Evangelism Seminar

Donald Cobb

Last weekend, 80 pastors and church council members of the Protestant Reformed Evangelical Church - https://unepref.com/ - gathered for a day of reflection & discussion on the theme of evangelization.

Donald Cobb, a graduate of Faculté Jean Calvin and Professor of New Testament at Faculté Jean Calvin, gave an excellent session on "Is Reformed Theology a Hindrance to Evangelism?" (Thankfully not!) Some of the points highlighted by Cobb were:

- The doctrine of election isn't a hindrance to evangelism; it's the condition whereby evangelism bears fruit.
- God's sovereign election works itself out through Gospel proclamation.
- God uses Gospel proclamation to open hearts to the Gospel.
- God gives us the privilege of participating in His work.
- God's sovereign election works itself out through evangelism.
- The doctrine of election drives us to prayer as it affirms the sovereignty of God.
- The doctrine of election gives us a confidence that Gospel proclamation is not dependent on us.

Updates were also given on four projects the denomination is focusing on this year:

1. revisiting the strategy for church-planting;

2. creating a position for pastoral care for pastors;

3. the issue of sexual & spousal abuse, establishing tangible steps for vulnerable individuals, and how to better support the victims;

4. the possibility of a new position relating to more efficient communication within the denomination.

Would you please take a moment to pray for God's leading in these important initiatives and for God's protection and equipping for these church leaders?

Pastorale Nationale Retreat

Pastors Pascal and Bernard

Jean-Raymond Stauuffacher

Attendees of the recent Pastorale Nationale retreat

This is why we do what we do… 

For 3 days in November, 40 pastors, missionaries and deacons of the Protestant Reformed Evangelical Union of Churches gathered for times of worship, teaching and fellowship.  Pastor Jean-Raymond Stauffacher, President of the Union, writes: 

“After two long years of interruption because of the Covid situation, the pastors, missionaries and deacons of our Union were able to meet again for their annual retreat in the region of origin of the Huguenots: the Cévennes mountains. 

Two professors of the Faculté Jean Calvin seminary, Jean-Philippe Bru and Dean Yannick Imbert, brought pastoral and stimulating contributions on the topic of emotional and cultural intelligence. 

As our churches are experiencing what Edouard Glissant describes as « creolization » (the process by which elements of different cultures are blended together to create a new culture), the subject allowed us to address a number of the questions we have today about local congregation intercultural dynamics. It also allowed us to reflect on new paths for contextualizing our common Calvinist heritage in a world that is fast in becoming a global village.” 

Three-quarters of the pastors of this denomination are graduates of Faculté Jean Calvin.  May the Lord encourage these servants and cause their ministry of shepherding churches across France to bear much fruit for His glory and for the advancement of His Kingdom.  May the Lord raise up as well a new generation of servants among the youth in French churches, that they be inspired by these pastors to enter the pastoral ministry.   

This is why we do what we do at the Huguenot Fellowship in supporting the work of Faculté Jean Calvin.   

Kim Tran

Kim Tran is a graduate of Faculté Jean Calvin and currently serves as Managing Director of the seminary. Hear some of Kim's story and his role at the seminary in this interview with Huguenot Fellowship Trustee Ruth Ann Leduc.

Click to view this 9-minute video.

Jean-Raymond Stauffacher

Jean-Raymond Stauffacher, President of the Protestant Evangelical Reformed denomination in France (Union Nationale des Églises Protestantes Réformées Évangéliques de France, UNEPREF). and a graduate of Faculté Jean Calvin, talks with Ruth Ann Leduc, Huguenot Fellowship trustee, about the proposed law on separatism, currently being debated in the French legislature. Learn how this law could adversely affect God’s church in France.

Click to view this 9-minute video.

Samuel Foucachon

Samuel Foucachon is a graduate of Faculté Jean Calvin and pastor of the Chapelle de Nesle - Evangelical Reformed Church in the Latin Quarter in Paris. Watch this 19-minute interview as Samy shares with Huguenot Fellowship Trustee Ruth Ann Leduc about the challenges of church-planting in Paris, as well as how the Lord is blessing this work. If you're looking for a place of worship in Paris, check out the Chapelle de Nesle http://www.chapelledenesle.fr/

Click to view this 19-minute interview.

Jean-Raymond Stauffacher

Huguenot Fellowship Trustee, Ruth Ann Leduc, interviews Jean-Raymond Stauffacher, President of the Protestant Reformed Evangelical Church of France (Union Nationale des Églises Protestantes Réformées Évangéliques de France, UNEPREF).

Click here to watch this 10-minute video.

Faculté Jean Calvin equipped me to serve the Church

Samuel Kamano

I came to Aix-en-Provence from Guinea in West Africa in September 1992. My wife and three daughters (Cécile, Anne, Kaffa and Dorcas) came to join me in May 1993.

I came to the Faculté Jean Calvin because I wanted to get a better grasp of Reformed theology in all its diversity. From very early on I was excited to be exploring so many different areas of theology (soteriology, ethics, ecclesiology and practical theology etc.) and I enjoyed all the courses. The teaching was interesting and highly motivational, so boosted my enthusiasm for academic work. I made good progress though it was a real challenge for me to get through the academic program and I had to put in a lot of hard work.

What I was taught at the Faculté Jean Calvin equipped me to serve the Church in Guinea. Reformed education not only impacted my pastoral ministry but also enabled me to be useful to my country in various ways.

- National Reconciliation

Guinea has been through some very difficult times in recent history. From 2006 to 20O9 the whole country was in turmoil and we were even on the brink of civil war. During this time God used the Christian Council of Guinea, made up of the leaders of the three major churches (Catholic, Protestant and Anglican) to find a peace process, and indeed, lasting solutions were found. At that time, I was writing my doctoral thesis on Psalm 85 (Righteousness and peace kiss each other).

- Church planting in Conakry City

When I came back to Guinea in January 1997 the leaders of my church put me in charge of a local church in the capital with 150 members. Having defined my objectives and set up a plan of action I started working hard, putting into practice all the pastoral techniques I had learned at the Faculté Jean Calvin. Before long there were eight large churches in the Conakry area.

- Media (National Radio and Television)

I have both trained preachers to take the gospel to unreached peoples and set up a team of technicians to produce films to help people become aware of the issues that plague our society and to teach a biblical view of civic responsibilities.

- President of the EPEG (l􏰁’Eglise Protestante Evangélique de Guinée) In April 2006, during the most difficult period in our country, the National Council of the Evangelical Protestant Church of Guinea asked me to become its president. Lots of things have happened in the life of EPEG, lots of progress has been made but it hasn􏰁’t been all smooth sailing.

- Founding a school in the city of Conakry

On our return to Guinea in October 1997 we founded a school (nursery, elementary and secondary) in Enta Sud Fassa, Conakry. Since that time God has blessed us in so many ways. At present there are 1,725 students in the school. Soli Deo Gloria! For two years we tried to get the Guinean Secretary of State to visit the school and finally he came. He was surprised by what he saw and this is what he said: "I enrolled all my children in Emmaus school as soon as it opened because I knew that Christians provide a good education. I could have sent them anywhere, to a French school, for example, but something attracts me to this place, something that I find nowhere else..." Our response? "In God we will do mighty deeds".

Samuel Kamano

Do You Care About Souls?

Pastor Marc Toureille

I was born into a Christian family and through the example of my parents, my brother and sister I learned to know God. In 1986 I responded to God’s call during an evangelistic campaign. From then on I found myself in the place God had prepared for me, in the church. In 1992 my father died, a turning point in my life. At the time I was studying biology. For a few years I had been leading Bible studies for teenagers and I felt the call to study theology to deepen my knowledge of the Bible. I enrolled at the Faculté Jean Calvin when I was 19. During my three years’ study I kept active in the life of the church. The yearly internships taught me more about the practical life of various churches. As I studied I became convinced, in response to Isaiah 6:8, that I should undertake some kind of Christian ministry. But what, exactly? I was only 21 and didn’t feel ready to become a pastor; the Lord convinced me otherwise. I was asked: “Do you care about souls?”, a question that seems old-fashioned. But, then came the day when I said, “yes, I do”, and I understood that when the Lord calls someone he equips them with everything they need. I took for myself the Lord’s words: “My power is made perfect in YOUR weakness.” I then applied to become a pastor in the Union of Reformed Evangelical Churches. After a year’s internship I became pastor of the Reformed Evangelical Church of Alès in the south of France.

Over the last 20 years my wife Florence and I have served in three different churches: in Alès, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in the Paris area, and in Aix-en-Provence. We have learned so much! We have felt the love and support of Christian brothers and sisters of all age groups and many different geographic origins and from many social backgrounds. Through home visits and church gatherings we have learned what is meant by “fellowship”. We thank the Lord for all the “great cloud of witnesses” he has brought us into contact with.

Marc Toureille, Pastor of a local church of the Union des Églises Protestantes Réformées Évangéliques de France (UNEPREF) denomination, Aix-en-Provence