The Church
Type of church
We are a Reformed Evangelical Christian church based in Châtelaillon-Plage, in the greater La Rochelle area.
Our meetings
The church meets every Sunday for worship and occasionally, for those who would like it, for an Agape meal. The worship services are in French and are translated into English. Prayer groups and Bible studies take place during the weeks, and their timings are announced every Sunday. A bookstand selling protestant Christian is open every Sunday before and after the worship service, with titles in both French and English (Acts 2.43-47).
Mission
To establish the local church, to train disciples to plant other churches in Europe, a continent which has become a mission field because of the dechristianisation that has happened there. The mission is also to exangelise and teach in the French-speaking countries of Africa (and Haiti) (Matthew 28.18-20), and to come to the aid of the most impoverished people in these countries (Matthew 25.40). The pastor has made ten trips to Kinshasa over the past ten years (James 1.27), as well as several in other French-speaking countries in Africa (Ivory Coast, Benin, Central African Republic).
The Pastor
Who is he?
The pastor is Jean-Baptiste Guéraçague. He studied at the Moody Bible Institute and Knox Theological Seminary, a reformed theological seminary. He served as a missionary among the Haitian boat people in Florida for fifteen years, and as a preacher in Haiti for 10 years. Before returning to France in 2001. He is married to Nicole, and they have six children (three boys and three girls). Read an article from La Dépêche about the pastor Jean-Baptiste Guéraçague.
Status
Although approved by the UNEPREF Commission of Ministers (member of the Protestant Federation of France) in November 2008, the pastor is not part of this union, and exercises his church planting ministery under the auspices of a Church Mission Society called Harvestime Church Mission Society. This organization society has an administrative board which supervises the mission in matters of faith, doctrine, practices, and personal morality. The members are principally elders of American Presbyterian reformed evangelical churches.
The Administrative Team
M. Guéraçague
President of the association
M. Cian O'Connor
Treasurer
M. Davis Maleka
Secretary of the TPC associationMember of the Presbyterian Counsel
The minutes of the general assemblies and the annual reports of the association from the past five years are available for church members to inspect, by appointment, at the church office.