Missionary Bio:
Mike was reared under the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He heard the Gospel at a summer Bible camp and trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior when he was 12 years old. At age 17, God called him to preach, using Psalm 139:5 and the influence of his pastor and missionary Mike Bardon. As a junior at Baptist Bible College , he went to France on the Missionary Apprenticeship Program. There God spoke to his heart about returning for full-time work.
Elva was raised in a Christian home and came to understand the Gospel early in life. At age 4 she asked her father how to be saved and he led her to Christ. God dealt with her throughout her growing up years, at summer Bible camps, and in her home church, so that as a freshman at Baptist Bible College she yielded her life for missionary service.
The Farrells have been involved in a church planting ministry in France since April, 1982. They spent two years in language school in Paris and another two years of team ministry with Rich and Karyn Visser in La Rochelle . Since 1984 the Farrells have been working in a church-planting effort in Reims , an important city of 200,000 people about 90 miles east of Paris . A building was purchased and renovated in 1998.
The next step is to guide the church toward spiritual maturity and financial stability so that they can soon call their own French pastor. They are meeting regularly with deacons to prepare the church for autonomy and incorporation under French laws. They hope to submit the finished product to the church membership for approval in Sept 2007.
Their ministry involves personal evangelism, tract distribution, individual Bible studies, summer camp work, preaching, teaching Sunday School, children's Bible clubs, and ladies' meetings. The Farrells are both involved in teaching a few week-long modular courses at the French Baptist Bible College each year.
There is a Chinese Bible Group at the church and in the past few years about 100 Chinese university students have been involved. Most are hearing the Gospel for the first time, and a handful have made professions of faith in Christ.
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