Our Testimony
Jean-Louis VanMeris
I was born in Lille, France in 1955 in a family of non practicing Roman Catholic blue collar textile factory workers. As a little boy I was a Roman Catholic, my mother sent me to mass on Sunday. When I was 4, she received the visit of a couple of Evangelical Free British missionaries who later (in the late 90’s) told me they led her to the Lord and baptized her. She attended their church services a year ; I still remember the fact that she took me along with her. Then she became seriously sick with cancer and died in 1965. I was 10. My dad went South and I was placed in a Catholic orphanage because some of my relatives had plans for me to later become a priest. From age 14 to 17 I lived with my dad in Southern France where one of his aunts convinced me to attend to the Jehovah’s Witnesses kingdom hall, this lasted 3 years, but I always had doubts about their doctrine, the Bible was in my hands but I could not clearly understand it because the J.W’s told me to study their doctrinal books instead of the Bible itself. At 17, I made the decision to join the French Navy. After basic training I was stationed in the the navy base of Toulon, and after a few days, I was contacted by two Independent Baptist missionaries who had a Servicemen Christian Center downtown. They encouraged me to attend their Bible studies and they led me to the Lord. I got saved June 15th 1973, age 18, after reading the text of John 3 :3, « except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. » In 1977 the Lord called me to serve Him as a preacher. I left my military career to follow Jesus. I attended the Emmanuel Bible Institute in Toulon, graduated their 3 years pastor’s program in 1980. I worked under an American missionary in Albertville until 1982. Came to the States looking for financial support. I met my wife Diane in 1983 in Pensacola, Florida, we got married the same year, we attended Victory Bible Baptist Church in Pensacola. I still felt the call to preach the Gospel in France. Our pastor, Bob Reierson told us to go to Baptist Bible College for missionary training. We entered that school in January 1986 and I graduated in May 1988. We reintegrated our home Church in Pensacola to become independent Baptist missionaries to France through our local Church from 1988 to 2004, in September 2004 we were approved BBFI missionaries, we did some more deputation and we are now back in Northern France since 2009, in the Armentières area near the city of Lille where I was born. Our goal is to plant a French Baptist Church there. The task is very hard due to the general state of unbelief of the local population, but nothing is impossible to God.
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel (in my case it is for the French people) is that they might be saved.” (Rom. 10 : 1).
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Diane VanMeris
I was born into a Christian family and was the first of seven children. My Grandfather Burnham was a Southern Baptist preacher. My parents made sure we were raised in church. I was nine years old when I made a profession of faith, and was baptized into the church (Baptist Tabernacle, in Pensacola Florida). I went to youth camps during the summer, went to youth meetings , played the piano, taught Sunday School and led children to the Lord. I did all of this because I was taught that being a Christian is one who gives his life to the Lord for His service. I still had one major part of being a Christian missing.
I went to college to become a nurse, and working different shifts made me miss church. I could go but ended up falling asleep — it was not the preacher’s fault. I was as faithful as possible. God sent a missionary to our church and he needed a place to stay. He was from France, and had the call to return to France to start churches , by reaching his people. I was seeing him every evening for supper. He asked me to marry him in April, 1983. We never really dated, but I said yes. We were married September 30, 1983 and have been together ever since.
Our first month of marriage had passed, and our home church was presenting a film for the youth. We went and during the film it showed two people working in a field — one taken, and the other one left. God used that film to open my heart. I fought it for a week, and I was so miserable. I did not know what to do. I finally confided to my husband what was going on. He just looked at me and said, “You know what you need to do .” I realized the profession of faith I made years ago was not in my heart, but in my head. I had never repented of my sins. I got down on my knees beside my bed with my husband and prayed. I got up a new person. The hardest part was telling everyone, because I had been living a lie all those years. I felt like I was busting at the seams to tell everyone the great news. You know they greeted me with open arms. I was baptized into Victory Bible Baptist Church, Pensacola Florida.
Jean-Louis and I went to Baptist Bible College 1986 – 1988. We went directly on deputation, spent three years on the road, and came to France on November 4, 1991. We were approved as BBFI missionaries in September 2004.
I was born in Lille, France in 1955 in a family of non practicing Roman Catholic blue collar textile factory workers. As a little boy I was a Roman Catholic, my mother sent me to mass on Sunday. When I was 4, she received the visit of a couple of Evangelical Free British missionaries who later (in the late 90’s) told me they led her to the Lord and baptized her. She attended their church services a year ; I still remember the fact that she took me along with her. Then she became seriously sick with cancer and died in 1965. I was 10. My dad went South and I was placed in a Catholic orphanage because some of my relatives had plans for me to later become a priest. From age 14 to 17 I lived with my dad in Southern France where one of his aunts convinced me to attend to the Jehovah’s Witnesses kingdom hall, this lasted 3 years, but I always had doubts about their doctrine, the Bible was in my hands but I could not clearly understand it because the J.W’s told me to study their doctrinal books instead of the Bible itself. At 17, I made the decision to join the French Navy. After basic training I was stationed in the the navy base of Toulon, and after a few days, I was contacted by two Independent Baptist missionaries who had a Servicemen Christian Center downtown. They encouraged me to attend their Bible studies and they led me to the Lord. I got saved June 15th 1973, age 18, after reading the text of John 3 :3, « except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. » In 1977 the Lord called me to serve Him as a preacher. I left my military career to follow Jesus. I attended the Emmanuel Bible Institute in Toulon, graduated their 3 years pastor’s program in 1980. I worked under an American missionary in Albertville until 1982. Came to the States looking for financial support. I met my wife Diane in 1983 in Pensacola, Florida, we got married the same year, we attended Victory Bible Baptist Church in Pensacola. I still felt the call to preach the Gospel in France. Our pastor, Bob Reierson told us to go to Baptist Bible College for missionary training. We entered that school in January 1986 and I graduated in May 1988. We reintegrated our home Church in Pensacola to become independent Baptist missionaries to France through our local Church from 1988 to 2004, in September 2004 we were approved BBFI missionaries, we did some more deputation and we are now back in Northern France since 2009, in the Armentières area near the city of Lille where I was born. Our goal is to plant a French Baptist Church there. The task is very hard due to the general state of unbelief of the local population, but nothing is impossible to God.
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel (in my case it is for the French people) is that they might be saved.” (Rom. 10 : 1).
______________________________________
Diane VanMeris
I was born into a Christian family and was the first of seven children. My Grandfather Burnham was a Southern Baptist preacher. My parents made sure we were raised in church. I was nine years old when I made a profession of faith, and was baptized into the church (Baptist Tabernacle, in Pensacola Florida). I went to youth camps during the summer, went to youth meetings , played the piano, taught Sunday School and led children to the Lord. I did all of this because I was taught that being a Christian is one who gives his life to the Lord for His service. I still had one major part of being a Christian missing.
I went to college to become a nurse, and working different shifts made me miss church. I could go but ended up falling asleep — it was not the preacher’s fault. I was as faithful as possible. God sent a missionary to our church and he needed a place to stay. He was from France, and had the call to return to France to start churches , by reaching his people. I was seeing him every evening for supper. He asked me to marry him in April, 1983. We never really dated, but I said yes. We were married September 30, 1983 and have been together ever since.
Our first month of marriage had passed, and our home church was presenting a film for the youth. We went and during the film it showed two people working in a field — one taken, and the other one left. God used that film to open my heart. I fought it for a week, and I was so miserable. I did not know what to do. I finally confided to my husband what was going on. He just looked at me and said, “You know what you need to do .” I realized the profession of faith I made years ago was not in my heart, but in my head. I had never repented of my sins. I got down on my knees beside my bed with my husband and prayed. I got up a new person. The hardest part was telling everyone, because I had been living a lie all those years. I felt like I was busting at the seams to tell everyone the great news. You know they greeted me with open arms. I was baptized into Victory Bible Baptist Church, Pensacola Florida.
Jean-Louis and I went to Baptist Bible College 1986 – 1988. We went directly on deputation, spent three years on the road, and came to France on November 4, 1991. We were approved as BBFI missionaries in September 2004.