Paris goes evangelical

Dr. TL Osborne

In France, the traditional church is struggling to attract new blood but evangelical and charismatic ones are rapidly gaining ground. The country is warming to services that focus on miracles, gospel singing, adult immersions and speaking in tongues.

One American preacher recently attracted an unprecedented 4,000 people a day to a meeting, swelling the ranks of France’s half a million evangelical followers. Radio France International's Alison Hird reports:

You’d be forgiven for thinking it was the US bible belt but this is south east Paris, in front of the Chateau de Vincennes castle. US preacher TL Osborn is working his magic on the congregation. He promises they’ll see miracles proving that Jesus is alive and that the sick who’ve come along will be healed if only they believe. The audience – mainly black Africans, West Indians and gypsies – is captivated by Osborn as he guides the mass prayer session.

Dr. TL Osborne preaching in Paris

The atmosphere reaches fever pitch as a woman rises from her wheelchair and hobbles across the stage:

“One evening I fell down and was in a coma for three weeks. When I woke up, I was paralysed down my left side. I haven’t walked unaided since 2001. God has saved me. My little girl came here with me and said ‘Mum, tonight you’re going to walk.’ I’m so happy, I feel like a new person.”

For two hours Osborn gives a very American show based on music, miracles and the repetition of a very simple message: “Jesus loves you, he’s alive through his miracles. Believe and spread the word.”

Dr. TL Osborne preaching in Paris

The 84 year-old, who’s ginger wig and face-lift give him a youthful air, has taken his message around the world for the last sixty years. But he hadn’t been to France since 1960 and never before for a meeting on this scale. A pastor at a Pentecostal church in Paris’ ninth arrondissement is impressed:

“It’s a miracle he’s here. We asked him to perform in open air and this has never happened here. Evangelicals were a minority for a long time and they taxed our sects. We’ve had 4,000 people a night here – which for evangelists is a very big crowd. In France, few people have seen that.”

Osborn was invited by a group of preachers, including Tunde Johnson, who came as a missionary from Nigeria fifteen years ago:

Dr. TL Osborne preaching in Paris

“People in France need evangelism and they need God. That’s why we invited Dr TL Osborn. He’s a profit, not a miracle worker. He’s a voice to preach to people who are sick or who have problems…to hear the word of God.”

Another preacher says the need for evangelising in France is greater than ever:

“Last November, we were on the verge of a civil war because thousands of cars were burnt out in Paris by young people. What appeared at that moment? So many young people are so destroyed, so desperate, that they don’t know what is right and what is wrong. The gospel is a better healing method. As TL Osborn says – the government can make laws to punish bad people but they can’t make them to make bad people good.”

Dr. TL Osborne preaching in Paris

An exhausted if smiling Osborn comes off the stage before being whisked away in a large black Saloon car. I asked him how it had gone:

“Wonderful! Multitude, miracles, joy, rejoicing, that’s what was in the bible. I’m sorry that the government didn’t let us continue”

Do you know why?

“Someone told me they’re afraid of the riots. Torching cars – they don’t want that to happen. Well, Christians don’t do that. It’s the Muslims that did that. I’m sorry they did that.”

That opinion has been boosted by much coverage of last year’s riots in the US media, which emphasised religious differences more than social inequalities. Whether the Osborn ministry seeks to convert Muslims or simply bolster evangelical fervour to counter Islam isn’t clear.