Ministry in Agde

Impact France is identifying potential partners to meet the significant need of the Gospel in the town of Agde and its environs, on the southern coast of France. The following is a potential project that may be invested in.

God unexepectedly called Bertrand and Claire de Maleprade to Agde in 2011 but their purpose there soon became evident. With only one evangelical church (gypsy diaspora) at the time, the town and surrounding area had and still have a desperate need for the Gospel. The official population of 27,000 swells to roughly 250,000 in the summer, and sin is rampant in gambling, drugs, sexual depravity in all its forms and a lot of occultism. Like many Mediterannean coast towns, migrants arrive frequently and unemployment runs very high.

Through brothers and sisters, and personal funds, a café ministry began in 2012 and was officially launched in 2013. Its name is “Espérance” or “Hope” because it is the junction between Faith and Love. Located in the city center, they have have welcomed more than 1500 people in 10 years. The result today is a believers’ community of more than 25 adults with a focus on loving and serving others, both in the neighborhood, and abroad (in partnership with DEM Ministry in India).

With numbers increasing, after 10 years Espérance had to make the difficult decision to close the café and focus on another rented space more suited to weekly worship and fellowship gatherings. They are in the process of creating a legal church association to recognize this established body of believers and join an official church union in France. This local Church will also bear the name of “ Espérance” and its members will manage the café ministry. The goal is to create a low-cost, modular meeting space of roughly 2000 sq.ft. to accommodate both activities, but together the total budget needed is significant: roughly 1500€ per month to support a pastor and 2000€ for the meeting space.

https://www.facebook.com/esperance.agde

https://epagde.wixsite.com/esperance-dem