Lindsey in France, a Baker Who Loves Jesus

A young missionary from America has two passions: baking and Jesus. Lindsey figured out how to combine the two in France, one of the epicenters of the culinary world. Baking together allows Lindsey to share Christ with people who are uninterested in religion but are looking for rich community.

You might think it strange that an American would try to teach the French how to bake. To be sure, Lindsey appreciates French patisserie. But she also finds her friends struggle to recreate the American dishes they see on TV and in the movies. They wanted to bake with her! After a while, Lindsey realized she could be not only a student but also a teacher in this area.

For the Love of Jesus & Baking: A Baking Discovery Course

But Lindsey didn’t move to France to bake with people. She wants to find people interested in spiritual things and introduce them to Jesus. After some experimentation, Lindsey built a short course around baking and the Bible. The course is meant to introduce the world of baking and the person of Jesus. It unfolds over six sessions, each including a baking workshop and a spiritual discussion. Passages from the Bible help participants think about and address questions like their purpose in life, what it means to love and be loved and what they have to offer the world. (Watch the video Starting from Scratch to hear her tell the story.)

“This could be used by anyone who has a heart to share the gospel with their friends.”

People who might not think the Bible or the Church has anything to offer them are still interested in meaning-of-life topics like these, and baking sessions at Lindsey’s provide a comfortable place to explore them together.

Each person leaves with a booklet including American recipes they can recreate at home and scripture introducing them to Jesus and exploring what He has to say about the big questions in life.

Equipping others for evangelistic baking

In the months after we interviewed Lindsey about her ministry, the COVID-19 pandemic had much of France on lockdown more than once. Eventually, Lindsey started offering baking sessions through Facebook Live, with spiritual discussions following. Now, she also teaches French Christians to use the baking discovery course approach in their contexts.

One day, Lindsey met with several women interested in using the course as an evangelistic tool in their neighborhood or with friends or family.

“We did a training with role-playing while baking the cookies. They really understood the heart of the course, the simplicity and reproducibility. Near the end of the role play, one of the ladies asked me, ‘So, is it necessary that you be present to facilitate the course and discussion?’ Joyfully, I replied, ‘No, not at all! It is written so that you can do it yourselves!’ It confirmed in my heart my hope that this could be used by anyone who has a heart to share the gospel with their friends.’”

On the same trip, Lindsey met up with a woman who runs a Christian café and invited her to do baking classes that are open to the public. In fact, they purchased a new oven for Lindsey to use for the classes. We pray that those spiritually seeking would come to bake with Lindsey and walk away with more to chew on than chocolate chip cookies and carrot cake. May many discover the sweetness of a life with Jesus.

To learn more or contact Lindsey, check out For the Love of Jesus & Baking on Facebook. You can contact her there for a copy of the booklet. If you want to explore ways to bring your skills and passions together for God’s greater purposes, let’s talk.