As a Toronto Church we are classified as “evangelical.” This means that the Church in Toronto emphasizes: [1] the Bible as God’s inspired Word, [2] Jesus Christ’s vicarious death on the cross and his resurrection 3-days later [3] encountering Jesus Christ, experientially (being “born again”) [4] Christians’ responsibility to witness for Christ by their life, words & works. The Church of Toronto may differ from other Churches in Canada & around the globe in our style of worship & ways of service. However such minor differences don’t overshadow our common bond with other like-minded Christians & disciples of Jesus Christ nearby and further afield. So we rejoice in the growth of evangelicals in France reported in the piece below. --- Nigel Tomes
France suspicious, but Evangelical message strikes chord
Catholic Collapse in France
In recent decades France has been a wasteland of Christianity. It has the highest rate of non-attendance at church in Europe--a 60% absentee rate in 2000. 3 out of 5 French people never (or rarely) go to church. (For comparison, the US has a 16% & Canada a 26% absentee rate.) Historically France has been staunchly Roman Catholic. It used to be called “the eldest daughter” (i.e., strongest supporter) of the Catholic Church. But there has been a Catholic Collapse in France--today less than two-thirds of French people call themselves Catholic (64% in 2009); less than 5% of Roman Catholics (4.5% to be exact) attended Sunday Mass weekly in 2009. [Compare this to Catholic Ireland, where 50% of Catholics still attend Mass.]
Evangelicals: a Tiny Minority, but Growing!
Between 2% and 3% of France’s population is Protestant. Evangelical Christians are such a tiny minority in France — less than one-in-a-hundred (0.5% to 0.8%) — that they’re often labeled a ‘cult.’ Yet the good news is that Evangelical Christian churches in France have grown significantly during the last 20 years & their growth rate is increasing, as the following report shows:
Paris, France
The Charisma Church near Paris gets 6,000 attendees most Sundays. A 'friendlier' style & search for purpose are reasons people say they're drawn to evangelical worship.
In a former warehouse outside Paris on a Friday night, 4,000 people assemble in prayer & praise to God. It’s mostly a minority crowd: young, African, people of mixed heritage, & white. Hands are raised; a choir sings. Faces mark a range of emotions.
"His love goes past all borders, forgives everything, it has no limits," the pastor cries out to many "Amens."
This is one of France’s “urban sensitive zones." Charisma Church, as it’s called, abuts a trucking center. But the mood is welcoming. People actually smile. Many travel 1-hour plus to get here... It’s a “mega-church” in a country where faith is relegated to the private sphere & frowned on.
Evangelicals: France’s Fastest-growing Religion
But Charisma church is growing. Sunday services top 6,000 regularly. Scholars say evangelicals are likely the fastest-growing religion in France – defying France’s stereotype as Europe’s most secular nation.
The reasons are manifold: growing minority populations from Africa & Asia are less secular & more religious than France’s majority. Evangelicals offer a “friendlier” & less hierarchical model of worship, with more community warmth & emotive worship expressions. Leaders "speak to the heart" in a Europe preoccupied with wealth & worldliness, & provide a haven in harsh economic times.
“France is changing, & this is a reflection of this transition,” says Sebastian Fath, of France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) & an expert on evangelicals.
For years, intellectuals proclaimed French Christianity’s demise, swallowed up by the tides of modernity, science, & reason. Protestants were evicted or "invited to leave" during the 17th century Catholic Counter-Reformation. That left France uniformly Catholic, but today it’s mostly nominal and absentee. “Having faith” or “being spiritual” is often viewed as odd, ignorant, or superstitious.
Yet studies show a different story on the ground today. Daniel Liechti, National Evangelical Council VP, found that since 1970, a new evangelical church has opened in France every 10 days. The number of churches increased from 769 to 2,068 last year.
Evangelicalism grew quietly since the 1950s. Numbers rose from 55,000 (in the ‘50s) to 460,000 today. Half the country's Protestants are evangelicals, says the CNRS.
Below the Radar
Most evangelical activity occurs off the radar... Just off downtown Paris, the Roquette Church hosts 3 Sunday services. It’s an urban congregation sporting a rock band.
Worshipers are half black & half white. “We have doubled our audience in 4 years,” says the pastor Franck Lefillatre.
“I feel more at home here, there’s a message & a free feeling,” says a woman who’s attended for 6 months.
Blandine Pont, a scholar in Marseilles, says the Protestant picture is changing fast. "In Provence, in the 1990s, there were only 3 or 4 pastors. Now there’s a few dozen. Evangelicals are more attractive, less traditional, & more expressive,” she says. “For 20 years, they’ve been quietly successful. Now we begin to see it. Their ways still seem strange... But things are changing.” Evangelicals are now getting noticed after decades “below the radar.”
“French society has gotten more horizontal…” says Mr. Fath, author of “A New Protestant France.”
“That’s a contrast with the Catholic vertical, hierarchical model,” he adds. “French society is more decentralized. There’s greater emphasis on citizens’ power …& a growing impatience with dictates from the top. The French want to be Christian, but are fed up with Church authority.”
Many official French institutions seem “inauthentic,” Fath argues. “But Church groups help with getting papers, jobs, & apartments. Their volunteers are knowledgeable. They have worship & Bible study, & they’ll help you find a lawyer or a teacher.”… They’re authentic.
French evangelicals face tougher hurdles than their US counterparts. Faith in France is viewed with skepticism, if not hostility. French enlightenment philosophy had an "animus against Christianity.” French discourse is Marxist, atheist, & secular. Religion is mostly Catholic or Islamic. There are no French Tim Tebows, the NY Jets Quarterback who prays in the end zone... French evangelicals preach less openly. Sharing is discreet & relies more on deeds than words.
“There is no pressure to go to church in France,” smiles Matthieu Sanders of the Evangelical Baptist Church in downtown Paris.
“It is the hardest place for faith I’ve been,” says Texas-born Stephen of Calvary Chapel church in Paris.
“I have less trouble with my Muslim friends, they understand faith tradition,” says Allison, 19, of mixed Portuguese & African heritage, who attends Charisma Church. “It’s harder with friends who don’t care.”
The French church model is more modest than the US mega-church. Mega-church proponents suggested France build “100 churches of 10,000,” Liechti replied, “I’d rather have 10,000 churches of 100.”
French evangelicals aren’t as politically conservative as their US kin. French perception of US evangelicals as adherents of the political right is an obstacle to French people. “We don’t want the US style, we are French,” says Assembly of God pastor, Thomas Okampo.
On Sunday at the Baptist church, 3 tall African women belt out a glad sound at the front. The congregation of 80 is two thirds black. They stand, sway, sit, it doesn’t matter. Kids play quietly. Parents hold babies, while raising one arm to the ceiling. Prayers emerge. The music rarely stops. A peppery-haired African plays the harmonica & calls out praise of “Dieu,” or God, the Creator, “omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent.”
Evening prayers occur in the basement. They’re spoken one by one in a room of 40 people, directly to God: “God is with me every day & every hour. Every hour I try to listen to Him & feel His hand.” “Your mercies are present … make me more humble, more aware of You. Make me honest in Your sight.” “I need You every minute. Transform me...”
Edited from the Christian Science Monitor
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