Leadership Profile: Raphael Anzenberger, Evangelist, Church Planter, France

Q. Tell us about your family.
A. I am a French native (Strasbourg) and have been married to Karen (from the U.S.) for fifteen years. We have four children (Josiah, 12, Abigail, 8, Elisabeth, 6, and Matthew, 4) and live in Loches, France.

Q. Give us a brief overview of your work and ministry.
A.
I serve as general secretary of France Evangelisation, an organisation dedicated to the public proclamation of the gospel, the multiplication of evangelists, and evangelism training in churches and Bible institutes. I also preside over the Forum des Evangelistes, a coalition of evangelists across the French-speaking world (Europe, Canada, Africa, French Islands).

  

Q. What is your favorite quote?
A. “Man is always looking for better methods, God is always looking for better men.” – E.M. Bounds

Q. Who has been the most influential person in your life/ministry, and why?
A.
Leighton Ford and Ravi Zacharias. Leighton for his passion as an evangelist, not only to preach but also to train emerging leaders. Ravi for his brilliant apologetics of the mind and heart.

Q. What is the best piece of advice you’ve received?
A.
Andy Stanley once said that eighty percent of what I do in ministry should be things I must do (not things I can do or should do).

Evanglism. On Point.

Q. Describe a time in which you shared your
faith in Christ with someone who didn’t know
him, and then saw God clearly work in that
situation.

A. This year, we started a church plant in the
center of France. We saw five people come to
Christ after only two months. They were
looking for God, but didn't know where to find
him. Missio Dei is not just a nice missiological
concept, it is very true!  

Q. What one issue do you believe is the greatest barrier to evangelism, and why?
A. Rationalisation—explaining why we cannot do evangelism, rather than just doing it. As a friend once said, we spend a lot of time surveying the giant, when God actually calls us to use the slingshot with the five stones already there.

Q. What book do you most often recommend to others to read, and why?
A. The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others by Scot McKnight (Paraclete Press, 2004) is brilliant and refreshing. It’s a good reminder of what our calling is, and should be.

Q. What would you like to be doing in five years?
A. I just started planting a church, which usually takes up to seven years to mature. This church will also serve as a regional training center for bi-vocational workers involved in church planting. After that, only God knows!

Q. How can people be praying for you?
A. Please pray for my new role as a member of the National Council of French Evangelicals board. It is a great opportunity for me as an evangelist to bring my passion and vision for evangelism, apologetics, and church planting to the table. Pray also with my French colleagues that the Lord would help us plant four thousand new churches in the next fifty years.