The Centre Chrétien du Roussillon is a protestant church, affiliated with the Communion des Eglises de l’Espace Francophone, which is in turn part of the Fédération Protestante de France.
The church is based on the major principles of the Reformation (salvation by faith, grace, and the Scriptures alone).
It was founded in 1992 and is situated in the départment Pyrénées-Orientales. Formerly located near the résidence des Lauriers in Perpignan, the constant growth of the congregation forced us to move to a new site, 2 Rue Georges Braque, in November 2000. For several months the members of the church worked hard to make this site practical and welcoming. Today the Centre Chrétien du Roussillon is able to welcome more than five hundred people in the main hall. There are also various annex rooms, which serve either as offices for the pastors, or as multi-purpose rooms for the daily activities of the church. The Centre Chrétien du Roussillon also has a bookshop where it is possible to buy different editions of the Bible as well as various books about the Christian faith.
The church is led by Pastor Robert Héris, who is assisted by his colleague, Pastor Moray Mckay, originally from Scotland. Both of their wives are fully involved in the life of the community, in Christian counselling, helping people with personal problems, and in the Sunday School and Worship teams respectively. The church’s Trustees and a team of Elders participate in the leadership of the CCR, which brings together around 150 families every week. Many members of the community contribute in different ways to the life of the church, be it as musicians, singers, builders, painters, electricians, gardeners etc. or by looking after the children. Every Sunday morning, a service is held at 9.45am, which is regularly attended by around two hundred people
At the Centre Chrétien du Roussillon there our vision can be divided into five aspects :
1) INTERNATIONALITY. The members of the church desire to live out the reality of this verse from the Book of Revalation (7.9) “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” In these times when racism is an unfortunate reality, the members of the C.C.R. rejoice in the number of different nations that are represented within the congregation.
2) THE UNITY OF BELIEVERS. The Centre Chrétien du Roussillon welcomes Christians from all denominational backgrounds. The church prays constantly for the unity of Christians in Perpignan and the Pyrénées-Orientales. The pastors regularly encourage the members of the church to respect and to bless other churches in the town and the surrounding area. We appreciate meetings between denominations, which help us to discover all the richness of the Body of Christ, and to take part by his Spirit in the building up of the Church. We understand that the Church of Jesus Christ exists everywhere where Jesus is recognized as Lord and Saviour and we identify with these words of Martin Luther: “The Church is made up of all those on Earth who live in true faith, in hope, and in love, so that the essence, the life, and the nature of Christianity is not an assembly of bodies, but a union of hearts in the same faith. This spiritual communion is entirely sufficient to make up Christianity, and therefore the true Church.”
3) Our buildings are equipped to become A REGIONAL, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE. During the last few years we have been able to stage conferences bringing together 600 participants in buildings which are being made more and more suitable for this purpose.
4) The fourth aspect of the church’s vision is the LOCAL CUMMUNITY. The members of the church love Perpignan, and pray for their town as well as for politicians, religious leaders and for all those in positions of responsibility who are able to influence the inhabitants of the region in one way or another by their decisions. The members of the C.C.R. are invited to serve their fellow citizens, particularly through taking part in the work of local charitable bodies.
5) Finally, the last aspect of the church’s action is MISSION. The Centre Chrétien du Roussillon wants to be a place where missionaries from other countries can come to fulfill their calling to serve God in France. The pastoral team is culturally diverse and over recent years has been made up of French, British, and American people. The C.C.R. also welcomes foreign students to come to France to work with us during the third year of their university language course (“Erasmus students”) or students who are taking a year out. We have been truly blessed and enriched by this participation. But Mission is also sending out believers to other countries and continents to take the wonderful message of the Gospel, as well as offering humanitarian aide in areas of need.
The life of the C.C.R. is marked by gatherings of believers on Sundays, for the service, but also on Wednesdays at 7.30pm for a Worship and Prayer meeting, with a talk from the Bible. No-one is forgotten! There are activities for children, youth, older people, singles etc. as well as for newcomers who are invited to take part in the Alpha course. We also run Alpha Couple, a relationship enrichment course. A lending library, with several hundred volumes is also at the disposal of church members.
The essential message that the Centre Chrétien du Roussillon wishes to carry on sending out is the love of God for everyone! “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3.16).
All the activities of the C.C.R., our gatherings, and our projects are underpinned by the conviction that Jesus Christ alone can bring true life both here and now, and eternally!
If you want to find out more you can call the church office on 09.50.77.45.99