First of all, what is not a vision? It is not a dream, nor is it the wish of a person or a group of people. It is not a conquest, nor is it recruitment or proselytising. For the evangelical church of the Arcachon basin, a vision has its source in the Bible and it is Jesus himself who shows us its reality:

• “When he saw the crowd, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were languishing and despondent, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples …”. Matthew 9:36, 37

Vision produces compassion and this compassion drives us to action. At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the observation is there: The Bay of Arcachon has more than 150,000 inhabitants in 17 towns and a very little presence of the Gospel. Why is this so important? Because we believe that in the society in which we live, the message of the Gospel is the message that is capable of responding to the evil in the soul of man. It is the creator’s invitation to his creature. This message must be proclaimed to every human being.

The vision therefore leads us to focus on the next decade which is already here and the number of inhabitants which will double. Just look at all the buildings, the high schools that are being built in record time …

More than ever, we believe that Reading the Bible is the best remedy for many ills, as Victor Hugo used to say:

“There is a book that contains all human wisdom enlightened by all divine wisdom, a book that the generation of the people calls THE BOOK, THE BIBLE… Sow the villages with the Gospels. One Bible per hut.”

Victor Hugo – Claude Gueux – 1834

 This is indeed the seed we will sow in the ground over the coming years!

Pastor Jean-Paul VINCENT – December 2020