Welcome to the latest installment of Harris in Paris!

We are happy to report that we have outlasted the Parisian winter. The sun, like the pleats in Brad’s pants, has made a comeback, and the city is buzzing with life (and tourists). We’ve made some big strides towards our ministry goals here this quarter, and by God’s grace our church continues to grow in both numbers and fellowship. We’ve got some great updates to share, and one Big Official Ministry Announcement to make, so let’s jump in!

This spring, we’ve truly begun to feel like we have our bearings and are hitting our stride with the work we came to do. Britt has been busy hosting church events of all types, headlined by a poignant Ash Wednesday service and a Good Friday Tenebrae service. She has also begun “infiltrating” the mom groups at the boys’ schools, and in doing so hosted roughly two dozen toddlers for a blowout Valentine’s Day Dance Party Bash at our home. The French laws governing apartment leases make it virtually impossible to evict a tenant, and we are taking full advantage.

Brad has taken over (started?) the A/V department for EIC Rive Gauche, and our Sunday services now feature song lyrics, scripture, and announcements, etc on the cafe’s flatscreens. Brad was also recently accepted into a real estate cohort with a group called Manas Ventures, a unique, US-based organization that assists global churches in acquiring real estate. In the cohort, Brad is being coached by industry experts on how to source, valuate, package for investment proposal, and raise capital around real estate deals that simultaneously provide a permanent home for the church as well as a monetary return to investors. As far as we can tell, this group is one of a kind in the world in terms of their strategies and what they are accomplishing, so we are grateful to have been invited to be a part of it, and very excited about the potential it offers our church.

Further down the calendar, Brad is spearheading a joint Worship Night event here in Paris later this month, headlined by the talented Will Carlisle flying in from Armour Yards, and including church congregations from all around the city, as well as a missions team in town from Christ Covenant. We’ve rented out a 19th century (Parisian new construction) Baptist Church in the heart of Paris, and we couldn’t be more excited about this night!

Lastly, Brad is now slated to deliver his first sermon at Rive Gauche this summer (yes, you read that correctly). Pray for our congregation.

Mom & Dad’s work aside, probably the coolest development of this spring has been watching Carter come into his own as a missionary. Y’all, our 15 year old now has a crew of 4-5 of his school buddies that are coming to church with us every Sunday! As you may recall, our church meets at 3:30 pm here. So, every week, Britt fixes a proper Southern “Sunday dinner” in the early afternoon, and we host any and all of Carter’s friends who want to be there. Then we all hop on the Metro and head to worship.

These are kids from all sorts of countries and religious backgrounds, and they are interested enough (or hungry enough - we’ll take that at this point), to spend their Sunday afternoon at a church in a French cafe. Carter, together with our pastor, John Hugh, is also working on setting up a regular Bible study with this crew.

We couldn’t be more proud of him and how this reflects his leadership and influence among his peers!

The Easter Bunny, as it turns out, is a species that is not native to France. Here, the church bells sprout wings and fly to the Vatican to be blessed by the Pope (of course), then return with chocolate eggs which must be hunted.

Paschal procedural matters notwithstanding, our church - which has no bells and is not blessed by the Pope - had 120 people show up on Easter Sunday, a new record for EIC Rive Gauche by a significant margin!

We understand this number may not sound impressive to those of you reading this in the Southeastern US, but 120 is pushing mega-church territory for an “eglise protestante” in the heart of Paris, especially a startup that just celebrated its 3rd birthday. We are thrilled and energized to see how God is continuing to bless this church!

With all of these incredible things in motion, we arrive at our Big Official Ministry Announcement, which is….

We have made the decision to remain in Paris for year two!

As we conveyed to many of you prior to leaving Atlanta last summer, we anticipated that this mission would likely necessitate a two-year endeavor. Our pastors in Paris and other experienced missionaries advised us that given the time it takes to acclimate and the pace of business and ministry here in France, one year likely just wouldn’t give us enough runway. We knew they were correct, but before committing past 12 months, we wanted to 1) ensure that our kids and family and our marriage adjusted well, 2) confirm that our receiving church in Paris was gospel-aligned, and 3) be certain that we were making an impact worthy of the resources that are facilitating our work. After nine months in the field, we’re happy to report that we can answer all of these in the affirmative.

Further, we dare say we have even developed a love for the people here. Ok… at the very least we’ve come to an understanding.

We have had our fun with the French in this newsletter. We’ve made light of their work ethic, slighted their military, questioned their hygiene, and marveled at their tobacco consumption. Their “education system” remains a mystery to us.

But we feel convicted to write that we have also found them to be a people that is thoughtful, hospitable, family-oriented, witty, interesting, and even friendly (at times). We were well aware of the stereotypes, and were told point-blank that we should never expect to make friends quickly or have relationships with neighbors. Our experience has completely subverted these expectations.

We have a landlord who is literally a Count, sits on several French boards & has a myriad of business interests, and is seemingly known by everyone in Paris, but somehow finds time to call and check in if he’s heard one of our kids has been sick.

We have Miss Nagat downstairs, who doesn’t speak a lick of English and sounds like she’s been ripping Marlboros since she was twelve (because she has), but knows what time our boys get home from school and often greets them at the door of the building with a plate of made-from-scratch crepes. And of course, we have countless French relationships at our church with some amazing individuals .

In short, we feel God’s hand on us here and have watched Him pave the way for our ministry over and over, and we cannot wait to see what the next year will bring!

We’ll close this update with the letter below to all of you from our pastor, John Hugh Tate. As always, we are extremely grateful for your prayers, your check-ins and your encouragement - our ministry quite literally could not function without them! We are so blessed to have you in our lives.

With Joy & Gratitude,

Brad & Britt

Follow along, send us a note, and give support at www.HarrisInParis.org

From The Desk Of Our Pastor

Dear Forsling supporters,

First off, thank you all. Thank you for supporting Brad, Britt, and the boys in their ministry in Paris and at EIC Rive Gauche. It’s been an honor to serve as their pastor and help them get acclimated to life here. They have folded in in a fantastic way. Moving to Paris with a family of 5 is no easy feat. We know, having 3 boys as well and arriving 5 years ago. There is language, logistics, kids’ schools, and French culture, surrounded by many unbelievers, who may not even believe God exists. Yet Brad and Britt have handled it with aplomb. They have been their winsome, curious selves to engage their neighbors, friends from school, and others with the love of Christ. Even more they have contributed greatly to the life of this new church. They have hosted church events regularly in the apartment God provided for them. Britt is ministering to ladies, helping with children, while Brad has grown in leadership. He’s in an elder pipeline group our church started, redone our church worship media, helping to lead the Christ Covenant team here in May (along with the Night of Worship we have planned) and continues to help me brainstorm about property and church plans for the future. More so, I count him as a trusted friend. We have enjoyed their family and only want to see them flourish in Paris. Please know they are making a significant contribution in the life of this church. I would ask you all to continue your support, and even more - let others know what they are doing and help them while here. We are for them, and thankful they are staying. So now - we would love to see you here and visit as well! All of you are always welcome at EIC Rive Gauche. Thank you again and hope to see you soon!

In Christ,

John Hugh Tate

Founding Pastor, EIC Rive Gauche