Evangelical Churches Growing Fast in Switzerland

Evangelical churches understand people’s needs and are therefore attracting twice as many worshippers on Sundays as traditional Protestant churches in Switzerland, says a charismatic pastor who is also a sociologist of religion.

“The key strength of the Pentecostal movement is the idea that God intervenes in people’s everyday lives,” Olivier Favre, pastor of two charismatic churches in Payerne and Neuchâtel, told swissinfo.ch on Sunday.

Favre, who is also a sociologist of religion at Lausanne University, attributes the growth of evangelical churches to people’s loneliness in “our very individualized society” and to “the very modern style of worship.”

The idea of a personal relationship with God, belief that He answers prayers, that He can heal the sick and effect miracles meets a spiritual need, even as the style of worship attracts young people, he said while acknowledging that that people living in insecurity may be more attracted by this notion than those who are comfortably off.

About one-third of the 7.8 million people in Switzerland are registered members of the Swiss Reformed Church.

Migrant populations, such as that of Africans and South Americans, have also contributed to the growth of evangelical churches, said Favre, who served as pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Lausanne for 14 years. They are places that offer essential support as well as the language and music of their home countries. To read more, click here.