The Baptist World Alliance convened the fourth “Jesus Christ, Bread of Life” Mission and Evangelism Training Conference aimed at Francophone Baptists in French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St. Martin, in the Caribbean. It completed the program of evangelism conferences for French-speaking countries in Africa, Europe, Haiti and the rest of the Caribbean.
The events were from June 19-22 in Fort-de-France, Martinique; and June 22-26 in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe. Both Martinique and Guadeloupe, Southeastern Caribbean islands, are overseas departments and are among the 18 regions of France.
Some 420 participants attended the meetings in Martinique, with a daily average attendance of about 140. Another 321 participants were in Guadeloupe, with about 107 on a daily basis.
“I am a pastor. I was feeling depressed. When I heard of the Bread of Life Conference, God told me he was behind the idea. I thank our team for coming here,” one participant in Martinique said. “It is harvest time here, and God sent you to wake us up,” another said. “We should organize a great evangelistic crusade for Martinique.”
“God brought you here and God was already working with us,” a Guadeloupe attendee said. “From now on, it will be difficult for us to do less [than] what we have done. We have to speak with one voice, coming together to present one evangelical voice.”
“Praise God, you came here to encourage us,” another exclaimed. “We have been waiting a long time for this. We did not know how to do it, now it has come to us,” said yet another. “Let’s evangelize to turn the entire Guadeloupe to Christ.”
Presenters included Lionel Charles, educator, writer and a pastor in the Evangelical Church in France; and Renaud Dumont, a founder of the Federation of the Guadeloupe Baptist Churches, a former host and producer of a Baptist radio broadcast covering Guadeloupe and Martinique, and founder and senior pastor of First French-Speaking Haitian Baptist Church in New Hampshire in the United States.
Everton Jackson, BWA regional secretary for the Caribbean and executive secretary/treasurer of the Caribbean Baptist Fellowship, made a presentation in absentia.
Fausto Vasconcelos, director of the BWA division of Mission, Evangelism and Theological Reflection, coordinated and attended the event.
Baptist World Alliance®
©July 1, 2016