Why Churches Worship Illegally—In Paris

Evangelical churches are multiplying but lack space to grow.

As more than 100 Haitian evangelicals danced and sang on Easter Sunday, the floor caved in at their makeshift church north of Paris. The deaths of a 6-year-old girl and 47-year-old woman who fell through the second story of the rented house in Stains were a tragic sign that Christian gatherings have outgrown available space in the secular French capital.

"Many immigrants that come from French islands and territories are fervent in their religious expression," said Gilbert Bilezikian, a pastor and former Wheaton College professor born and educated in France. "[They] cannot gather without making a lot of noise, so it is difficult to find places to meet."

Of the nation's 1.6 million Protestants, 460,000 now identify as evangelicals amid heavy immigration from Francophone nations. Last year, their churches nearly tripled from 769 to 2,068, according to the French National Council of Evangelical Churches (CNEF).

However, cash-strapped congregations—immigrant or otherwise—are having difficulty finding worship space that meets safety standards. Read more

Finding a suitable meeting place for a congregation is not only a problem in France but also in other countries, including the United States.