A movement called Église pour les autres — “Church for Others” — will be launched in French-speaking Switzerland on Saturday 7 November at 2 p.m., at the FREE evangelical church in Échallens (place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville 8). Its organisers describe it not as a new Christian organisation but as a movement that helps churches find their place in a post-Christian society. Timothée Joset will present the “five dimensions of mission” at the launch, which is open to leaders of churches, federations and ministries and to anyone interested in the church's mission in society.
The movement began in German-speaking Switzerland, where for nearly six years “Zukunft Mission” (“Mission of Tomorrow”) has brought together leaders of evangelical church federations, leaders of ministries and theologians to reflect on the missionary shift in Swiss evangelicalism. One fruit of that reflection is “Kirche für andere” — “Church for Others.” It started among the evangelical federations that belong to Freikirchen.ch, of which the Swiss Evangelical Alliance (SEA) is a member; in French-speaking Switzerland the movement is animated by the Réseau évangélique suisse (RES).
Dylan Wirth, a member of the movement and of the Église évangélique de Châble-Croix (FREE) in Aigle, said many churches are absorbed by their own functioning — keeping activities running, keeping young people and filling the pews — and that a second lack is isolation, with congregations and ministries often working alone. The movement aims to connect churches and works within a region and to build collaboration between Switzerland's language regions, asking each community a single question: “For whom do we exist, here, in our region?” Wirth cited Dietrich Bonhoeffer's phrase that the Church is Church only when it is there for others, and Jeremiah 29:7's call to seek the good of the city.
The launch will also look ahead to a day planned for 20 March 2027 and to be held simultaneously in different regions of French-, German- and Italian-speaking Switzerland. Organisers say that day, experienced both regionally and nationally, will let participants make contacts and be equipped with tools for missionary life.
(Originally published in French. Summary translated by CC / Connexion.)
Source: La FREE — Fédération romande d’Églises évangéliques — lafree.ch/a-la-decouverte-du-mouvement-eglise-pour-les-autres/
