle has brought to church meetings in the past, told me, “I have a lot of questions (about spiritual matters) I want to ask you.” God is clearly at work in this lady’s life.
May God bless you, your family and your church during the coming year and until Christ return for us,
John and Judy
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
2 T Impasse de la Picardie
31830 Plaisance du Touch
France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Meals: Great Opportunities to Discuss Spiritual Matters
November 17, 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We hope this finds you enjoying blessings from the Lord and filled with gratitude during this Thanksgiving Season. Judy and I are very grateful to our Lord and Savior for all of the gifts we have received from Him.
The English Bible study in Mazere that began a month ago is going quite well. Two new participants were present and involved at the most recent session held the day before yesterday. This Bible study is for people who are interested in improving their English and getting to know the Bible better. The latest additions are an English lady who has lived in France for about twenty years and a French girl who is a senior in High School. The young lady’s mother was at our first Bible study and had returned. There are a total of seven people in this Bible study. The English lady has lived in France for about 20 years with her husband who claims to be an atheist. She certainly does not need to improve her English, but seems to be quite interested in knowing the Bible better.
This week seems to be banquet week. Tuesday evening, we had dinner in the home of the Iranian couple who participate in one of our Bible studies. There were twelve of us from the Bible study present and Sh____ put out quite a spread of traditional Iranian dishes. It is great to see this couple’s great interest in spiritual matters. Tomorrow we are having a Swiss fondue lunch with the members of our French Mazere Bible study in home of one of the couples who are a part of this group. We will have dinner in the evening in the home of our next-door neighbors. They have never attended the Sunday meetings but have indicated that they will do so. Meals are great opportunities for getting better acquainted with people and often lead to conversations about spiritual matters. Following the Lord Jesus’ example in sharing meals is one of the highlights of “making disciples” and we love it!
We also love being on the same team as you! Please continue to pray for us including the activities and contacts mentioned above.
May the blessings from our Father fill your lives,
Judy and John Hatcher
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
2 T Impasse de la Picardie
31830 Plaisance du Touch
France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Two Baptized and a New Bible Study in English
October 16, 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We hope this finds you enjoying the Lord’s blessings. Since I last wrote to you, things have exploded in Israel and Gaza. It isn’t the first time it has happened in our lifetimes or during the last several thousand years. It is good for us to remember that God is on the throne. It is important to put our trust in Him; not in human strength or wisdom. Our present Sunday study is the Book of Isaiah. The present events underscore God’s message to Israel through Isaiah.
Yesterday, the son of the couple that hosts our Bible study in the city to L’Union was baptized. It is delightful to witness his enthusiasm for Christ. It is wonderful to see how God works through His children to bring others to himself.
If you have been praying for our newest Bible study with the couple who left the Watchtower Society, God is answering your prayers. Please continue to pray. The lady is quite interested and seems to have truly placed her faith in Jesus Christ. The husband seems to be more reticent; perhaps fearing that he will fall prey to another religious slavery machine. Upon reading this letter, would you pray for their witness to the wife’s family. They will be visiting them during the next couple of weeks and this family is also controlled by the Watchtower Society.
We have been very encouraged by the participation in our Sunday meetings. One lady who had not come for a long time is now attending. She shows an interest and the desire to continue. Another young lady (in first year of University) who trusted the Lord a few months ago through the influence of a Christian young man she was attracted to in High School attends regularly with great interest. She followed the Lord in baptism a couple of weeks ago. You may remember reading in our letter in late Spring about the many young people who came to Youth meeting through contact with Timo, who trusted the Lord and was baptized last summer. This young lady is one of these young people.
This week we will be beginning a second Bible Study in the city of Mazere. It will be in English to attract individuals who want to improve their English. Some folks that we did not previously know have committed to participate. These are contacts of the hostess who works in the Library and Museum in this City. We will be studying through the Gospel of Mark.
Thanks for participating with us in these endeavors.
Yours fellow servants in Christ,
John and Judy
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
2 T Impasse de la Picardie
31830 Plaisance du Touch
France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Unexpected Gifts from the God Who Never Changes
September 17, 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We are thankful for the many different ways God showers us with blessings. Some can be put in the category of “never changing” and others in the category of “surprise, surprise, surprise”. Don’t you like them both; the reliability of our eternal Father who never changes and the unexpected gifts of His amazing creativity?
About three days ago my phone rang and I was surprised to see the name of a pastor friend on the screen. We had not spoken to each directly by phone in a long time. That was a surprise, but the best was yet to come. He proceeded to tell me that he had been contacted by a couple who had seen his church’s service on the internet. They wanted to get involved in a Bible study. Vincent, the pastor friend, thought that they would profit from a Bible study with us. He knows several people who have grown in the Lord through the Bible studies we lead. He wanted to contact me before putting them in contact with us.
The couple, longtime “Jehovah’s Witnesses”, had recently concluded that the JW religion was not biblical. We got in contact with them and are beginning to have weekly interactive online Bible studies. Our first meeting lasted three hours. Over the years they had begun to have questions about the “Watch Tower Society” and its teachings. When they could not go to the meetings because of COVID, they began searching the Bible on their own and the Holy Spirit certainly used the Word of God to speak to their hearts. They live nearly two hours by car from us. We hope to be able to meet them face to face soon. Your prayers for this couple (S and T) and their two children would be greatly appreciated.
Here is a glimpse at our schedule this week. Sunday: weekly church service; Monday: internet Bible study of Jeremiah; Tuesday: Bible study with believers in the city of Mazere (about 1 ½ hours from our home); Wednesday: meeting to speak English with folks with whom we have been able to share the Gospel; Thursday: Judy and I meet with a disciple for family and spiritual growth counseling; Friday: Bible study with new couple mentioned about; Saturday: Bible study and children’s Bible class in Campagne sur Arize (about 1 ½ from our home); and Youth meeting back in our town. We are delighted for the opportunities the Lord gives us to serve Him and those who serve with us. Above all, we are grateful for the wisdom and strength He gives us to do so.
And, we are very thankful that you are “in the ship with us”!
May God’s richest blessings be evident to each of you,
John and Judy
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
2 T Impasse de la Picardie
31830 Plaisance du Touch
France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
What Does Being a Missionary Entail?
August 9, 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We hope this finds you enjoying your summer. Judy and I walk daily for exercise and to keep our bodies from getting too creaky. It is a joy to talk to the Lord as we walk thanking Him for the beauties of creation He has placed around us. The good health God has given us is a great blessing.
You may wonder from time to time what being a missionary entails. We can not speak for others, but our lives involve people and the Lord. One aspect is keeping our eyes and hearts open to contacts that God brings across our paths. Seeking to display the love of God in actions and words is very important. We look for opportunities to tell about our Savior and what He has done and is doing for us and inviting them to trust Him.
We look for ways to connect regularly with people and seek opportunities to give a word of testimony here and there. A list of these activities would be quite long. One that we have been doing for about a year now is weekly English Conversation with two ladies who are 60 years old. One of them we crossed a few times in our daily walks. One day we began talking when we met and she indicated that she would like to be able to speak in English because her daughter’s future husband was Australian and could not speak French. The other lady was someone we had known for years. We crossed her one day in our walks as she was heading into the community center to sign up for English conversation classes so that she could speak to her only grandson whose father is Malaysian. Since the son-in-law doesn’t speaks French, their family language is English. So, each week we meet for one hour and speak only English. We have talked much about spiritual matters, not just in English, but outside the “hour” in French. We hope and pray that both of these ladies will trust Christ as Savior.
One part of our lives for Christ in France is leading three different groups in different cities to know God better through His Word. These are much like the Bible studies the Apostle Paul had daily in Ephesus when he was thrown out of the synagogue. Two are primarily groups of believers and one is all people who God has stirred to seek Him through their friendship with the hostess who really wants to see them saved.
We do counseling with believers to help them deal with issues in their lives and become God’s light where they are. We have prayer meetings and live Bible studies at a distance using the internet.
God has blessed us more than we can explain. He fills us with hope and encouragement and you are one of the ways through which He does this. May God continue to bless you.
Your sister and brother in Christ,
Judy and John
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
2 T Impasse de la Picardie
31830 Plaisance du Touch
France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Many Visitors, Witnessing to Neighbors & Acquaintances
July 23, 2023
Dear Fellow Laborers,
It just dawned on me that I had not written to you this month. We have been busy with activities related to our move a bit over a month ago. The house in Tournefeuille was our home and center of ministry for nearly 23 years… many years of accumulation. That is the longest that we have lived in any house.
Today we had a great church meeting with several visitors. Last month I mentioned a young man, Timo, who trusted Christ and was baptized last year. Philip had been meeting with him weekly to encourage him in his walk with Christ. A picture of the youth meeting with a number of his friends was included with the letter. This young man is quiet, but friendly. Four of the visitors today were a result of his contact. Two of these were here for the third time. It is interesting how lines cross. Amanda teaches piano to the mother of two of the young men who were here this morning. One son is dating a girl who was recently saved. The boy’s mother told Amanda that the girl felt very at home in our meetings. Another visitor today is Timo’s grandmother.
We ask your prayers for our closest neighbors. God has given us a very good relationship with them. We have had them over for dinner and had the opportunity to speak about spiritual matters a number of times. They have indicated that they will visit one of our Sunday meetings.
Your prayers for our many acquaintances of many years would also be greatly appreciated. This coming Thursday we are to have dinner with a couple that we have known for many years. Their daughter trusted Christ a number of years ago, followed the Lord in baptism and was a faithful participant in our assembly. She is now at a university in the city of Lyon.
Your fellow servants,
Judy and John
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
2 T Impasse de la Picardie
31830 Plaisance du Touch
France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
