Living for Christ in France
CMS missionary Karina Brabham works in student ministry with the Groupes Bibliques Universitaires (GBU) in Poitiers. She is walking alongside and equipping students to boldly live out their faith. Here, she shares of one such student, Manue:
“Okay, I’m going to speak my faith also. I want to show that I’m a Christian.“
Grappling with faith
France is a highly secular nation, where evangelical Christians make up less than 2% of the population. For young people who have grown up in the church, it’s easy to feel different from their peers because of their faith. Culture shock often awaits Christian students from French-speaking Africa who move to France for university. As they grapple with how to live out their faith in a society so different from their own, they too can hide the place of the gospel in their lives to blend in.
Most of the young believers I meet through the GBU are figuring out the place of God in their lives. They often lack confidence in Christ and the courage to talk openly about their convictions. But I also have the wonderful privilege of walking beside these students and seeing God at work in their lives.
Meet Manue
One of these students is Manue. She grew up in Côte d’Ivoire, where people most people are either Christian or Muslim. When Manue moved to France, she discovered a culture in which expressing your faith publicly felt taboo. She soon realised there were laws against wearing religious symbols in schools, and noticed she would receive odd looks from her classmates when she talked about how the Bible shaped her morals. Manue doubted what she could or couldn’t do, and so avoided doing anything identifiably ‘Christian’ in public.
Discovering the GBU in Poitiers helped to change that. She explains:
“Being part of the GBU, meeting other students who are also Christians and seeing them on the campus, I said to myself, ‘Okay, I’m going to speak my faith also. I want to show that I’m a Christian.”
God’s work in Manue
It has been a joy to see Manue trying to put this into practice in small ways. She has helped on a GBU stand during the university’s Orientation Week (despite initially saying she didn’t feel confident enough), and joined me in putting up posters on the campus to advertise ‘The Mark Drama’ and was also a part of the cast.
For the past year, we have read the Bible together. As we read Philippians, we were challenged by Paul’s commitment to sharing Christ. Manue realised that she’d fallen into a pattern of censoring herself around her classmates to not talk about God. Changing this habit requires courage, intentionality and plenty of prayer!
Yet, the apostle Paul also reminds us why we shouldn’t be discouraged or overly daunted as we seek to live for Christ. In Philippians 4:13, he boldly declares: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” This verse was a timely reminder to look to God as the source of our strength and confidence.
This academic year, Manue has stepped into the role of student leader for the GBU in Poitiers. When I asked her what I could pray for her, she requested prayer that God would strengthen her and give her wisdom to rely on his power, and not herself. I invite you to pray this too. Not just for Manue, but for other young Christians like her in France, that by looking to God they would find the courage to boldly live out their faith.
PRAY
Join Karina in praying for Manue and other Christian students in France to have confidence in Christ and the courage to share the gospel.
