Two days after the Bradford family arrived in France, Pastor John and Sandy Kuert arrived from Evangel Heights Assembly of God in Sarver, Pennsylvania to help us settle and paint the inside of our house here.  Judy Morris of Phoenix, Arizona also came last summer for several weeks to help with our children duringthe move.  On July 7, a team of 21 from Houston and Sweet, Texas helped us unload our household and ministry goods from a 40′ container!

October 2009 saw the arrival of a prayer team from Lakeview Church in Indianapolis, Indiana who spent a week praying for Paris and its people.

In February, a team came helping with children’s ministry came from Maranatha Worship Center in Wichita, Kansas.  Pastor David Wigington of Bloomington, Indiana also did leadership training with our team.

Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri sent a team composed of students and faculty who assisted in flyer distribution, food distribution and helping us to pull off the first public service on March 14, 2010.  We also welcomed a building team from People’s Church in Salem, Oregon who did significant building work for a church in Les Mureaux, France.

River Valley Church in Apple Valley, Minnesota sent a media team also in March to help us develop more tools for our internet presence.  That same weekend, Pastor George and Debbie Flattery of Stone Church near Chicago also came to encourage our team.

May saw the arrival of a team from Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas who helped us reach out to people again through distribution of flyers, partnering with French ministry in food distribution and taking part in numerous activities with small groups in The Bridge.

In June, we welcomed a team of 20 from New Life Assembly of God in Lehigh Acres, Florida who passed out 10000 flyers and 2000 bottles of water all helping to  spread the word about The Bridge.  This group also participated in small groups, food distribution, and helping to finish the sanctuary of a French Assemblies of God church in Les Mureaux, France.

In July, we welcomed a building team of 20 from Calvary Temple of Indianapolis, Indiana.  This group of 18 women and 2 men made amazing progress on the building in Les Mureaux that previous teams had worked on.  After that group left, a team from Northland Christian Assembly in Flagstaff, Arizona, as well as the Darin Poe family of Springfield, Missouri arrived for a week of outreach and partnership with local French initiatives.

The Bradfords and the rest of The Bridge Team cannot thank these groups enough for the way they have pushed The Bridge ahead in so many areas.  This short list (which does not include all the individuals who made trips to Paris in the past year) does not begin to touch on the many ways these groups contributed to making The Bridge, an international church and ministry center in Greater Paris a reality.

The Bridge will continue receiving teams, as we anticipate teams from Wisconsin and Oklahoma in the next year.  We look forward to signing more groups up to be a part of some of what God is doing in France!

The Kuerts have also had a great love for Europe, and for France in particular.  They now have committed to helping The Bridge by developing financial partnerships and raising up short-term teams of all kinds for the work in Paris.  John and Sandy are excited to be the newest part of our growing team and look forward to seeing spiritual renewal and breakthrough that will come through the efforts of The Bridge.

If you are interested in knowing more about The Bridge and how you or your ministry might partner with it, please contact John at john@thebridgeparis.com.  He’s looking forward to meeting you!

Children's ministry was facilitated on this day by a team from Evangel University in the US

On Sunday, 14 March 2010, The Bridge opened in the Hotel Novotel in Rueil-Malmaison, close to Paris’ west side.  74 people were in attendance from 9 different countries.  Those nationalities included Benin, China, Congo, Ghana, India, Ireland, Netherlands,  the UK and the US.

Creative and fun children’s activities, as well as really amazing contemporary worship music were among the highlights of the day.  Robby Bradford started a series that will conclude on Easter Sunday called, “Renew” about the power of God to renew all things in Jesus Christ, rooted in Revelation 21:5.

The Bridge Team, now numbering some 16 adults, is excited about the future after this very first day of ministry open to the public that can only be described as successful.  Robby Bradford comments, “This first day of public worship gatherings gets us rolling toward a very bright future as a church and ministry that can establish a reach to many different people groups living in Paris and its western suburbs.  Many thanks to all who made it possible!”  You can learn more about The Bridge at it’s website.

Recent arrivals Kelly Delp (left) and Katie Bailey (middle), accompanied Jeff Slaughter on the keyboard

Welsh player Nigel Wiggins played with the worship team Sunday

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