French evangelical churches have a ‘wide open’ door in some of the deprived ‘banlieues’ of the country, a leading pastor says.
Matthieu Sanders, the lead pastor of the Central Paris Evangelical Baptist Church said: ‘Evangelical churches, often with a large second or third-generation immigrant population, have been growing rapidly in [what might be called] “sensitive” surburbs. They often provide a unique witness in that they bring, to be clear, whites, blacks, Arabs and Asians together in a way that very few institutions - even schools - are often unable.
‘There are a lot of “ethnic churches” associated with a particular background, but, by and large, Evangelical churches are fairly good examples of successful integration and collaboration between different social/ethnic groups.’
He added: ‘I believe there is a wide open door for ministry in those areas. It seems like Evangelical communities in those suburbs can even less than others afford to be strictly pietistic and “spiritual” in their approach. They need to be rooted in communities and involved in various kinds of holistic outreach. And they are usually doing just that.’
Sanders was speaking to the Evangelical Focus website.
