Evangelical Church The Mission of Besançon

Its main beliefs (expressed in a creed of eight articles of faith) and practices are nearly identical with those of most Evangelical and Pentecostal groups, with a special focus on miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit and proselytism.

Since 1988 the church has been the subject of recurring public controversy; anti-cult associations and organizations (UNADFI, CCMM and MILS – then MIVILUDES), former members and the vast majority of media presented it as a dangerous group, mainly because of its intensive missionary activities and healing practices.

His father (considered guilty of covering up his son's actions) refused to retire, which led many believers to leave the church and pastors to vote for the federation's dissolution;[7] this one was officially announced as defunct on 25 November 2006.

[11] Various explanations were provided by sociologists to define the place of the religious group within Christianity: Danièle Hervieu-Léger wrote that the church was created from "the meeting between a movement of evangelic sensibility inside the Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine, and a French Mennonite movement from the tradition of peaceful Anabaptism",[12] Laurent Amiotte-Suchet considered that it "fits into the Assemblies of God", but also "in the history of a second wave of European Pentecostalism which experienced its revival in the 1970s and 1980s",[13] and J. Gordon Melton described it, in his 2005 Encyclopedia of Protestantism, as one of the "newest Protestant groups".

[14] Evangelical Protestantism expert Sébastien Fath deemed the church a "non-Baptist" group, but "with some common characteristics" and explained that it professed a very high degree of religious activism, embracing conversionism, biblicism and crucicentrism.

"[16] The anti-cult association Centre contre les manipulations mentales said the church "comes from the classical Pentecostal movement which emerged in France in the 1950s and which now includes various groups".

[20] He also said that the pastors' sermons show an evolution linked to a generation gap; René Kennel continues to advocate healthy living, illustrating his speeches with stories of curses resulting from a non-Christian lifestyle, while his son placed more emphasis on "the discernment of spiritual gifts and the depth of faith".

[21] On its website the church defines itself as apolitical; it respects current principles of secularism and freedom of conscience, does not discourage medical treatment, encourages believers to participate in social life and does not claim exclusive salvation.

Services are dynamic, charismatic and emotional, often evolving into ecstasy and trance; glossolalia results when the pastor calls the Holy Spirit to come upon the congregation,[25] and usually lasts 30 to 60 minutes.

The pastor's break with his former religious affiliation, and his determined foundation of a new group despite many obstacles, are said to be directed by God's will; therefore, Kennel's spiritual course (which mixes "extraordinary and intransigence") is presented as an example to follow.

The future convert then demands a sign of God's reality, requires a variable length of time to strength his faith and experience the Holy Spirit, then engages fully in the church.

[31] All members actively participate in evangelization, both personally (family, friends and professional associates) and with the church (door-to-door, proselytism under the big tent and on public squares, "mission weeks", which follow a tightly planned program).

[34] The church features religious instruction for various ages, leads a choir and football team and celebrates the Holy Thursday Last Supper, believers' marriages and funerals.

[11][42] Each year, a one-week course is organized in one of the churches belonging to the Evangelical Missionary Federation; named "Blessing School" ("École de la bénédiction"), this intensive Bible training consists of prayers, religious teachings and history, singing lessons, film screenings and debates.

[42] In the Church of Besançon, the leadership team attending the "brothers' meeting" is composed of René and Étienne Kennel, six appointed elders and men who have been members for a certain length of time.

[18][46] Between 1977 and 1988, the Church of Besançon enjoyed significant growth,[47] and Professor Grace Davie wrote that the whole religious movement had reached "the status of a small denomination" in the decades following its foundation.

[59][60] On 29 September 1986, in a case related to custody of a six-year-old child, the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Besançon left the child with his father (who was not a member of the church) rather than with his mother (then a fervent member), stating that "people affiliated to [the church] submit their behavior of each time to the precepts of their beliefs, practice proselytism, and do not hesitate to involve some very young children in their meetings and religious practices".

A first complaint was filed on 4 February after a letter from CCMM in which the movement was labelled as a cult, with the following definition: "Groups whose activities have on others for result a notable mental manipulation of minds, a profound degradation of the human person, managing to make people lose all critical sense in locking them in intellectual ghettos.

[11][66][67] In a decision issued on 2 October 2003, the judge of the Administrative Court stated that the refusal by the prefect to grant donations and bequests to the church was not supported by evidence.

[71] In May 2007, a circular by Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and a statement by MIVILUDES secretary Gilles Bottine, said the list of movements attached to the 1995 parliamentary report had become less relevant and no longer recommended its use.

The local branch of the Centre contre les manipulations mentales (CCMM, or Centre Roger Ikor) directed an intense campaign against the group with repeated warnings in the media, and the President of the Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu (UNADFI), Catherine Picard, said on television that she considered the church a cult.

[73] Criticism against the Church includes methods of recruitment (considered aggressive proselytism) in psychiatric hospitals, schools, buses and similar environments directed to suffering people, a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible, pressure on prospective members to quickly join the group, family breakdowns, identical language and clothing of followers reflecting a loss of individuality, education of children that is considered indoctrination, many banned activities (among them music, television, makeup and trousers for women who must also have long hair covered with a scarf), an hysterical environment at worship, desocialization of the faithful, excessive appeals for money, unverifiable and dubious healings that may be detrimental to members' health and the strong influence on members and lack of qualifications of Kennel.

The first negative local press articles appeared in 1988, mentioning miraculous healings, proselytism, Kennel's status, fundamentalist beliefs as controversial issues, and included critical reports by former members.

[73] Before 1988, the church was the subject of many neutral press articles and appeared "normal and respectable";[79] it contends that in the late 1980s Alain Vivien, then-leader of the CCMM, said to its representatives in Épernay that he did not consider it a cult.

The church explained that the first criticism came from a Catholic vice-president of CCMM, who opposed the conversion to the Pentecostal church of his son-in-law and several seminarians[18] (this explanation was later denied by the CCMM),[11] by an educator hostile to the group,[80] and by other evangelicals (including pastor and co-founder of the anti-cult group Vigi-sectes Gérard Dagon, a source for the 1995 parliamentary report who was critical of Pentecostal beliefs).

In his response Gest did not provide details on the content of the work by the Direction centrale des renseignements généraux used for the report, but advised Kennel to ask the Observatoire interministériel sur les sectes for more information.

[92] On 4 June 1997 the church's representatives met the president of the Observatoire, prefect Antoine Guerrier de Dumast, who advised the movement to integrate the FPF to clarify the situation.