Religion & Spirituality
Blaine and his wife, Olivia, felt a call to missions but thought it would be to French-speaking Africa because they are from South Africa, but felt God directing them to go to France. They knew they were called long before the opportunity arrived. They were so convinced of God's direction that they used the French spelling of both of their kid's names.
After praying for France and the name Grenoble jumped off the map. They started to pray for them long before they were approached by a church in Grenoble to be the pastors.
In France, it is possible to study your postgraduate courses in English. This means they see people from every corner of the globe. Grenoble has just over 50,000 students in the city, of which 7,000 are international.
"We didn't set out specifically to target internationals but we find that's the most effective place in sharing the gospel.
We often say English is not our target group, but English is our strategy." - Blaine
In France, the population is only 1.6% evangelical Christian so most people have not met another Christian before.
Blaine shared one of their strategies to reach foreign-born students is to have meals regularly as a congregation. "They're coming for food, but they're finding love and they finding acceptance. And it really feels like a family, which is really what I think we're supposed to be as the church."
"We have been made richer by the ability to have people from all over the globe as a part of our church."
Blaine talks about the great strategic advantage of having people come into their church for 1-3 years before returning home to spread the gospel in their home country.
Blaine encourages church leaders to "cross the road" to meet and start relationships with those that look and act differently than you. It can be that simple. Asking them where they are from and learning to greet them in their native language and inviting them to share a meal.
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Global Hope India: For over 20 years we have been watching God radically transform thousands of Americans & Indian Nationals through missions. We’ve taken nearly 1,000 Americans on short-term mission trips to India. We work with 12 long-term indigenous church planting partners located in North, South, East, & West mainland India as well as Northeast India. We empower The Church in India to make Christ known through leadership, child, & village development projects. Global Hope India is a federally recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in Morrisville, North Carolina. All gifts are tax-deductible. More about GHI.
Living the Dream Podcast: The Living the Dream podcast is where Church staff and volunteers get comfortable and aligned with the reality that God is moving millions of foreign-born internationals into our communities. We focus on this incredible opportunity God is giving us to change the world! We know how this story ends! Rev 7:9-12 shows us a Church filled with EVERY nation, tribe, & tongue gathered together worshipping Jesus. Welcome to Living the Dream podcast where we help The Church be on earth as it is in heaven. More about Living the Dream Podcast.
Meet Pastor Kevin: Pastor Kevin is Founder and Executive Director of Global Hope India and your host for Living the Dream Podcast. He's a poor kid from rural North Carolina, but get this... He just returned from his 50th trip to India in 20 years. If he doesn’t yet hold the Guinness Book of World Records for the most trips to India then he's got to be close. He's flown over a million miles to 27 different countries. He's taken nearly 1,000 people on mission trips to India. Global Hope India has seen thousands of Indian Nationals and Americans radically transformed by God through missions. The miracle continues! More about Pastor Kevin.
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