‘Speeding Up’ the Discipling Work in France
WHEN the question, “What is the present attitude of the French toward religion?” was recently put to some fifty Christian witnesses of Jehovah who cover France from one end to the other, the word that occurred most often in their written answers was “indifference.” There appear to be several reasons for this.
During recent years the standard of living has risen for the majority of the French people. For many, materialism has become their new religion. Also, many of the French are annoyed with the Catholic Church, not for genuinely religious reasons, but because of changes affecting popular customs. Other Catholics, especially among the older generation, are distressed by the more revolutionary changes within the Church, such as the abolition of meatless Fridays, the dropping of “saints,” the discarding of images, changes in the Mass and the clergy’s increasing involvement in politics. Nevertheless, a large number of people in France, particularly in the smaller towns and rural areas, still cling to the Roman Catholic religion for the traditional family rites.
Apart from the great mass of professed Catholics, the French population includes about a million Protestants, several million people who regularly vote Communist, and a large number of atheistic freethinkers, many of whom are teachers.
How do the French belonging to these various religions and schools of thought react to the activity of Jehovah’s witnesses?
For years, Jehovah’s witnesses were regarded in France as an insignificant Protestant sect, this idea being fostered by Catholic priests. But the Protestants here, while very proud of their religion, do little or nothing to spread it. Moreover, in recent years the French Protestants have been increasingly involved in politics. For these reasons, not to speak of the doctrinal differences, the French people realize that Jehovah’s witnesses are not Protestants.
Prejudice against Jehovah’s witnesses is dying harder in the rural areas, but more frequent visits by Witnesses are gradually breaking this down. In addition, a growing number of factories are opening up in rural areas, and the workers from elsewhere who know Jehovah’s witnesses help to inform the local population about us. Finally, with nearly 57,000 active preachers, well over 100,000 people attending our meetings, and a still larger number having studied the Bible with us, fewer and fewer French families have no one among their friends or relatives who is not well acquainted with Jehovah’s witnesses.
On the other hand, the Catholic and Protestant Churches are falling into discredit through their unchristian teachings, practices and stand on many questions.
“WORKING HARD AND EXERTING OURSELVES”
An earnest effort is being made to reach everyone with the good news of God’s kingdom. The May 1969 issue of the French monthly service folder Kingdom Ministry carried a headline saying “Over 5 Million People Need Visiting.” The article explained that 5,376,276 people lived in territory unassigned to any congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses. It appealed for volunteers to preach and make disciples in these areas, first during the summer vacation period, and perhaps later by moving permanently into these fields.
Since then, Kingdom Ministry has regularly published lists of départements (counties), cities and smaller towns where the need for preachers or for elders was particularly great. Hundreds of French Witnesses have responded to the call and have ‘worked hard and exerted themselves’ in these territories. (1 Tim. 4:10) Some families have moved several times, staying long enough to get a congregation started in one town before moving on to another. In addition, between 400 and 600 special pioneer full-time Witnesses have done fine work spreading the good news and doing discipling work in isolated areas.
The French Witnesses spare no efforts in endeavoring to reach the people with their comforting message. Publishers and pioneers from the Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie congregation take an hour’s boat trip out into the Atlantic in order to witness to the inhabitants of the Isle of Yeu. Then they hire bicycles so as to get around to every nook and corner of this island.
In the mountainous regions the congregations use large-scale maps showing every farm and chalet. Thus no house is missed. In the Vosges mountains, in northeastern France, the Witnesses follow telephone lines leading to isolated farms.
Love for their fellowmen has led Jehovah’s witnesses to ‘work hard and exert themselves.’ Thus they have spread the preaching and discipling work into such regions as Brittany, the uplands of Central France and the valleys of the Alps and the Pyrenees.
“A SAVIOR OF ALL SORTS OF MEN”
The apostle Paul states that God “is a Savior of all sorts of men.” (1 Tim. 4:10) Jehovah is certainly saving people of all kinds in France, from factory worker to university professor, and from farmer to biologist, not to speak of medical doctors, prison guards, an ex-woman lawyer, architects, musicians, an ex-professional boxer and people of many other professions.
A young man in the western city of Nantes was an active member of a Catholic political movement. He even took part in a hunger strike in a church in Nantes, but he discovered that at night his fellow strikers were surreptitiously taking food. He eventually came in touch with young men who were Jehovah’s witnesses, studied the Bible, and now is a zealous full-time proclaimer of the good news.
Many other sincere Catholics who were church workers, members of the J.O.C. (Catholic Workers Youth Movement), catechists, and so forth, are at present active Witnesses. Among the French Witnesses today are several ex-nuns, ex-priests and even an ex-monk.
One Witness in the Paris area was a Carmelite nun in France, Egypt, Israel and Lebanon before finding the truth. Another Carmelite nun in the north of France, who had previously had contact with a Witness, asked a Benedictine theologian if it was true that we are (and do not have) a soul and that a fiery hell does not exist. He answered that this was true, but said that the Catholic Church could not change after teaching these dogmas for so many years. He counseled her to do a year’s theology “so as to understand these things.” But she had already “understood,” and she took necessary steps to quit religious orders and the Catholic Church in order to become a baptized follower, not of the Church, but of Jesus Christ.
An Augustinian nun quit after the “mother superior” had twice confiscated her Catholic Bible, had informed her that homosexual practices among nuns were preferable to their risking pregnancy with men, and after discovering that the school expenses for the children she was teaching were dishonestly being “blown up.”
All these were sincere Catholics who thought they were serving God “in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23, Jerusalem Bible) But sooner or later they discovered that their Church had neither God’s spirit nor his truth. Now they have been freed from false religion and are happy to share in the discipling work as true Christians.
‘SPEEDING IT UP’
Living in a world that is increasingly hostile to Bible principles and Christian living, Jehovah’s witnesses recognize the need to ‘gather together all the more as they behold the day drawing near.’ (Heb. 10:24, 25) From Normandy, Brittany and the Atlantic coast in the west, to Alsace, the Jura mountains and the Alps in the east, and from north to south, reports show that congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses have excellent meeting attendance. Many of them have more attending their meetings than they have active Witnesses, and in some cases the attendance reaches two or even three times the number of local Witnesses.
In the summer of 1974, fourteen regional assemblies were held in France, with a total attendance of 79,411, whereas the peak number of active Witnesses is 56,972. In addition, 12,101 Portuguese-speaking Witnesses assembled in Toulouse, southern France.
News reporters are amazed to see the peace, cleanliness and good order among the assembled Witnesses, and they admire the zeal and devotion of the many volunteers. They also express their surprise at seeing so many young people in the audience.
Yes, in France young and old, from all walks of life, are coming to learn that true Christianity is to be found within the congregations of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. Foretelling this ingathering and discipling work among his dedicated people, Jehovah long ago declared: “I myself, Jehovah, shall speed it up in its own time.”—Isa. 60:22.
The work of making disciples is certainly being ‘sped up’ in France. Whereas in 1973 a total of 6,476 persons became dedicated, baptized Witnesses, the total for the 1974 service year reached 8,679. This means that, on an average, one person in France is becoming a baptized disciple every hour, day and night, throughout the year!
And the outlook for further increase is good. The more than 52,000 Witnesses taking part in the disciple-making work each month are conducting over 40,000 weekly Bible studies in French homes. At the Memorial of Christ’s death held on April 7, 1974, there were 110,330 persons who met together in the local Kingdom Halls of Jehovah’s witnesses.
Truly, the Kingdom witness is being given throughout France, in response to Christ’s command to ‘make disciples of people, baptizing them.’—Matt. 28:19, 20.