Missionaries France Robert and Judy Bryan Biography

PRESENT MINISTRY
Robert and Judy arrived in France in September 2004 to begin their ministry of leadership development. Most of their time has been spent assisting the St. Nazaire church and adjusting to French culture. They also have been deliberate about developing friendships with unsaved people. Relationship building is essential to sharing the gospel with the French people.

The Free Will Baptist churches in France are poised for growth and outreach. The congregations in Nantes, St. Sébastien, and St. Nazaire have developed specific plans for outreach and growth. However, success requires local Christians to assume greater leadership roles in the present churches and the outreach churches.

Leadership development has taken on two distinct, but related, forms. One is Génération Leader, a program designed to give local church leaders the skills they need to minister effectively in their assemblies, as well as assist them in establishing new churches. Working with others, the Bryans are developing a program of training that touches four major areas of ministry: biblical knowledge, discipleship, biblical principles of leadership, and evangelism. This training will lay the foundation for growth in the lives of national leaders and for an expanded, stable outreach among the people of France.

The second element of leadership development involves the Leadership Matters Course (LMC), an international training course used among evangelical missions agencies for several years. LMC is expanding into languages other than English. Robert is a member of the committee charged with developing a French version of the program. This will include translation, becoming a certified trainer, and setting up LMC sessions in various French-speaking countries. The first LMC to be offered in France will take place in October 2006, still in the English language. Plans are to offer the first French language LMC in 2008.

CONVERSION
Robert and Judy were both reared in Christian homes. Robert accepted the Lord at age eight in a one-day revival at the First Free Will Baptist Church, Newport News, Va.

Judy was converted at the age of 12 in Coweta, Okla.

EARLY MINISTRY
During college Robert worked in the Department of Foreign Missions, first in shipping and then as editorial assistant on Heartbeat magazine. In 1968 he served for six months as a writer of News for You, a newspaper published by Laubach Literacy, Inc., for new readers.

The Bryans were appointed in April of 1968 and departed for language study in Switzerland in September 1969.

In addition to church-planting and discipleship, the Bryans’ ministry in the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) always included elements of teaching and training. The couple served three terms in the interior of the country in teaching and outreach with several churches. Judy ministered particularly with children and young people. Robert served for 18 months as editor of Champion Magazine, an evangelistic journal distributed in several African countries. In collaboration with other missionaries and church leaders, the Bryans were responsible for developing the materials for a series of seminars on discipleship and evangelism held in local churches throughout the association. They led a youth center at Tanda for three years in tandem with their work to reestablish a church in that town. For a short time they served as dorm parents at International Christian Academy (ICA) where their children later attended.

Their last three terms were spent in the economic capital of the country, Abidjan, a city of over 3.5 million inhabitants. For 12 years Robert was director of the Evangelical Publishing Center (called CPE after the name in French), where his duties included editorial oversight and administration. Judy was responsible for text entry and book layouts on computer. During those years, CPE published over 30 new titles and maintained a list of more than 125 titles that were sold throughout French-speaking Africa.

During their last term, they also worked with the emerging church in Abidjan. From a small number of people meeting monthly, the church grew to nearly 75 people meeting weekly in a rented hall. The Bryans worked with Jerry and Carol Pinkerton in developing and implementing plans for neighborhood outreach groups and training leaders for them. The church has continued to grow since the Bryans returned to the States in 1998. It has called an African pastor, moved to a larger location, and established a daughter church in another section of town.

CHILDREN
The Bryans have two children. Jade Phillips is 26 and lives in Vermont where he is a member of the Army National Guard. Jennifer, 22, lives with her husband, Kelly Wright, just outside Tulsa, Okla.

HOME CHURCH
Bethany FWB Church, Broken Arrow, Okla.