Our Story

The first thing I want to mention is that we believe there is something way more significant than our story, and that is God’s story. We are just a pair of tiny specks and hopefully instruments in the grand scope of God’s amazing and redemptive plan. We praise God that He invites us, and each of His followers, to play a role in this plan.

Ryan and I have been married since August, 2007. We were recently invited to join an organization called World Team as church planters in France, and we are now developing financial and prayer partnerships so that we can get to the field. When it comes to Christian ministry, I mostly knew what I was getting into (at least in theory) when Ryan and I were married in 2007. I knew that Ryan felt called by God to go into full-time ministry, I also knew that he had an adventurous spirit and wanted to live overseas. He had proved this when, during our year engagement, he spent ten months doing ministry in Turkey. While he was in Turkey we began to think and pray about church planting and also about Europe. Eventually we landed on France, and the Paris area because that seemed to be where things happen in France. Then we started searching for organizations that did church planting in Paris and eventually discovered World Team. We wanted to go and see the work that was happening there, and had an amazing opportunity to do just that the summer of 2010. We spent 7 weeks in Paris visiting the World Team church plants and helping in any ways we could. This was huge for me personally because as I mentioned, ministry seemed nice in theory, but I really needed some practical experience and to hear from God that He was calling me to this too. I believe God spoke loud and clear, and I am so excited not just to be a supportive wife but also to be a key player, approved by God to minister to the French.

Now for a little more background. Ryan and I are both from Springfield, Ohio. Ryan grew up in a Christian home with loving parents Steve and Marcie and two brothers Michael and Chris. Ryan is very intelligent, even as a toddler he would memorize books and scare passers-by who thought some baby was reading books. In addition to his love of learning he also loved to play basketball, watch the Simpsons and listen to rock music. Throughout childhood and into adulthood, Ryan did not always believe God existed. He had many questions and doubts that he wanted to discuss with Christians, but was always told that he just needed to believe. He went to The Ohio State University for college and began getting to know several guys that were involved with Campus Crusade for Christ (mostly because they were always dropping by his room and inviting him to things). These guys welcomed Ryan’s doubts and questions and encouraged him as he wrestled to decide if he believed God existed or not. For Ryan one thing was clear, either God existed and it had huge implications for his life, or God did not exist and that was that. After a year or so of pouring over his Bible, other books, and discussing it with many people, Ryan truly believed that God existed, that Jesus is Lord, and that he should alter the course of his life and go into ministry.

I (Erin) also have loving parents Rob and Carol Mercer, and an older brother Nick. As a kid I loved to draw and paint and to play soccer and softball. I attended Southgate Baptist Church with my mom every Sunday and prayed to accept Jesus into my heart in a Sunday school class in second grade. I continued to be a part of the youth group in middle school and high school, but I never realized that I needed to have a personal relationship with God. My first couple years of college I was not connected to a church body and as a result of this isolation the gaps in my faith bubbled to the surface. I felt like I was following all the rules but I had lost sight of God and couldn’t remember what the point of being a Christian really was. So I walked away from God and began drinking, serial dating and generally doing whatever I felt like doing. It was fun at first, but after a while I began to feel more empty and lost than ever. I still knew that God existed and that He was challenging my way of life. God used some friends to challenge and to encourage me. One friend sent me an email with two bible references in the subject line (Romans 12:2 and Philippians 1:9-10). Two or three days later, the Romans verse showed up in a book I was reading. I was mildly annoyed by this slight coincidence. Another few days later, I went out for a friend’s birthday and drank more than ever before. The next morning (Sunday) not only was I physically sick but I was spiritually sick. I decided to go to church that evening with a friend and wouldn’t you know the sermon was all about (Philippians 1:9-10). The message cut straight to my heart and I re-dedicated my life to Jesus Christ that night. Afterwards, I began to attend the Village Vineyard Church in Columbus, Ohio. The people were transparent in their lives and their faith. I learned that being a Christian was so much more than believing in Jesus as my Savior, it was about Jesus being my Lord, and serving Him with every aspect of my life.

Now we are in the process of trusting God to get to France, and to continue to lead and use us once there. We’re excited, nervous, giddy at times, and more than a little overwhelmed. But we couldn’t imagine anything better than following the Lord where he is leading us, even when the way looks long and unfamiliar.