Devenir chrétien, rester chrétien

‘The organisation “Mission Intérieure” [which translates as ‘Mission on the Inside’] of the Lutheran church in Paris started new orientation towards diverse, church-orientated forms of evangelism through the launch – among other initiatives - of the course “Becoming a Christian, remaining a Christian”’. It will work with a local project of two churches : the Reformed Church of Le Marais and the Lutheran Church of Les Billettes. Up until now, the ‘Alpha Course’ has been running, very successfully, in many French churches. This cross-denominational evangelistic initiative takes the form of a preliminary, adult-orientated introduction to the Christian faith within a friendly, comfortable and non-threatening setting. The course has its origins in the Anglican Church – specifically at the Church of Holy Trinity Brompton in London. This new course, ‘Becoming a Christian, remaining a Christian’, has its origins in the Church of Hanover. Originally designed by Burghard Krause, a Lutheran missionary-theologian, its aim is to invite all those who are interested to explore the Christian faith. The theological bases on which the course is founded are purely protestant-Lutheran. Although anyone is, of course, welcome to take part, the course is not tailored specifically for non-Christians; rather, it is aimed at those who find perhaps themselves on the fringes of the Church, who might be looking for a deeper meaning to life. The course is equally directed towards those who would consider themselves to be Christians but who would like to ‘rediscover’ their faith. There are significant numbers of people in our society, and culture, who are born into Christian families but who, partly on account of the lack of religious instruction, and the development of misled ideas of what it really means to be a Christian, gradually lose touch with a faith they might have once had. As a result, many of us live under the impression of having somehow received our ‘Christianity’ by birthright: no longer is Christianity a faith which we ourselves have discovered, but merely a set of traditions – constituting a kind of identity-building toolbox – which has been passed down to us by our parents. What this course offers is the opportunity for people to ‘get back on track’ with their faith; to find an identity in Christ for themselves, and to find out how to preserve, and live out, this identity. The format of the course is akin to a journey. It invites participants to explore the realm of faith in the same way that they might explore a foreign country. The ‘exploration’ takes place in a conference setting, instead of within the milieu of small groups – one of the characteristics of the Alpha Course. The aim is that people come and hear about the Christian faith. The last session, however, takes the form of a kind of open Church service, which brings together all various elements of the course as it has progressed. While the course is in progress, however, the participants can – if they wish - follow up what has been said in each talk, in their own small groups. An important emphasis is placed on flexibility: participants are free to simply come, listen and reflect; or, if they want to, to discuss what they have heard with others. The small groups that develop often prove to remarkably long-lasting. For example, it can sometimes happen that small groups continue to meet for months, even years, following the end of a course. The course ‘Becoming a Christian, remaining a Christian’ was introduced in Alsace a few years ago by the pastor Guy-Pierre Geiger, a church inspector from Bouxwiller. It worked very well, and since then the course has been translated into French, and two pastors have been trained to lead it in France. In Alsace a number of churches or a number of villages tend to get together, whether in churches or in village or town halls, in order to ensure the course a kind of ‘strength in numbers’. The fruits of this approach are considerable: there are sometimes as many as 200-300 participants. The courses will take place in november. In order that this initiative might be as successful as in Alsace, those churches involved won’t be organising any other meetings throughout these two weeks. This November session is designed in particular (though by no means exclusively) for those who hold a position of responsibility within the church: pastors, members of church councils, synod councillors, bible teachers… . The aim of this is that they might themselves develop in an interest in the idea of running the course in their own church.