Our vision is consistent with that of the National Council of Evangelicals in France (CNEF), who are ambitiously praying for one evangelical church for every 10,000 inhabitants. Beyond our Reformed distinctives as a Presbyterian church, we too desire above all to see the person and work of Jesus Christ be proclaimed to as many people as possible in France.

I was born in France to a Scottish mother and a French father, and grew up in Lyon attending an English-speaking, Bible-believing Anglican Church. From kindergarten to high school, I only ever attended public schools, and to the best of my knowledge, I never met another Protestant there.
Now I am an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America, and I am leading a French-speaking confessional Presbyterian church-plant near the center of Lyon, which we hope, by God’s grace, will give birth to other churches in the area, and participate in a church-planting movement across the country.
Our vision is consistent with that of the National Council of Evangelicals in France (CNEF), who are ambitiously praying for one evangelical church for every 10,000 inhabitants. Beyond our Reformed distinctives as a Presbyterian church, we too desire above all to see the person and work of Jesus Christ be proclaimed to as many people as possible in France. It is a country where more than half of the population now say that they do not believe there is a God; where religious seekers are about ten times more likely to meet a Muslim than a Bible-believing Christian (who make up less than 1% of the population).
Indeed, secularism and prejudice against the Bible and Christianity continue to grow, and the spiritual vacuum that has resulted, with all of its moral relativism and existential nihilism, has created a space that is gently—or not so gently—being filled by Islam.
There is a historic “Protestant” denomination which is a recent merger (2013) of the historic Reformed Church with the Lutheran Church, together representing about 450 parishes. In 2015, by a crushing majority, the national synod of the newly formed denomination approved religious ceremonies for same-sex unions. There are still pockets of evangelical-leaning believers in the denomination, but theological liberalism is rampant.
As for the Roman Catholic Church, it is declining in France, with fewer and fewer people identifying as “Catholic” even in a nominal or cultural sense. Practicing Catholics, who actually believe the Apostles’ Creed in its entirety, are quickly becoming a religious minority in France—which, in a strange twist of history, is producing a sense of camaraderie between them and the evangelical Protestants.
In that context, conservative, evangelical Presbyterians are a minority within a minority, and experience several extra layers of isolation. We tend to be perceived as extremists and bigots by the liberal Protestants. But Evangelicals also look at us with great suspicion because we baptize babies and do not practice immersion. Not only that, but because most evangelical churches have now become egalitarian, we who hold to a complementarian view also tend to be seen as slightly backward and misogynistic.
In addition, confessionalism is by and large a completely unknown concept. In general, Protestants (both evangelical and liberal) are rather ignorant of the rich history and heritage of the Reformation, not to mention Church history in general, with its cloud of witnesses throughout the centuries. When visitors to our church discover that our confession of faith has 33 chapters—enough to be published in the form of a booklet—they are astonished.
There is an evangelical Reformed denomination in France, UNEPREF (National Union of Reformed and Evangelical Churches in France), which is much smaller than the liberal denomination. It has about 40 churches that are located for the most part in the Southern part of France. It is an egalitarian denomination and tends to be more progressive than the PCA, but it confesses the true Gospel. Its confessional standard is the French Confession (or Gallic Confession). Our church-plant in Lyon, which holds to the Westminster Confession, is an associate member of this denomination with whom we have obvious theological affinities.
It is interesting to note that in the last couple of decades, Calvinism and Reformed theology in general have resurfaced in French evangelical Protestantism, under the influence of the “new Calvinism” movement in the USA, and of ministries such as The Gospel Coalition, Acts 29, or Ligonier, whose platforms have extended to Europe through the internet (Ligonier, for example, now has a French language website). This has led to many books by Reformed authors being translated into French. The topics addressed are not necessarily distinctively Reformed, but in a roundabout way, the names of Tim Keller, Kevin DeYoung and R.C. Sproul for example, have been lending credibility to the whole of the Reformed system of doctrine. Interest was sparked, and now we are seeing a small but steady stream of younger generations examine the claims of historic Calvinism and become convinced that Reformed theology is the most biblical system of doctrine.
Many of these men and women and their children do not have access to solid Reformed churches where they live, or within a reasonable distance. They often attend congregational churches where the Gospel is preached but where the sacraments are not administered according to the historic, Reformed understanding.
Geographically, our Presbyterian church plant in Lyon is so distinct in its theology and practice, that people drive up to an hour to attend our church services, from all sides of the city. This goes to show how great the need is for more and more conservative Presbyterian churches to be planted in our area as well as in all of France.
This is what we hope to see in our lifetime: a multiplication of healthy, confessional Presbyterian churches that are heralding the Gospel to the lost and incorporating individuals and families into their fellowship and “teaching them to obey” all that Christ has commanded.
As we seek, by God’s grace, to establish our church in Lyon, with the hope that it will eventually reach self-sufficiency and multiply, we find that the Gospel is truly sufficient and powerful (Rom 1:16), as it is displayed in the means of grace, namely the prayers and worship of the Church, the teaching of the Scriptures, the fellowship of the saints, and the faithful administration of the sacraments. Nothing new here, but in a context where one could be tempted to try to “win” people to Christ through highly sophisticated projects or strategies, we have found that simply bringing people into contact with the ordinary life of the Body, letting them “taste the heavenly gift” (Heb 6:4), opening up the Scriptures with them, has been enough, through the work of the Holy Spirit, to dispel the prejudice of unbelievers and draw their hearts to Christ. This, of course, does not preclude being creative in our outreach efforts to establish connections with unbelievers.
In the last six years, our congregation has almost tripled in size, going from an average of 40 to almost 120 on most Sundays. For a Reformed church in France, this is a rather spectacular work of God’s providence. Atheists, agnostics and nominal Catholics have become Christians, while others have joined who were already believers: some having recently moved to the area, and a few having left their former church for a more distinctly reformed and conservative congregation. We are praying for a building where we will be able to settle permanently in the neighborhood.
In my opinion, the robust, evangelical preaching of the Word of God, in a way that is expository and redemptive (i.e., centered on the person and work of Christ), but also kind and forbearing, is the strongest token of plausibility for Reformed doctrine. I believe that as we are founded and focused on the Gospel which Christ has given us to preach to all of creation, it is possible to be both strong in truth and strong in love. In my experience, joyful Bible-centeredness goes a long way in drawing people into the household of faith and then into the comprehensive beauty of the Reformed world-and-life view.
The challenge that faces confessional Presbyterians in France will be to keep that perspective and to remain winsome in that sense. In a context where we face hostility not only from secular culture, but also to a certain extent from liberal and evangelical Christianity, it is tempting to respond in a contentious or antagonistic manner. It is tempting to become frustrated and impatient, and eventually arrogant and condescending.
I believe it would be a disaster if the Presbyterians in France, who are so often isolated and misunderstood, became radicals because of their situation. Sadly indeed, social minorities tend to adopt more and more extreme views and become more and more belligerent with time. I plead with my Presbyterian brothers and sisters in France not to fall into that trap. Not to become Reformed zealots by reaction—where we start holding too strongly to certain things by virtue of the fact that most Evangelicals snub them and that they annoy the secular culture. For example: high church liturgy and musical forms, classical Christian education, patriarchy and head coverings, exclusive psalmody, natural theology, right-wing activism, etc. These things—though worthy of study and discussion—are not the touchstone of our theology and are not worth fighting for, or over. We cannot afford that luxury.
Let us not hold any banner higher than the banner of Christ crucified and risen. Therein lie the hope of France and the future of our churches.
Alex Sarran is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is the lead pastor of a church-plant in Lyon, France.
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We cannot rank the divine persons; they are distinct from each other but not divided from each other. They are not three parts that add up to a single godhead. John Calvin understood the name God to be “the one simple essence, comprehending three persons.” In our chaos we can come to a God in whom, as the Athanasian Creed puts it, “the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.” Such as the one is, so are the three. “None in this Trinity is before or after, none is greater or smaller” (arts. 6, 7, 25). We can trust one God in three equal, co-eternal persons.

One of the best questions we can ask is also the most challenging: “What is God?”[1] As the Church has searched Scripture for answers it has consistently used a surprising word to describe the divine Being: simplicity. God is simple—not in the sense of “easily understood” but as “being free from division into parts, and therefore from compositeness.”[2] God is one (Deut. 6:4); He is both unique and indivisible.
The word simplicity, like trinity, is not found in the Bible, but reformed confessions affirm that the doctrine is biblical. The Lutheran Augsburg Confession states that “there is one Divine Essence…which is God: eternal, without body, without parts” (art. 1). Dutch Reformed believers confess the same thing: “There is a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call God” (Belgic Confession, art. 1). In the Church of England divine simplicity is taught in the Thirty-nine Articles, “There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions” (art. 1). The Westminster Assembly—which convened to modify these articles but then chose to replace them—retained the exact language of Anglicanism (Westminster Shorter Catechism 2.1), as did English Baptists (London Baptist Confession, 2.1). These confessions draw on the testimony of church fathers like Augustine, medieval theologians like Aquinas, and reformers like Calvin, Melanchthon, and Zwingli.
Divine simplicity is firmly embedded in the reformed confessional tradition. If we understand simplicity, we may come to join the doctors of the church in treasuring this doctrine.
What Is Divine Simplicity?
When God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush He identified Himself as being—the “I am” (Ex. 3:14). Unlike everyone else, He is not from somewhere or the fruit of ancestors. He is not even a species within a genus. Instead, He is the God who is, “the ultimate principle and …category of all things.”[3] Herman Bavinck wrote, “God is the real, the true being, the fullness of being, the sum total of all reality and perfection, the totality of being, from which all other being owes its existence.”[4] God is truly “all and in all” (Col. 3:11). Drawing from texts like these, divine simplicity maintains that in God there is “no composition, no contradiction, no tension, no process.”[5]
No Composition
God is not a sum of parts, as we are, made up of body and soul, atoms and neurons, past, present, and future. God’s attributes do not add up to what He is. As a child I wore out a book that described a little boy’s attributes—quickness, loudness, bravery—that made him who he was. Here is the climax of the book: “Put it all together and you’ve got me!” That’s true for us. It is untrue for God. Each of God’s attributes is identical with Himself and His other perfections because each is infinite.
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Young adults today have less friendships, genuine social interaction, abilities to make a decision, and live in constant fear—fear of things that are not scary. Fear of life. Shrier explains why. We live in a strange new world that overly values gentle parenting; trauma-based therapy (even where there’s no trauma); over-medicating of our children; and empathy over sympathy. In flame throwing fashion, each of these problems are addressed by Shrier—and she’s a convincing voice. 


Some of you need to fire your child’s therapist right away. Some of you need to figure out what interactions your school psychologist, counselors, and paraprofessionals are having with your children.
With.Your.Children.
Children are being ruined by therapeutic parenting and our therapeutic culture.
If you are a therapist you may need to be repenting due to causing more harm than good. Therapists and the therapizing of our children may be responsible for a large portion of the immaturity, anxiety, depression, and suicidality of our nation’s youth. We have created a generation of adults in “emotional snow suits” and have children that are afraid to live life at full volume.
Abigail Shrier’s Bad Therapy: Why The Kids Aren’t Growing Up (Penguin Random House: 2024) was an eye opening look at competing peer reviewed literature pertaining to the psychotherapy given to children.
Shrier is not my religion, has a different view of human nature than me, listens to different podcasts than I do, has a very different worldview than me—and yet, I appreciated Shrier’s book immensely. 

I believe that everyone who has a child or grandchild needs to read this book. I believe that everyone that has children in public schools—and Christian—ought to read this book. I believe that all therapists, counselors, and all who are trained in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) ought to read this book. Pastors, elders, and Sunday school workers—the world is different than the one that you grew up in—and in part—it is because we have therapized our children. We have turned them over to professionals and turned off the parental instincts that God has given to us through the light of nature. In fact, all parents should read this book as it is the parental air that we breathe—coddling, empathizing, “partnering” with our children.
Now, some children need therapy. Let me say that again: some children need therapy. Most do not. Shrier discusses this fact, but overall this book is not for the genuinely abused, harmed, and neglected. This book is for everyone else. Those who believe that we all can benefit from therapy and believe that all need a professional to talk to. This book will be more beneficial to most parents than paying a therapist.
Shrier divides the book into three main sections.Read More
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