Meet the Chereaus, IM Missionaries to France
Appointed to France in 2019, Jonathan and Michelle are working to expand the ministry of the St. Sébastien church located in the greater Nantes area of Brittany. Jonathan was born in Nantes, grew up in Saint Nazaire, and attended Free Will Baptist Church in Saint Nazaire with Jerry and Barbara Gibbs from a young age. Michelle was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador. She moved in 2003 to Madrid, Spain with her family. Since her arrival, she attended Free Will Baptist church in Villalba with Jeff and Susanna Turnbough as her pastors.
They have three children: Zoe, Ainhoa (pronounced « I-know-a » ), and Olivia.
Fun fact: We were born in three different countries: Jonathan and Ainhoa in France, Michelle in Ecuador, and Zoe in Spain.
Why France?
When we moved to France from Spain with Michelle, we were not thinking about ministry, we thought it wasn’t for us. Our plans in 2015 were to find a good job for me and live in the Nantes area, attend a church where we could feel welcomed, and serve there the most we could. I eventually found a job quickly as a waiter and we found an apartment and we also found the Saint Sebastian church where Robert and Judy Bryan were. After some advice from friends, praying, and the need here in France, we felt that God was calling us to serve here in France.
When you look at numbers, you may look at 54% of Christians in France, but it’s less than 1.5% of evangelicals. The rest claim to have a catholic background. When you talk to people in the street, they may say they are catholic but they do not practice it. Several polls estimate that 40% of French people consider themselves atheists, which places France in fourth place in the world on this criterion.
37 Unreached People Groups in France
How they are ministering to people in France
How you can pray for the Chereaus
- Please pray for our members that they feel encouraged in their faith and being the church.
- Pray for Connexion Kidz and the opportunity to meet non-Christians around our city.
- Pray for new contacts we can make to reach people
- Pray for our ministry in France. We seek good ways to be part of the France team and help Free Will Baptist to expand in France.
Jonathan and Michelle Chereau
You can partner with the Chereaus to reach people in France with the Gospel.