February 2008
Dear Friends,
The cover story on the latest Nuance, the official publication of the Evangelical Reformed Church in France, should be of great interest for supporters of the Seminary in Aix. The story’s title says it well: St-Quentin-en- Yvelines: Église nouvelle pour ville nouvelle!
St-Quentin is a growing suburb of Paris. Although some inhabitants are commuters, most live and work right there. The town has excellent schools and cultural activities. Twenty years ago a group of dedicated church planters, including our friend Len Stewart, studied the demographic trends and concluded that the real population growth was in these hamlets, neighboring the large cities. They took note of the Renault car company’s plan to locate their technology center there, alongside many other new French enterprises.
Sure enough, between January, 1990, the date of their first worship service, and today, there has been significant growth in the town and in the church. Much of the early development in the church can be credited to the work of Gérard Bos, the dynamic pioneer who tirelessly preached the gospel and gathered leaders around him. Where did he train? Aix-en-Provence. As did his successors, Yannick Imbert, an interim, and Marc Toureille, the current pastor.
The success of this church has not been achieved without bumps along the way. But today, they are a thriving community. Their strengths include, preaching, pastoral care, outreach to the surrounding population, foreign missions, and evangelism. Please pray that the Seminary in Aix continue to produce strong leaders capable of planting and developing new churches in 2008 and beyond.
Very Truly Yours,
William Edgar, President