A group of sixteen people mainly from the Des Moines, Iowa area recently returned from a ten-day Greater Europe Mission trip to a suburb of Lille, France. The group split into two teams: one that helped the Croix Church with renovations (the building is 120 years old and had not been renovated at all for over 30), and one that concentrated on outreach.

"[Croix Church] is in a city of 21,000 people which has a Muslim population of up to 45 percent," says GEM's Karen Langstraat, who attended the trip. "It's the only Bible-believing church in the city; it has about 35 to 40 believers in the congregation."

It is no surprise that the teams had their hands full. They worked on a four-pronged ministry tactic while in France, comprised of church renovation, prayer walking, tract distribution, and a ministry to university students.

The prayer walks took the outreach team into the city–the only city in France with a majority Muslim population. The tract distribution was done through a French evangelist who has seen a significant amount of fruit in his ministry. Langstraat says tracts are an effective way to reach the French because it gives them the choice to take and read what they want. The team also was part of an open air music festival in which five people asked for Bibles.

The university student ministry was perhaps the most fruitful. The GEM team partnered with believing college students on a university campus to survey students. Many students were willing to take the surveys, and many wanted to keep talking afterward. One university student ran after the GEM team as they left to go home to the States, proclaiming, "You have no idea how much you encouraged us and how much God has used you here in Lille among these students."

Langstraat believes a real breakthrough took place during their trip. One missionary who has been in France for years said he had never seen such interest in talking about God in France. Pray that there would be all the necessary follow up with those who expressed interest through the various venues. Pray for the believers in Lille to stay strong and for God to continue working through university students and missionaries.

"France is really a melting pot of cultures from all over the world," says Langstraat. "So if you reach France, you reach the world."

If you'd like to join in the exciting ministry taking place in France, contact GEM today and join a team. Langstraat says they hope to take a team back next year.

"We are praying in belief that God wants to break through the spiritual darkness in Cologne," says Jason, a GEM missionary in Cologne. "We have a vision to plant 50 new churches in the next five years and see thousands of people trust Christ."

More than 40% of people in Cologne profess Catholicism, although less than 5% attend church regularly. GEM missionaries are hoping to offer worship elements that people from a Catholic background are comfortable and familiar with while infusing the Gospel. Johann and Helga, a Cologne couple, have expressed interest in attending a local GEM missionary church. Many middle-aged Catholics in Cologne are highly-educated, culturally sensitive, and well-to-do, including this particular couple. Join the GEM missionary team as they ask God to move among the large community of people similar to Johann and Helga.

"We feel this couple is really seeking," Jason said. "They've been thinking about coming to our church since we started it in July 2008. We hope they will begin to follow Jesus."

To reach young people in Cologne's vibrant arts and media community, GEM missionaries started a house church that incorporates the arts into worship. One American attendee shares her faith with German friends by meeting them at a café to study the Bible. She begins by asking friends if they are religious.

"When Heather asks this question, amazing doors open," says a fellow GEM missionary. "During one of the girls' meetings at the café, even the waitress expressed interest in what they were doing."

To see spiritual breakthrough in North American hometowns, Jason feels, is a matter of prayer and acting upon opportunities God provides to share His love with people.

"One thing we're going to do here is intentional prayer-walking and spiritual mapping," he says. "We'd like to have short-term teams come and help us with that. I think it could be done in America too – getting out there and asking God what to say to people, looking for people who are open, and engaging them in conversation."

To learn how you could make a difference in Europe or join GEM's work in Cologne, click here.