ECM International

Introducing France

Spiritual Climate

Although it once had a strong Protestant witness in the sixteenth century, France is now known for its philosophical rejection of Biblical revelation and, as a result, is a thoroughly secularised and materialistic country.

The Roman Catholic Church, always the principal target for the anti-clericalism that characterizes French thinking, declined steeply at the end of the twentieth century, and mainline Protestantism fared little better. But this is not to say that religion in France is dying. Islam is making an impact.  It is estimated that there are as many as 4 million Muslims, largely made up those of North African descent and the cults and sects are flourishing. The occult is big business, with large numbers of mediums, witches and spiritists, as well as every variety of cult, on the scene. This "supermarket" approach to religion (take a little of what you like) makes it difficult for the Gospel, which is regarded as just another religious product that you can buy into if you want to or it is regarded with overt hostility because it claims to be the only way to God.

Problems with many of these cults has led to legislation that has tried to limit the influence they have on people. The French Government hopes to restrict the activity of those that exploit or manipulate people. The legislation has laudable aims, but the wording is vague and there are dangers that other groups (such as evangelicals) that the secular mindset does not understand will find themselves in the firing line, too.

Spiritual work in France is, hardly surprisingly, very slow and there has been no real breakthrough. It would be fair to say that France is the largest western nation that has not felt the power of the gospel. You might even say it is the largest "unreached" western nation, since there are large tracts of land and many cities with no evangelical witness. The spiritual ground is hard and unyielding and will only respond to patient evangelism and prayer.

France is possibly the key to reaching Western Europe. French thinking has played a vital role in world history: John Calvin shaped the Europe of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries through the Reformation; René Descartes started a philosophical train of thought at the end of the seventeenth century that spawned what we know as the Enlightenment, which has shaped the way Western Europe thinks to this day; and Post-Modernity, that is defining the way 21st Century people think, grew out of Enlightenment thought and has its origins in French philosophical writings of the past forty years. If we can reach France with the Gospel, we will reach the world.

And the good news is that the French are very interested in the spiritual realm
and are seeking for spiritual meaning. And God has not abandoned France. The
fact is that in the last 35 years, over a 1,000 new churches have been planted,
adding to a total of roughly 2,400, mainly in the big cities. It has been a
tough but rewarding work. The challenge is great, since most rural areas are
still unreached. It is not unusual to have to drive an hour to find the nearest
Evangelical church. But as said: if we can reach France with the Gospel, we will
reach the world!"

ECM has 6 teams in France at the moment; however the vision is to build at least 20 additional teams so that missionaries will be closer to each other, allow creation of networks and task-oriented teams, and to continue to build that vital team spirit.  

Tours

During the last decades of the 20^th century, ECM has been focusing at the Loire Valley from Tours in the West to Cosne-sur-Loire several hours upstream. The area is still recognized as one of those parts of France which is particularly lacking in evangelical congregations. However the Center of France, known as the “heart of France” has not been the only area of interest, big cities as Paris and Marseilles have been and are still places where ECM ministers to the French.

Long term

The need is for church planters, evangelists and youth workers who are energized by working in this secular environment. France is involved in a great search for spiritual meaning, mostly outside the church, and ECMI needs workers who will be not only involved in gospel outreach, but involved in society.

Short Term

Summer teams, Bible college “field placements”, and people who could devote several months to a year or more to work alongside national leadership are all welcome.