Jack & Sarah Winterburn

What is your link to King’s? Jack and Sarah were part of Kings for around 10 years, first as students, then as Interns/Ministry Trainees, and then as residents doing various jobs, including teaching. They were both in the Achor community up on the Sherburn Road estate, Jack for 6 years and Sarah for 4, and their son Benjamin for just under 2! They still consider Durham their home away from home and intend to visit around once per year. King’s Church Durham is their ‘sending church’.

Why did you move to France? France is a very secular country, with a very small percentage of evangelical Christians . As one of their congregation members originally from the DRC put it: ‘In my country, there is poverty, but in this country, there is poverty of the word of God’. If you want to learn more about the situation in France they recommend this article from Operation World.

What are you involved with at the moment? Jack and Sarah are serving in an evangelical church in North Tours, alongside seasoned ECM (European Christian Mission) missionaries Marc and Jody Van Eijden. Over the last year Jack has been at language school and they have been adapting to the culture. Sarah is involved in youth ministry, worship leading and inter-church/ecumenical work. Jack is preaching, leading a men’s ministry once per month, helping in the running of the local community centre, and shadowing Marc.

Where next? Since arriving in Tours, Jack and Sarah learned that in the church denomination where they serve (Perspectives, which used to be France Mission), there are around 40 pastors but about twice as many churches. Other denominations also lack pastors. So it seems there is a need for church leadership. As such they are preparing for the possibility of becoming a ‘couple pastorale’ in a few years’ time, and Jack is investigating further theological study.