Calvary Chapel Bible College has opened a new extension campus in Paris, France. President, Mike Dente, and Director, Stevie Ekkelkamp, share the history, vision, mission and cultural context surrounding CCBC Paris below. If you are interested and would like to attend a semester, you may apply now!

Mike Dente:

“Opening an extension campus of Calvary Chapel Bible College in France is part of a long time dream. It reminds me of 20 years ago when we first worked with Calvary Chapel Nice’s pastor, Pierre Petrignani. Often times he would joke at staff meetings being weekly ‘conferences’ for Calvary Chapel France. Though he was being witty, he was also casting vision. We talked about opening a Bible College on several occasions, and the need to train up new leaders. France is a literary society and so education matters. People feel more comfortable in their calling when they have proper training.

When we think about the need, we remember the French-speaking world is vast – it is present on almost every continent. We are thankful for the work of Sebastien Frappier in Montreal and all he’s done to raise up new leaders for the mission field. We praise God for Rob Dingman and Loren Combs and their work training pastors in the Democratic Republic of Congo, not to mention all the ceaseless work that continues in Haiti by pastors Bastia and Poteau to train up new leaders. Yet, even with all this, there is so much more to do. Consider the fact that in France alone, there is only one evangelical church for every 33,000 people.

Over our years of service in France, we’ve seen people that wanted to go farther to be better equipped for the ministry and expand their knowledge of God. We sought to give them the same options that we love in Calvary Chapel Bible College, and we encouraged them to join foreign campuses. We were able to get a few people to go, but there was always the difficulty of the language and cultural barriers. This is why we feel the solution is a campus in France.

Thankfully, the Lord brought a young, dynamic couple, Stevie and Chelsea Ekkelkamp, into our lives with experience in running a Bible College. They’ve worked for years under the ministry of Wayne Taylor at Calvary Fellowship in the Seattle area and at CCBC Seattle.” -Mike Dente

Stevie Ekkelkamp:

“After bringing the CCBC Seattle students to Paris on a missions trip, we quickly realized the nature of the French population. With identity being found in academics and the need for Jesus seemingly nonexistent, my wife and I felt the call that a Bible college in this part of Europe was incredibly necessary.

We saw the beauty of a school where we could build up students with the biblical foundation to speak on the level of the Parisians. Our goal is to build students up with a fuller understanding of the need of the grace of Jesus, the awe of God and the fullness and the truth of the Bible. With bible-centered classes, we focus on the aspects of Jesus’ teachings, the history of redemption and the spreading of the gospel. Thanks to Mike and Becky Dente’s work in France, it was evident the soil is soft and ready for something as unique and exciting as a Bible College.

As a school, we want to teach the Bible and also provide opportunity for the students to step out in faith and obedience by reaching the nation of France. This creates a student that is not only pouring into their studies but finds purpose in them through the practical outpouring of living in a different culture that requires intense, stretching steps of faith.

One thing that transcends place, upbringing, or language is the emptiness that we all search for that only Christ can fulfill. Paul shows us in Acts 17:23 when he comes across the alter that says, “To a god that is not known,” that all of us desire the real God by the emptiness we feel. We see this written throughout history in many cultures by many people. Augustine, Pascal and C.S. Lewis writes the same thing, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” (Mere Christianity). This understanding is the purpose of the school.

As CCBC Paris kicks off this semester, we are deliberately defining this school to be building up students with a biblical foundation for their own faith and a heart of spreading the good news of Christ in France and the french speaking world. We will accomplish this with classes like French Language, Church History from a French Perspective, Evangelism and Discipleship. With distinctive classes, field trips, immersed culture, international teachers and clear vision, CCBC Paris offers a once in a lifetime semester. Please join us in prayer for the school as it starts this fall, that the Lord would move mightily and for CCBC Paris to become integral in the Calvary Chapel movement.

Consider joining us whether as students, teachers or partners in support, and contact us.” -Stevie Ekkelkamp

It is no understatement to say the refugee crisis in the West is troubling. I find myself looking nervously at images of the masses fleeing one situation while they etch out a hope for a better existence. The situation continues to grow and become more devastating. Camps have been displaced; volunteers are in great demand, but we are far from a political solution. Oddly enough, the situation vaguely reminds me of the way the word “refugee” came into existence, and what it meant for the cities of London, Amsterdam and even the development of the American Colonies.

In October of 1685, Louis XIV, the illustrious “Sun King” of France, signed into law the Edict of Fontainebleau that would forever change his kingdom and give birth to our word “refugee.”

His grandfather, Henri IV, had begun the process of ushering in legislative peace between Catholics and Protestants. Born a Protestant, Henri “converted” to Catholicism to ascend to the throne. He understood first hand the horrors of the Religious Wars (1562-1598) that deeply wounded the country and witnessed the first massive exodus of Protestants, directly following the Saint-Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (1572).

Henri IV was well loved by the French people. One of his most popular policies was poule au pot pour dimanche, a goal of assuring that each family in his kingdom would have the luxury of a full chicken to eat at least every Sunday. He was a shrewd politician that devised a compromise to bring peace between the warring Catholic and Protestant factions called the Edict of Nantes (1598). In his plan, there would be liberty of religion, where Protestants could worship in peace – just as long as they stayed out of Paris. Many have wondered what this unique king could have accomplished if only he’d been allowed to live out his years. But tragically, he was assassinated in the streets of Paris by an ultra-Catholic militant in 1610.

Over the next 75 years, the Protestants of France slowly saw their privileges stripped away.

By the time Louis XIV was ready to enact his bill, he’d already destroyed most Protestant temples, while aggressively seeking Protestant conversions to Roman Catholicism. In his preamble, he pays tribute to Henri IV’s work of peace and firmly asserts that because the Protestants are in such small numbers as to cause to no further concern, the, “Edict of Nantes is no longer useful.”

Among the numerous laws effective immediately following the Edict of Fontainebleau was the interdiction to practice the Protestant religion. The king ordered the banishment or execution of pastors, removal of all Protestant schools, including an obligation to send their children to be catechized by the local Catholic parish and the confiscation of the possessions of any Protestant family who fled the country. This legislation produced a mass exodus of Huguenots (French Protestants) living in the North of France to England and Amsterdam. Protestants in the East emigrated towards Geneva and those in the West moved towards the New World. This movement was called the Refuge, speaking of the neighboring countries that became a refuge for the réfugiés, or “refugees” as the word became adopted into the English language.

What were the results of the Refuge for France and those that received her fleeing Protestants? The Huguenots in France endured some of the worst persecutions; many converted, but the movement mostly went underground taking on the name l’Église du Désert, or the Church of the Desert in reference to Israel’s 40 years of wandering. Those that stayed became fighters and stronger in their faith. The testimony of Marie Durand, imprisoned for her faith, scratched in the stone wall of her cell. Preserved today, it still speaks with it’s one word: résister or “resist.” They held out as long as they could, but their vacuum gave way to the Enlightenment philosophers like Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

As those that could flee were often aristocracy, wealthy and educated, they took with them their money and talents to serve other kingdoms. Some came back as missionaries, but quite a few found themselves on safer shores, erecting Huguenot churches and contributing to the well being of their new home. They found havens in Quebec, New York (which was originally called New Amsterdam), Massachusetts, Virginia, South Carolina and Florida. The names of the Huguenots were often Anglicized as time went on, but in tracing their genealogies, they can be found to be influential participants several generations after the Refuge.¹ One such person is Paul Revere.

So as I look out on today’s migration, I wonder what they will bring to their new homeland, and how they will change our world.

These are questions that we will only see answered through time, but we shouldn’t be afraid. Many refugees are Muslim, but not all of them. Some are Christians, and many are becoming Christian somewhere on the road. Most refugees I’ve met are disillusioned and yet open to the Gospel. It’s good news for everyone. Every soul that opens up to Jesus is a new brother or sister. We are truly at a great crossroads, where we need wisdom, and sometimes a look from the past may shed a little light onto our present situation. I hope it will inspire prayer, compassion and outreach.

¹ “List of Huguenots” – Wikipedia

If there’s one thing I’ve learned living in a massive city like Paris, it’s that distraction is often times an attractive means to hide uncertainty.

When we were hit with the terrorist attacks, there was a time of grief and shock, especially as the media constantly reminded us of the horrors of what happened. After the initial shock of the terrorist attacks of November 13th, everyone longed for the day we would wake up, and life would go on. Our conversations would vacillate between what we had all just been through, while trying to keep up in this increasingly busy world. First there was the COP 21, the ecologists new hope for protecting the earth. Though people were touched by the historic treaty, and it struck with the world’s leaders, there was still an atmosphere of uncertainty. Then, we moved into the Christmas season. It took some time for people to feel safe in shopping centers, but steps were taken to ensure public safety. In the end, it worked, and the holidays were celebrated a little more quietly than years past. Now, we are back to work, and there is much uncertainty: politics, world economy, immigration, new laws, and more protection. So, the train of life moves forward, even over a road of new distractions that masks uncertainty and covers fear.

Uncertainty can help us seek the only One who is constant no matter what we face.

Fear can even be a gift. I’m reminded of that when I’m on a high place, and I feel dizzy apprehension. Fear can actually protect me and send me into fight-or-flight to get me out of a threatening situation. Fear and uncertainty can also be crippling. That’s why the world’s answer of distraction is so attractive. What can be a better way to forget than to watch the Force Awakens in 3D a fourth time or more refreshing than to expend nervous energy in a gym? At least we’re not immobile; at least we are not letting the terrorists win!

At the same time, I’ve seen something else happening. Many churches are spending time praying, praying together, and praying for each other. As we’ve taken the occasion to reach out, we’ve seen that people on the street are receptive to the Gospel. Yet I also noticed the temptation to give into fear and live in distraction. There are still some people who are afraid to go out, and there are others who purposely haven’t slowed down. These very different movements are present in daily life, both hoping to shape our days, and in the end, our tomorrow’s. This is what brings me again and again to the voice of Paul at a dark time in his life when he was writing his last letter to his dear friend Timothy.

2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

As I look back to this verse, I’m reminded of what I’ve been given. It’s done. In fact, it happened long before I was born. The day Jesus rose again, He went to visit His disciples who were also facing uncertain times and fear. He appeared in the midst of them, breathing on them, and giving them the Spirit. I can’t help but notice He didn’t first say, “Yeah, things are pretty bad, but just try to think about something else. Go to the gym or go watch a movie, and by the way, here’s the Spirit!” No, it was more like, “Peace be with you; receive the Spirit.” I feel that’s a message for us in this time.

Jesus knows the difficulty, and I rather think He is more interested in filling us with peace than letting us flow in the wave of distraction or sink in the pit of fear.

God surely didn’t give me a Spirit of fear, so why should I hold on to it?

What He gave, though, is everything I want to cling to, and really, what we need today! The verse says power. Power to live in such a way that glorifies Jesus in a rapidly changing world that is seeking its solutions in the glory of man. It’s not an election year in France, but many of the same issues are being brought up that I see in the US news. We are looking for someone who can lead the way to better international relations, a more prosperous economy… Many are pessimistic about what they see, but I’m not. God has the power to open doors for the Gospel, and He’s doing it in many unexpected ways.

In the same way, we need love to live out the Gospel in a time when many denounce hate, and yet, can hatefully marginalize their political opponents or professional rivals. There is a real social debate that has opened up with the presence of our new immigrants and our efforts to increase security. Love is what I need when I want to share with nationals that feel invaded, as well as refugees fighting to find a new way of life and many that are returning back to where they came from. Love that is stronger than fear; love poured out in my heart by the Spirit.

Lastly, we need to keep our wits about us. We need a sound mind to keep it all in perspective as the world continues its spin out of control. Having a sound mind is a strength as it answers the unreasonable questions fear and uncertainty use to cripple us. This is why I’m so thankful for Jesus’ solution. It’s much more healthy and hopeful – His Spirit, bringing a new hope for a new day.