Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [April 2015]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
April 7, 2015
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Spring Conference hosted by Thompson Rd. Baptist Church starts 3 weeks from yesterday and we hope to see you there. It has been six years since we last participated in this conference in Lexington, KY. It is not possible for us to be away from Tournefeuille, France for lengthy periods of time, particularly during the school year, without adversely affecting the work here. We will be in the USA for just a few days to celebrate Dad’s 90th birthday and to attend the Spring Missionary Conference.
The main work here in Tournefeuille is going quite well. I am including some pictures taken during the song part of the service Sunday. We have had new visitors and promises from several others to come as well. The Lord has given us a number of good contacts lately and we are grateful for these opportunities to share the Good News.
At Pujaudran, our newest Bible study there have been new folks at each meeting and a great participation. The couple who host this Bible study came here in a job transfer and we met them shortly after they arrived. They were already believers and are great recruiters. Eva, the wife, was born in Malta to Polish parents. She grew up in Australia where she was taken to a Baptist Youth camp by a friend. She trusted the Lord and was baptized in a Baptist church. He grew up in a family of believers and trusted the Lord early in life. Their example underscores the importance of making disciples who are in love with the Lord and ready to communicate that love with others.
In Mazere, things are also going quite well. At our meeting last Wednesday we had two first time participants. Douceline the young lady who hosts this study in her home also has Bible studies with two other ladies at other times during the week. We are very encouraged by what is happening in this town.
There are other Bible studies that we do not lead. Philip and Amanda have a Bible study once a week and Wendy, the single missionary who works with us also hosts a weekly Bible study.
Inductive Bible studies are the primary means that we use to communicate the Gospel to those who do not know Christ. After people trust the Lord, these continue and become the primary means of discipleship. When people do not know God or do not have any knowledge of His word, they must first understand before they can trust. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. A passage which encouraged us to move in this direction is Paul’s experience at Ephesus which led to Gospel being propagated throughout Asia Minor where Paul himself was not able to enter earlier, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 19:9-10)
So, we continue and are thankful daily for your faith support.
Anticipating getting to see you at the Lexington Conference,
John and Judy
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [December 2014]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
December 8, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Thank you for your faithful support and prayers. God is at work here in France and He is using you in the Great Work that He is doing. As you support us, we try to live here as children of the light walking circumspectly.
We were on schedule to start a new Bible study in the city of Pujaudran. This would have been our first Bible study in the department of Gers. Continental France is divided into 94 administrative departments. Each department is about the size of about 8 Kentucky counties. This would be the 3rd department where were have meetings. However, these plans are temporarily on hold. The wife in the couple who were to host these meetings in there home just gave birth 3 and ½ months early. The baby’s situation is touch and go. As you read this, please pray for this young couple, Darren and Eva, and their newborn child.
Youth in France November 2014
The Sunday meetings in Tournefeuille and the various weekday Bible studies are going well and we are encouraged by what we see. Believers are sharing the gospel with people that they know. This is how the kingdom of God works. Our Lord and Saviour uses those that He has redeemed to be light to those who are walking in darkness. This is happening on several fronts and we are delighted with each occurrence.
God has also continued to give us new contacts. This past Friday, Judy and I were able to visit, for the first time, a couple that is a few years older than us. They live less than a ten minute walk from us. We have set a time to meet them in our home this coming Friday. The husband in this couple was born in this town when it was about one tenth of the size it is today. We were introduced to this couple by a lady who just moved away from here after living here for two years. She met them in a laundromat. She is a believer that we met just before she moved out of our city. She is concerned about their spiritual condition. They need Christ. Did you follow this sequence? We are all important components in the ministry of reconciliation.
This contact is just one of several promising opportunities. Some of them have developed after years of friendship and prayer. To encourage us we have many different kinds of examples in the New Testament. The Philippian jailer trusted Christ after just a few hours of a cataclysmic encounter with Paul and Silas. Paul came to Christ after kicking against the goads of God for years.
So, be encouraged. God is at work. You are an eternal component in what He is doing.
Until next month,
John and Judy in France
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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