Nearly 500 evangelical churches organised 85 united worship gatherings simultaneously across France last month. 

The widely supported event led by Conseil National des Évangéliques de France (CNEF), the leading evangelical alliance in France, aimed for a nationwide day of celebrating the gospel on Oct. 5.  

“From Lille to Marseille, Bordeaux to Strasbourg, over 70,000 believers came together to lift up the name of Jesus,” reported the Impact France newsletter. 

“Together they prayed for unity within the French church, justice, peace, and for our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters around the world. What an amazing testimony and witness to the trust that Christians have in Jesus, the one true King.”

CNEF on LinkedIn confirmed an “enthusiastic surge of unity” from the 85 joint services, which “found a good echo” in the secular press and radio stations. The evangelical alliance compared the sense of positivity with the criticism of French evangelicals in the Envoyé spécial, a Thursday evening investigative television program hosted by French journalist and TV host Elise Lucet. CNEF previously denounced the national television program for portraying evangelical Christians as ultraconservative, homophobic and manipulative, as reported by Christian Daily International. 

“Unlike the program ‘Envoy Special’ a few days earlier,” reported CNEF on LinkedIn about the celebration day, “several journalists came to attend a Celebrations 2025 service. We thank them for this curious approach that seeks to understand and describe this faith in Jesus Christ that has brought us together in such numbers!

The idea for the celebration started two years ago with CNEF planning the event. Three goals set out the vision for it, namely “to demonstrate the unity of the evangelical Church, make the Gospel visible in French society, and strengthen partnerships among local churches, ministries, and mission organizations.”

“These celebrations were intentionally interdenominational, breaking down barriers between churches and fostering a shared sense of mission and hope,” added the Impact France report. 

CNEF hoped that beyond the celebration day itself, it would leverage long-term collaboration among churches.  The hope is that local partnerships — forged through this shared experience — will lead to new joint initiatives in evangelism, discipleship, and social action throughout France, according to Impact France.

“As the country heads into the end of the year, we will probably be seeing more headlines regarding France’s politics and unrest about pension reform. Join with us in praying that amidst this tension, the renewed sense of unity and purpose Christians have from this joyous month continues to shine as a light of hope.” 

In a LinkedIn post, CNEF addressed the question of “What’s next?” after the celebrations. In several cities, French evangelicals have asked when a similar celebratory event of the gospel will happen in the future. 

“What a joy to see this thirst for communion between Churches!” shared CNEF. “These shared times allowed Christians from different communities, cultures and generations to come together around the essential: Jesus Christ.”

Beyond this “great weekend,” CNEF shared thoughts on maintaining an inter-church dynamic throughout the year: in common worship, prayer, acts of solidarity serving cities and villages, in joint missionary projects and within the fraternity between both leaders and members of different churches. 

“This is how we will continue to bear witness together to the love of Christ and to grow the unity of the body of Christ in France,” CNEF added.