23 May 2018
Dear EIC Alumni,
Those of you who have spent time in Paris know of the joy that always comes with Spring. The sun is out, the flowers are blooming, and families are taking their children to the park. We are enjoying beautiful weather and high spirits in this lovely season, as life seems to be springing everywhere.
At EIC, this Spring has brought new life in a different way. On Easter Sunday we celebrated the birth of a new church! The much-anticipated official launch of EIC Ternes debuted to an encouraging start. The room flooded with new visitors and EIC faithful as we celebrated a moment that could only be described as heavenly. So many people have contributed so much to see this birth happen, and it was a time of celebration for all.
Since that first week, we have seen steady growth. We sent a small core group to Ternes from the mother church, and have been excited to see new people reached. Each Sunday since the launch we have had new visitors and the group of regular attendees growing week by week. We have also been pleased with the financial giving at the new church, as they are already beginning to pay for their rental expenses. God has truly blessed us this Spring.
The Easter service in Rueil Malmaison was also a great celebration. We had a bilingual service with our French-speaking sister church EBE, and Emmanuel Gospel Choir participated We had a lovely celebration together as we rejoiced in the privilege of serving a risen Savior!
We once again had another great year in Houlgate for our Men’s Retreat. This year we had the privilege of welcoming Emmanuel Baptist Church from Hoensbroek, The Netherlands. Former EIC member and alumni Gregoire Gaffet is now a member of this church and arranged the combining of the groups. Paul Ho did a wonderful job of organizing, and we welcomed EIC’s Church Planting Missionary, KJ Pugh, as our speaker. He walked us through the powerful book of Romans as we enjoyed the beauty of Normandy.
Our ladies ministry has been booming of late. Under the leadership of Lisa Lorenzo we have had a couple of “Titus 2” events. These meetings include testimonies, teaching, and prayer and always leave our ladies group challenged and encouraged. This has also been a time of training new leaders, as there are transitions that will take place this summer. This has been intentional and smooth, and we are enthusiastic about the future of the ministry.
Another new ministry we are trying to start up is a podcast that we hope will be a resource for international churches. We hope to put out monthly content that will be interview-based. We will focus on topics that concern international churches, and we hope you all will find it interesting. In speaking of the transitions our church is having along side this new podcast, you will be interested to know that the first person interviewed will be our own Lisa Lorenzo. We hope to have it up on iTunes and our website very soon. Stay tuned for more information.
In Christ,
Parker
TRANSITIONS: We are losing several key members this summer. Pray the Lord will send us new people as well as servants from within the church to fill some very large shoes.
NEW PODCAST: We pray it will be a fruitful help for international churches as well as a means to bring us together in a good network.
EUROVENTURE: Please remember our youth group as we approach the Euroventure summer camp. This year we plan on sending a group of 20 participants.
EIC TERNES: Please continue to pray for the new church at Ternes. Pray for unity within the congregation as well as wisdom as the culture of the church is created.
ANNUAL PLANNING DAY: Please pray for our council's upcoming annual planning day. We are adding two new members to replace two who will be leaving this summer.
