Christian Open Door Church

Église Porte Ouverte Chrétienne
Worship in 2017
Location Mulhouse
Country France
Denomination Evangelicalism
Website porte-ouverte.com
History
Founded 1966
Founder(s) Jean Peterschmitt
Clergy
Senior pastor(s) Samuel Peterschmitt

The Christian Open Door Church (Mission du Plein Évangile - Église Porte Ouverte Chrétienne [POC]) is a French Evangelical charismatic megachurch whose main place of worship is located in Mulhouse. It is the second largest Evangelical church in France, with over 2,200 people. The church is member of the Federation of Full Gospel Churches in Francophonie and the Conseil national des évangéliques de France. The senior pastor is Samuel Peterschmitt.

History

Église Porte Ouverte Chrétienne building

The church was officially founded by Suzanne and Jean Peterschmitt in Mulhouse in 1966.[1] This assembly was registered under its current name as cultural charitable organization. In 1972, the church has between 60 and 80 members.[2]

In 1987, Samuel Peterschmitt succeeds his father as senior pastor of the church.[3] This same year, the premises are located in a former supermarket in Mulhouse, with a capacity of 600 seats.[4]

In 1989, the church established its new premises in a former supermarket with a capacity of 1,500 seats.[5]

In 1995, the sanctuary has enlargement works for a capacity of 1,900 seats.[6]

In 2005, 1,500 people regularly attend the church.[7][8][9]

In 2010, every Sunday, the broadcast of the worship is seen by about 4,000 people on the church's official site.[10] Worships are broadcast by satellite in 37 countries and in Internet.[11]

In 2015, the church is doing expansion work in its building for a capacity of 2,500 seats.[12][13]

In 2017, the attendance is 2,200 people.[14] Churches was opened in Cayenne and in others cities in France.[15]

Beliefs

The church choir and its pastor, Samuel Peterschmitt.

The beliefs of the church are shared with that of the Federation of Full Gospel Churches in Francophonie, an evangelical charismatic denomination.[16]

Social programs

The church is involved in the city with humanitarian aid who are recognized by the town hall; school support, clothing donation and administrative assistance.[17][18]

Philadelphia

In 1999, the church created Philadelphia Cultural Association (Association Culturelle Philadelphie) which sells many books, DVD and CD.[19]

Controversies

In the 1990s, the church was criticized by former members, their families, anti-cult associations and by the Catholic Church. In 1993, the group "Religious Evolution and New Spiritualities" ("Évolution Religieuses et Nouvelles Spiritualités"), led by the Catholic Church, added to the criticisms. Then, in 1996, the anti-cult association, CCMM, received the first complaints from former members. In 1999, Claude Omnibus, the husband of a deceased follower, accused the movement of having killed his wife after her refusal of an organ transplant, and created an association of victims named Association of Victims of the Christian Open Door (Association des Victimes de la Porte Ouverte Chrétienne, AVIPOC).[20] He participated in many television programs to warn against the COD, and was supported by the ADFI and CCMM, two anti-cult associations (the CCMM asked the Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires to add the COD in the 1995 list of cults). The COD was considered "a dangerous cult" in a book by two journalists[21] and in many press articles.[22] Activities of the group that are criticized include anti-social speech, family breakdowns, false promises of healing which led to abandonment of medical treatments, theological deviances and financial disclosures. Meanwhile, the COD sought support from French Evangelical Association (Association Évangélique Française [AEF]) and unsuccessfully tried to integrate the Protestant Federation of France.[23]

Pastor Peterschmitt and members denied these accusations when they were interviewed in the media.[24] The pastor thought his church was a victim of religious discriminations.[25] In their conclusions, two sociologists who studied this church in 2002 rejected these criticisms and said that possible deviances can occur in any group.[26]

Sources

  • Willaime, Jean-Paul; Amiotte-Suchet, Laurent (October 2004). "" La pluie de l'Esprit " — Étude sociologique d'une assemblée pentecôtiste mulhousienne: " Mission du Plein Évangile. La Porte Ouverte Chrétienne "" (pdf) (in French). Groupe de Sociologie des Religions et de la Laïcité. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

References

  1. ↑ Sébastien Fath, Dieu XXL, la révolution des mégachurches, Édition Autrement, France, 2008, p. 151
  2. ↑ Laurent Amiotte-Suchet, Jean-Paul Willaime, GSRL, hal.archives-ouvertes.fr, La pluie de l’Esprit - Étude sociologique d’une assemblée pentecôtiste mulhousienne - Mission du Plein Évangile. La Porte ouverte chrétienne, France, 2004
  3. ↑ Francis Messner, Anne-Laure Zwilling, Formation des cadres religieux en France: une affaire d'Etat?, Labor et Fides, France, 2010, p. 96
  4. ↑ Patrice de Plunkett, Les évangéliques à la conquête du monde, Éditions Perrin, France, 2009, p. 161
  5. ↑ Sébastien Fath, Dieu XXL, la révolution des mégachurches, Édition Autrement, France, 2008, p. 151
  6. ↑ Patrice de Plunkett, Les évangéliques à la conquête du monde, Éditions Perrin, France, 2009, p. 161
  7. ↑ Sébastien Fath, Du ghetto au réseau: Le protestantisme évangélique en France, 1800-2005, Édition Labor et Fides, France, 2005, p. 221
  8. ↑ Poiraud, Franck (2007). Les évangéliques dans la France du XXIe siècle (in French). p. 102. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  9. ↑ Sauvaget, Bernadette. "Une Mega Church à la française". Réforme (in French). Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  10. ↑ Baer, Sébastien (3 February 2010). "Le mouvement évangélique s'enracine en France" (in French). France Info. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  11. ↑ Emilie Blachere, parismatch.com, La vague évangélique, France, January 08, 2010
  12. ↑ Anne Ducellier, lalsace.fr, Une église évangélique de 7000 m² inaugurée à Mulhouse, France, May 10, 2015
  13. ↑ AFP, leprogres.fr, Une «megachurch» évangélique inaugure ses locaux agrandis à Mulhouse, France, May 09, 2015
  14. ↑ Warren Bird, World megachurches, Leadership Network, USA, Retrieved October 29, 2017
  15. ↑ Patrice de Plunkett, Les évangéliques à la conquête du monde, Éditions Perrin, France, 2009, p. 162
  16. ↑ William Kay, Anne Dyer, European Pentecostalism, BRILL, UK, 2011, p. 141
  17. ↑ Élise Descamps, la-croix.com, A Mulhouse, 7 000 m2 pour célébrer Dieu, France, May 06, 2015
  18. ↑ Christian Open Door Church, Le social, porte-ouverte.com website, France, Retrieved October 31, 2017
  19. ↑ Laurent Amiotte-Suchet, Jean-Paul Willaime, GSRL, hal.archives-ouvertes.fr, La pluie de l’Esprit - Étude sociologique d’une assemblée pentecôtiste mulhousienne - Mission du Plein Évangile. La Porte ouverte chrétienne, France, 2004, p. 59
  20. ↑ "Les "miracles" de la POC - Fonds de commerce de cette enterprise familiale pentecôtiste: la guérison divine. Des associations et une Église protestante parlent de dérives sectaires" (pdf). L'Express (in French). Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  21. ↑ Stucki, Jean-Pierre. Les Sectes dans l'Est de la France (pdf) (in French). Actu-sectarisme. p. 8. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  22. ↑ "Porte ouverte aux excès - D'anciens fidèles de la Porte ouverte chrétienne évoquent des dérives sectaires" (pdf) (in French). News d'Ill. September 1999. p. 4. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  23. ↑ Willaime, Amiotte-Suchet, 2004, pp. 128-63.
  24. ↑ Naegelen, Lucien (1996-04-21). "Le supermarché de Dieu" (PDF). Alsace (in French). Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  25. ↑ Kounkou, Dominique; Poulat, Émile (2005). Les discriminations religieuses en France: situation à partir des églises... pp. 85–90. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  26. ↑ Willaime, Amiotte-Suchet, 2004, pp. 163-76.

Coordinates: 47°46′13″N 7°19′36″E / 47.7702°N 7.3266°E / 47.7702; 7.3266

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