Valence is located towards the south of France on the banks of the river Rhone. It's a beautiful part of the country consisting of business hubs in the city centre boulevards, and wide expanses of countryside.
Daniel Lietchi, from Switzerland, studied the development of Evangelical churches in France over the last 30 years. After a rigorous work, with figures to prove it, he gives a good picture of the situation. In 1970, France counted 769 evangelical churches: in 2000, we counted 1768 and in 2004 there are 1852. We can claim that his figure consists of 48 denominations and 326 independent churches.
This study shows that this figure also correspond to an average annual growth of 32 churches. It is a modest growth considering that there are 2300 evangelical workers in France. (Source : Evangelical Alliance)
What you could be doing
Scripture Union France is committed to making God's light shine in this country. Much of the work volunteers from the UK get involved in is administrative. Preparing tracts for local events, a great opportunity to develop using Word & Publisher in French (albeit old versions!).
Some of your time will be spent helping the schools worker in her ministry. You will get the opportunity to assist in camps, ranging from a 2 week Bible Camp for 16-19 year olds in the summer, to a ski camp for younger children (6-13 years) in the winter. These camps can be very demanding at times, but great fun!
On occasion, you will have the opportunity to get involved in the organisation of special events such as: special anniversaries, general meetings, open doors, Christmas parties.
Duration and Cost
Scripture Union France are flexible on when they receive volunteers. However, some periods are better than others, depending on the tasks you wish to do. Participants in the past have gone out for 6 months to a year as part of their degree programme. The majority tend to go out in the January time. All volunteers need to be fluent in written and oral French.
As a volunteer you need to arrange your own support, which includes airfare, accommodation, food and internal travel.
Minimum Age: 18
Cost: £2,600
Start Date: Flexible; usually January
Duration: 6 months