Alive In France

We landed back on French soil four weeks ago, and I was relieved that when I opened our front door, I really did feel that “home sweet home” feeling. We miss our friends, and it was so special to see everyone again, but it’s also becoming increasingly obvious why we are here. You’ll see as you read along.

After three weeks of refuelling our hearts to the brim, we came home and hit the ground running.

It’s taken me a while to muster up the motivation to write because a few weeks ago, I wrote this beautiful update for you, but to my absolute horror, WordPress had not been auto-saving properly and I lost everything! It was one of those awful days when everything goes wrong, the kids are pre-sick and whiny, and my hormones had clearly joined the opposition, so every wrong thing felt exponentially worse.

It took me a day or two to realise that this was “not insignificant,” as they say in France (they do love a double negative) because I was about to leave for a four-day youth camp where God was going to move pretty powerfully. Of course, this would not come without a fight.

But more on that later. There’s lots of other good news to share first so get yourself a cup of coffee and make yourself comfy.

Children’s ministry training

Over the last few months, my co-leader and I have been doing an amazing short course with the Association Évangile et Enfance, or AEE, which is Child Evangelism Fellowship in English. It has equipped us to teach the Bible and share the Good News with children in a simple, fun, and impactful way.

Before this, I often struggled to break down the gospel in simple terms, but I now find myself integrating it naturally into every teaching, and I’ve already seen the impact on our children’s spiritual growth.

The training also equips us to host evangelistic outreach events for children in our own neighbourhoods. I’m super excited about what God is doing through this, and I’m praying about whether to host a little holiday club this summer.

Easter Sunday

We used some AEE material to host a special Easter service for the children in our church. We didn’t have time to open it up to the wider public, but we’re hoping the next event in July will be more of an outreach. Even so, our kids had a wonderful time.

In the weeks leading up to it, we faced some relational challenges within the team, and for a moment it felt uncertain whether everyone would continue. But by God’s grace, there was space for honest conversation, restoration, and renewed unity. By the time Easter came around, there was such a beautiful sense of togetherness among us.

We put on a shadow show telling the story of the crucifixion and resurrection, followed by an egg hunt and a painting craft. One of our team members invited a friend to come with her two boys. I was so encouraged to hear afterwards that she had been deeply touched by the children’s service and was interested in finding out more about Jesus. Hopefully, she’ll come to our next event!

Three children choosing to follow Jesus

A few Sundays ago, I had the privilege of teaching the 5-10 year olds from John 14-17, where Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit. This passage had been allocated to me, but nothing is coincidental with God, and He orchestrated it beautifully.

Following a powerful conversation I’d had with my daughter, which I’ll share in a moment, I felt led to focus the lesson on this truth: the Holy Spirit is a friend who comforts us and helps us walk in the ways of God.

I now always offer an application for both children who don’t yet know Jesus and those who do. As I was doing this, one child put his hand up and said, “I want to know Jesus.” Then two others said, “Me too.”

It took me completely by surprise. One of them, in particular, I was pretty sure already knew Jesus, but who knows what is going on in their little hearts!? We prayed a prayer of salvation together, and then I shared my daughter’s testimony to help illustrate the lesson.

This became especially powerful for one younger boy who had been reluctant to come to church and had been struggling with big outbursts of anger. We had recently moved him up one group, and that day he was the one who initiated a first step towards Jesus.

After class, the other children went out to play, but he stayed behind. We talked about how the Holy Spirit could help him with his emotions, and we prayed together. He was so receptive and genuine. I am in awe

Ministering with my daughter

What made this Sunday particularly special was being able to minister alongside my own six-year-old. Her testimony became a key part of the lesson, because I thought the children would be especially encouraged to hear another child’s experience of the Holy Spirit.

At first, she was reluctant to speak, so I did most of the talking for her. But then she warmed up and chimed in for the important parts.

The experience had happened just a few nights earlier, after we got back from our trip. At bedtime, she chose to read the nativity story, which led to a conversation about angels. She described, in detail, an angel she says she saw in our old flat last year. It wasn’t the first time she had mentioned it, but I’ve never really known what to do with that information.

This time, I encouraged her to ask God what the angel represented, or what it had brought to her in that moment. After a little while of silent prayer, she said it was there for “praise and peace.”

She then began talking about her very painful first day of school in France, when she was humiliated for crying. I shared with her about my own difficult first day at my Franco-Swiss school, and how I wasn’t able to receive Jesus’ comfort in it until years later, as an adult. I told her it could be different for her, and encouraged her to ask Jesus where He had been in that moment.

After a while, she came back and said God told her, “I was there, closer than a cuddle.”

This is so moving. Praise God that our children can access His closeness, even in suffering, from such a young age.

Youth camp

You know that feeling of “aliveness” you get when your gifting, calling, and passion all come together? Lucky are those who get to experience that in their work. I know Andrew feels it when he writes scripts. I feel it when I minister to teenagers. It’s my absolute favourite.

Some of you will know how much I loved my old job in South Africa, working with a group of teenagers in a children’s home, and how I had the privilege of seeing some of the girls come to follow Christ.

Here in France, I’ve mostly been working with children under 10, but over the last few months I’ve started teaching our tweens. Then, two weekends ago, I had the privilege of accompanying our 11-18 year olds to a camp with 50 young people from our sister churches across the country.

It was amazing on so many levels. We played huge organised games, shared meals, got to know each other, sat under gifted teaching, had wonderful worship sessions, and experienced God’s powerful, loving presence.

Us adults got very little sleep, but working with such a dynamic group of youth ministers from all ages and backgrounds was incredibly invigorating. And yasis, did I laugh. I don’t know if it was the camp vibe or this particular group of people, but it was the first time in our two years in France that I experienced the kind of banter and laughter I get with our friends back home. (Don’t worry Howie, you haven’t been replaced. You’re still the funniest person ever). But it really was food to my soul.

And apparently, for the teenagers too. We’ve heard from them and their parents that they were encouraged in their relationship with God, loved deepening their friendships, and had a lot of fun. I witnessed friends and siblings crying in each other’s arms as God touched their hearts and knit them together. We also had the privilege of praying and prophesying over many of them. Praise God. All in all, it was just amazing.

And lucky me, I’ve now been offered the opportunity to be a youth minister this summer at Newday Festival, one of the largest Christian events in the UK, with thousands of teens from across Europe attending. I’ll be accompanying our French youth for a week, so please pray for us (and for Andrew – without whom I cannot do any of this – who will be holding the fort back home)!

Could it be the rumbling of a revival…or an awakening at the very least?

I’ve been so encouraged lately by what I’ve been witnessing and hearing. Here are just a few glimpses.

Some peers from my AEE course shared recently that they hosted a holiday outreach camp in their home last summer. Two boys from their neighbourhood loved it so much that they begged their mums to start taking them to church. Since then, the mums have come to know Jesus and now regularly come to church with the boys and their siblings!

Another friend of mine has been praying for her husband for over a decade. She and her children have been coming to church, but family life has been hard, and this eventually led to a separation. Then, surprisingly, during a season where it felt like there was no hope left, her husband started showing interest in her faith. A few weeks ago, he decided to visit a church with her and was really moved. He has since given his life to Jesus and has been coming to our church and homegroup!

This same friend has also found many doors opening in conversations with colleagues, and one was even so happy to receive a Bible.

The teenagers from Geneva were also telling me about a troubled friend of theirs who came to know Christ in the last month. Since then, she has radically changed her lifestyle and become very open about her faith. These same teens, who are only 17 and 18, have each started a Bible study in their respective high schools, and so far it has been pretty positive!

These stories are particularly encouraging because France is often spoken of as a spiritually dry place. And in many ways, that has been true for decades. But it really feels like something is shifting.

In 2025, the Roman Catholic Church recorded more than 10,300 adult baptisms, and this April it reported more than 20,000 adult and teen baptisms over Easter, something unseen in the last two decades. Whether this leads to true discipleship, I am not one to say, but it does point to a growing interest in the Christian faith among Gen Z.

Publishing houses in France have even coined the term “le boom biblique” to describe a 20% increase in Bible purchases across the country over the last year.

This is all such incredible news.

France needs missional support

God is clearly moving in France, but the need for discipleship and spiritual support is still enormous.

France has a population of over 66 million people, yet very few missionaries have devoted themselves full-time to ministry here. Many pastors also carry part-time or full-time jobs alongside their church responsibilities, which inevitably limits their capacity to disciple, support, and strengthen their congregations.

The need among children is just as great. There are over 11 million children in France, and no more than 15 workers serving through the AEE. Many churches are asking for training, outreach support, and evangelism events, but there simply isn’t enough manpower to meet the demand.

Over the last year, this verse has come to my mind again and again:

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Matthew 9:37-38

There is often an impression that, unlike Africa or Asia, Europe does not need full-time missionaries. This is a great misunderstanding. More than ever, Europe needs men and women willing to dedicate themselves fully to sharing the love and good news of Jesus Christ.

You can read a bit more about their journey on my GIVING page. Andrew and I are so grateful that we want for nothing, and that I’m able to give a lot of my time to the wok of ministry freely. But the De Melo family depend on support to continue their work, often giving hundreds of hours, including most of their weekends for the gospel. I can personally testify to how remarkable they are and how much they bless this region. Through their training, they have equipped people like me to share the good news with children in France with love, wisdom, and conviction.

Please pray that God would send more workers into the harvest field, and please consider supporting this faithful couple, whether as a once-off gift or through regular support by clicking HERE. (Hopefully, your browser will automatically translate the page for you).

On that note, I’ll leave you with our prayer request checklist. As always, we’re so grateful that you even read this newsletter, let alone support us in heart and spirit.

Much love,
The Phillipses

Prayer Request Check-list:

[ ] Protection over our marriage, our family, our minds, and hearts (the more ministry I am doing, the more I can feel spiritual opposition).
[ ] Greater evangelism opportunity and salvations amongst children in our neighborhood. The next event is an end of year children’s party hosted by our church on the 28th of July. I’ll be sharing a bible story and the gospel and I’ve encouraged parents to invite friends.
[ ] Unity and friendship to grow within our ministry team and homegroup.
[ ] The little boy with lots of anger who came to Jesus in my class.
[ ] Our daughter and son: for continued encounters with God and the boldness to testify at a young age.
[ ] The European youth and our trip to Newday Festival.
[ ] My friend’s husband and colleagues, and the family that came to the Easter service.
[ ] Paola and Edson de Melo and the work of the AEE in France.
[ ] And, Pourquoi pas? If you have faith for it, full-blown revival!

Amen.