Saint-Lô is a city located in Normandy, northern France. The city, which is nearly nine square miles and has a population of about 20,000 inhabitants, has only two protestant churches, leaving the people of Saint-Lô and its 60 surrounding towns vastly unreached.

 

Like many other places in the world, there exists a “cultural religion” among the people. Some of these claim a particular religion or sect but almost never attend a church, and even worse, they don’t have a personal relationship with the Lord.

 

The population of Saint-Lô is diverse, and there’s a big need to spread the message of the gospel. To show God’s love, we intend to reach some of the major groups, especially the elderly, kids, teenagers, and immigrants and refugees.

 

Representing more than 28% of the population of the city, the elderly people are the biggest group. Many in this category reside in retreat homes forgotten by family and the society in which they live. A second group will be immigrants and refugees. There are many newcomers to France and to Saint-Lô, which has led to an influx of people arriving from Middle Eastern Countries. While Catholicism maintains its steady hold on the majority, we are also seeing a growing number of Muslims with the influx of people arriving from Islamic backgrounds. A third group we see in our community is those who, for various reasons, find themselves without sufficient financial resources. Many are receiving government assistance but take advantage of the system.

 

In France, more than 60% of the population is Catholic (most of them are not practicing), there’s 30% Atheist, 6% Muslims, 0.8% Jews and 1.3% Protestants (age 15 and over). Saint-Lô is only a small example of the current reality of religion in France. This represents a number of Protestants that can be estimated at about 700.000 of the 65 million French people in the country.