Where we serve
Missionary Team
Claude and Carole Vachon
Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Quebec
Current ministry:
In 2002, Claude and Carole became missionaries with the Fellowship French Mission. They received two months of training in Vancouver at New Beginnings Baptist Church, a special church that ministers to the poor population of downtown Vancouver. The Vachons have bought and renovated a multiple purpose building in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal where they live and minister. They are working with Église Baptiste Évangélique de Rosemont in view of starting a daughter church.
Family:
Claude and Carole were married in 1972 and have a son and a daughter.
Spiritual Background:
Claude was born in Quebec City, the third of a family of five children. He left school at age 17 and joined the Canadian Navy. As a sailor he became very familiar with the nightlife in big cities and all that it entails. After leaving the Navy, Claude met and married Carole. They enjoyed what life had to offer to a young couple. One day, Claude’s brother spoke to him about spiritual things.
For over a year, Claude searched for mistakes in the Bible but found none. Yet, the more he read, the more he saw his guilt before God and his inability to reach to Him. He says, “When I read John 3:16, a trigger mechanism went off. On August 3rd, 1981, I poured out my heart before God. I recognized that I was a lost sinner and I gave Him control of my life. By resting on I John 5:13, I knew that I had eternal life.” A few days later Carole also met the Lord.
The Vachons immediately became attached to a local church. Claude became involved in many ways including door-to-door evangelism, leading worship, teaching, caring for the building, youth ministry etc. The more he got involved, the more needs he could see.
Ministry Experience:
Despite his interest in ministry Claude hesitated to start theology courses thinking they would be too much for him. His pastor encouraged him to persevere and eventually he obtained a B.Th. from École Théologique Baptiste de Québec in Quebec City.
In 1989, he became the pastor at Église Baptiste Évangélique d’Asbestos and served there for 12 years. Some years before, Claude came to know Dwayne and Miriam Mansveld and became fascinated with their ministry to street people in Montreal.