France
In secular France, Christians work to bring new life to old monastery
MARSEILLE, FRANCE — At the northern edge of this seaside port…
‘A lifetime commitment’
A half-century ago, an American missionary moved to France. He came with the intention of staying — and did.
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Arlin Hendrix is celebrating 50 years as a missionary to France.
Hendrix, 78, and his wife, Judy, moved to Lyon, about 250 miles southeast of Paris, in 1975. They came to teach anyone who’d listen about simple, Bible-based Christianity.
After Judy died of cancer in 1988, Hendrix later married Pamela Whitesell, who has served alongside him ever since.
Faith in France: Read all the stories in the special series
“This feels like a tremendous run and an example of faithfulness in a context that can be really challenging,” said Bob Turner, lead minister for the White Station Church of Christ in Memphis, Tenn., Arlin and Pamela’s sponsoring congregation.
Before going to France, Arlin earned a bachelor’s degree in Bible at Harding University in Searcy, Ark., and a master’s degree in Christian doctrine at Harding School of Theology in Memphis.
The Christian Chronicle talked to Arlin about his half-century of service in France’s third-largest city. Lyon, with a population of about 520,000, encompasses a metro area of 1.8 million.
These highlights from the interview have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity:
Missionaries Arlin and Pamela Hendrix on their terrace in France.
On becoming a Christian
“I grew up in California in a Christian family. I was in a period of rebellion in my teen years. At 17 — at a Bible camp, so I’m very hip on Bible camps — I was baptized.
“That’s when I decided to give up my plans to be a veterinarian and become a missionary.
“I’ll put it this way: When I was converted, I wanted to serve.”
On what has kept him in Lyon so long
“In preparing for mission work, I had Philip Slate as a professor at the grad school. He was my mentor in many ways. And then there was Winfred Wright, who was my French teacher at Harding and had been a missionary in France.
“The two of them both encouraged long-term mission work. Whereas in my studies of mission history in Europe, many times the workers were here for a period of time and then left after five, 10 or 15 years. I just decided that I’d like to plan on making this a lifetime commitment.
“When we were raising support and trying to find a sponsor, people asked us, ‘How long do you plan to stay?’ I said, ‘Well, probably a lifetime, if it’s possible.’ So that’s where we are.”
Ekel Jean teaches a Sunday morning Bible class for the Lyon Church of Christ in 2014.
On his congregation’s fluctuating numbers
“At the Lyon Church of Christ, we’re down. We had several families move recently. And we’ve had a lot of young adults that are students or workers who have moved. So we’re at about 20 right now, whereas in the past we’ve been in attendance up as high as 80.
“We are an international city with over 190,000 students. So we have lots of students, and a number of them have been taught and baptized and returned to their countries.
“And a lot of businesses are trying to move out of Paris into other cities, and they move here. So we get a lot of businesspeople, Christians coming from the States or otherwise, that come here.”
On the difficulty winning souls in secular France
“One of the questions people have asked us over the years is, ‘Why not go to a more fertile field? Why stay in Europe?’ And my response to that is, ‘I think we need to be here for a time when something will change.’
“France is in a crisis right now (with political upheaval at the national level). And our prayers over the years have always been, ‘Father, whatever it takes to turn people to you, may it happen.’
Arlin Hendrix strolls through the ruins of the Amphitheater of the Three Gauls in Lyon.
“I teach the same message here in Lyon that I do on mission trips to Africa or the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe or the French-speaking island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. But the same message gets a much larger response in those countries than here.
“So even though we’re not getting a lot of growth here, there is growth in other places.”
Members of the Lyon Church of Christ fill their plates at an after-church potluck in 2014.
On his desire for a spiritual awakening in France
“That’s a constant prayer. That’s not just us. All the different congregations pray that.
“Of course there’s a lot of immigration. There’s a lot of crossroads of nationalities and races and so forth.
“We pray for the French because a lot of times the people from other countries are more receptive than the French people.”
On welcoming a special guest next summer
“Our granddaughter Judy Johnston, who is a 19-year-old student at Harding, is coming to France as an apprentice missionary next summer. She’s a nursing major, and she’s got a heart for serving, so we’re looking forward to that.
“She’s coming with a campaign group first of all, and then she’ll spend eight to 10 weeks, we hope, working with the congregations in Colmar, Marseille and Lyon and with the Bible camp (at Centre Bonnefoi).
“We just got a message that she’s recruited a young lady to come with her, and they’ll both be in Harding French professor Robert McCready’s group (which makes an annual tour of French-speaking Europe).”
An aerial view of Lyon, France.
On bringing new missionaries to Lyon
“Pamela and I are alone right now, as far as full-time workers, and I’m not getting any younger. We would really like to recruit full-time workers for the congregation.
“We’re looking for a couple or two couples or individuals. We’re looking for Christians who speak French and will make at least a five-year commitment.”
BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. He traveled to France to report this special series. Reach him at [email protected].
