Growth of evangelical Protestantism in France

The goal set forth by the majority of denominations is to see one church for every 10,000 inhabitants – making the Gospel accessible to all French people...

Evangelicals by the numbers:

• 650,000 – Regularly practice their faith (all ages).
• 3/4 – Evangelical Protestants represent 1/3 of all Protestants but ¾ of those who regularly practice their faith.
• 10 – The number of Evangelical Protestants has increased 10 times in the past 60 years (in 1950, there were 50,000 practicing Evangelicals)
• 2,521 – There are 2,521 local churches in France, counting those communities that offer at least 3 services per month on the weekends (in 1970, there were 769). Additionally, there are 500 more houses of worship that meet less frequently.
• 10 – A new local church is born every 10 days – about 35 new churches per year.
• 45 – The majority of local churches belong to one of 45 denominations.^[2]

Daniel Liechti, vice-president of the French National Evangelical Council, 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.^[3]

Evangelical Christianity is flourishing in Europe. France has witnessed an eight-fold increase in Evangelical Christians during the past half century, from roughly 50,000 to 400,000....

In a country where people are a bit disappointed by traditional religion, Sinclair says, they are impressed by the way these Evangelical churches are alive and welcoming.

The churches underscore the fact that while secularization continues to progress in Europe, there has been what Sinclair calls a spiritual turning in recent years...

Majagira Bulangalire, the president of Community of Churches of African Expression of France, an umbrella group of immigrant Evangelical churches.

Bulangalire admits there have been a few problems with local authorities. But he says once they see the churches can serve their communities in a positive fashion they are very open. He says the French Interior Ministry has also been welcoming. Some Roman Catholic parishes have adopted Evangelical-style bible study classes. Jean-Arnold de Clermont, head of the Protestant Federation of France, says traditional Protestant churches are realizing they can learn from their Evangelical counterparts. ^[4]