Thousand Hills will open their second site in The Hague, Netherlands in spring 2010, bringing the total number of churches owing their origins to the Hilversum, Netherlands-based intenrational church to three.  In September 2007, the church also planted an autonomous church in Almere, Netherlands–New Day International Church.

As Sebastiaan put it,  “The Lord has been speaking to us how we could take the original vision of Hilversum International Christian Center (HICC) to the next level. We have always talked about multiplication, but how could we make this work practically? Soon we discovered that a number of churches around the world have adopted a multi-site vision: one church in multiple locations that has one vision and one leadership team.”

So, CONGRATULATIONS to the entire growing community of Thousand Hills International Church.  May your ambitious name be matched by equally impressive results!

To learn more, you can visit the Thousand Hills website, going live on Sunday, 29 November.

Amber is coming to serve international children in The Bridge.

Amber Glenn, an almost-20-year-old from Noblesville, Indiana, will soon make the move to the western suburbs of Paris to join a growing team of people starting The Bridge, an international church and ministry center which seems to be finding its center in St.-Germain-en-Laye, a western suburb of the French capital.  Amber comes from Calvary Temple of Indianapolis, an exciting and diverse congregation on that city’s east side.

Beyond enjoying outdoor recreation and her job at the public library, Amber is excited about coming to serve in another area of her passion–children.  Amber will be serving the children of The Bridge by assisting regularly in the area of children’s ministry–a clear focus of The Bridge from the start.

Amber hopes to arrive before the end of 2009 and is thrilled to be moving France.  “While I’ve grown up with a number of struggles in my life, I have always been known as ‘the girl who’s always happy’.  I can’t wait to get to France to share with others there the reason for the joy in my life.”

The Bridge now sees nearly 30 people every Sunday morning in its Core Group meetings where a growing group of people are meeting for worship, prayer and teaching in preparation to open The Bridge to the public next spring.  Interested in joining us?  Drop The Bridge an email at info@thebridgeparis.com today!

Gordon & Faye White–newest members of The Bridge Team

Gordon and Faye White are moving to Paris in November 2009 to join a growing number of people who are a part are playing a role in starting The Bridge, an international church and ministry center based in Paris’ western suburbs.  The Whites are no strangers to living abroad.  Aside from living in Switzerland and France where they mastered the French language, Gordon and Faye also spent several years in Togo and Ivory Coast serving in cross-cultural ministry.

Gordon and Faye bring much experience in Christian ministry to The Bridge, as Gordon served as pastor of the Assembly of God in Hamlin, Pennsylvania, near Scranton for 22 years.  Gordon especially has a love for France and the French language, and the Whites consider it the dream of a lifetime to return to France in their retirement.

The Whites appreciate your prayers as they make the transition back to Europe in a little less than a month from today!  The Whites bring the The Bridge Team to 23 in number.

The Wiggins family have been thinking and praying about this move for sometime, as it required making some difficult choices and necessitates learning a new language and culture.  Nonetheless, we are thrilled they are here, as they bring a host of gifts and opportunities for international ministry here in Paris’ western suburbs.

Having first met the Wiggins family in The Netherlands where they moved to be a part of Hilversum International Christian Center, we are excited to see how they will put themselves to work in a totally new context–The Bridge. Aside from having great skills for children’s ministry, worship and all kinds of leadership, Nigel and Esther have a great personal ability to relate to others and find ways of drawing others into the community of believers.

While many other team members for The Bridge are still on their way here, we are enjoying the latest arrivals very much.

The Bridge is an international church and ministry center opening to the public in the western suburbs of Paris in Spring 2010.

The Bridge has achieved legal recognition in France!  We are happy to see this step accomplished, because it now means we will be able to pursue all of the business for The Bridge, including obtaining a building more easily!  We appreciate your prayers as we continue to move ahead.

Our next step is to establish bank accounts, set up the ability to grant tax deductability in France and the US, and find a meeting space for our Core Group meetings!  Core Group meetings will happen on Sunday afternoons and are intended for worship, prayer, children’s ministry, teaching and planning for The Bridge.  Core Group Meetings will begin Sunday, 13 September 2009.  You can write The Bridge for more information about this at info@thebridgeparis.com or reach us by phone at +33.1.74.12.10.49.

To learn more about The Bridge, visit our website at www.thebridgeparis.com!

The Bridge Team now has six adults living in France, and we are expecting more to arrive in the next few months!

Todd and Amanda Tyson arrived with their three children last week in Paris from Indianapolis.  Since arriving, they have been busy searching for housing near the south side of Paris close to the French language school they will attend full-time over the next year.  Todd and Amanda bring a LOT of experience to The Bridge, having worked in medium-sized and large churches in the US for nearly a decade and then they served a significant role of pastoral leadership at Hilversum International Chrisitian Center in The Netherlands.

Beyond learning French during the first year, they’re looking to be a part of the Core Group that will transition into the first congregation of The Bridge on the 14th of March next spring.  Todd will serve The Bridge as its first Executive Pastor and will take a lot of responsibility in developing the church planting focus of The Bridge.

Yours prayers are greatly appreciated as we begin to make contacts and organize the office and other matters here in France and plan to begin meeting with the Core Group in September.

Todd, Amanda, Tessa, Sophia, and Luke Tyson

We have also visited a couple of international churches on the first two Sundays we have been here and have been very occupied getting the house ready for the delivery of our household goods around 1 July.  We have been sleeping on air mattresses and have used the trunks we brought with us as tables.  In addition, we are using lawn furniture in the house on loan from our friends!

We just wanted to communicate here that all is well and that we continue to sense the presence and grace of God in our move, though we have felt the emptiness that is inevitable in this kind of transition.  We encourage you to check out of Contact Page today to see our latest phone number and address changes.  We continue to use an Indianapolis number that rings in our home in France for those of you who would like to call.

Beyond the house settling issues, we have had the privilege to meet with two leaders who have expressed their interested in helping us with teams in the near future and have hosted some 15 people already in our bare household (who were here helping us).  Please pray with us in the coming months that we will begin to meet others who are interested in pushing The Bridge ahead!

The Slaughter’s desire to see worship leaders and team members trained in service to the church. To this end, they founded the Brussels-European Worship Institute in 2002 and co-founded the Rotterdam Worship Institute in 2007. In addition, Jeff is a vocalist with the French worship group EXO, communications consultant with the Fellowship of European International Churches, and both of the Slaughters are on the staff of the international arts organization Creative Arts Europe.

As Worship & Arts Pastor of The Bridge, Jeff will develop worship leaders, instrumental and vocal teams, a worship choir, and musical outreach programs. Kathy, a mixed media artist, will help organize art workshops and artistic outreaches.

The Slaughter’s also have a vision to establish a worship training institute in Paris, a European conference for ministry communicators, and a network for international artists located in Paris.

Originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, Jeff and Kathy have three children:
Kayleigh (21), Justin (18) and Nick (13).

For more information about the Slaughters see: http://chezslaughter.typepad.com/.  The Slaughter’s bring the total number of adults in The Bridge Team to 21 adults.   We thank God for the addition of this talented couple who bring a wealth of experience in European international church ministry.

Paris' majestic Arc de Triomphe.

On Tuesday, 19 May 2009, The Bridge received a sizeable gift from The Assemblies of God churches in Indiana!  Individuals and churches from across the Hoosier state, after hearing about the vision and goals of The Bridge gave an offering of $43,745!

We were overwhelmed and humbled by the generosity and shared passion for reaching the international community of the Continent’s largest city.  We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Indiana District of the Assemblies of God and to two of their leaders, Superintendent Don Gifford and District World Missions Director Dan Pongratz.

With gifts like this, we are becoming increasingly prepared to make a serious effort at establishing a much needed ministry in English for Paris’ estimated 500,000 English-speaking inhabitants.