Matches in DBpedia 2014 for { ?s ?p The Evangelical Missionary Church of Besançon (French: Église évangélique missionnaire de Besançon), formerly known as the Evangelical Pentecostal Church of Besançon and The Mission, is a Christian movement established in Besançon, France, in December 1963. In close communion with the Protestant Federation of France, this church belongs to the Pentecostal movement and in 1969 founded the Evangelical Missionary Federation (Fédération Évangélique Missionnaire, or FEM) to gather the various Pentecostal churches it created. The assemblies, which developed very quickly throughout eastern and northern France, numbered well over 2,000 members.The church was founded by Aldo Benzi, who converted to Christianity after being healed from a pleurisy. Subsequent leader René Kennel, a former Mennonite farmer who became pastor of the churches in Saint-Dizier and in Joinville after discovering Pentecostalism through an evangelical Roma mission, has directed the church since 1977. Its main beliefs (expressed in a creed of eight articles of faith) and practices are nearly identical with those of most Evangelical and Pentecostal groups, with a special focus on miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit and proselytism. In the late 1990s the church was embroiled in many trials (often on the grounds of defamation or for financial issues), losing most of them. In 2006 a sex scandal within the church led the federation to be dissolved, and the church in Besançon became independent.Since 1988 the church has been the subject of recurring public controversy; anti-cult associations and organizations (UNADFI, CCMM and MILS – then MIVILUDES), former members and the vast majority of media presented it as a dangerous group, mainly because of its intensive missionary activities and healing practices. The church was eventually listed as a cult in the 1995 and 1999 parliamentary reports established by the French National Assembly. Protestant and academic circles, however, disagreed with this assessment, considering the church to be a genuine Pentecostal group. The latter responded to criticism through a defensive strategy, which included outreach to sociologists and historians and better ties with mainstream religions, local and national institutions.. }
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- Evangelical_Missionary_Church_of_Besançon abstract "The Evangelical Missionary Church of Besançon (French: Église évangélique missionnaire de Besançon), formerly known as the Evangelical Pentecostal Church of Besançon and The Mission, is a Christian movement established in Besançon, France, in December 1963. In close communion with the Protestant Federation of France, this church belongs to the Pentecostal movement and in 1969 founded the Evangelical Missionary Federation (Fédération Évangélique Missionnaire, or FEM) to gather the various Pentecostal churches it created. The assemblies, which developed very quickly throughout eastern and northern France, numbered well over 2,000 members.The church was founded by Aldo Benzi, who converted to Christianity after being healed from a pleurisy. Subsequent leader René Kennel, a former Mennonite farmer who became pastor of the churches in Saint-Dizier and in Joinville after discovering Pentecostalism through an evangelical Roma mission, has directed the church since 1977. Its main beliefs (expressed in a creed of eight articles of faith) and practices are nearly identical with those of most Evangelical and Pentecostal groups, with a special focus on miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit and proselytism. In the late 1990s the church was embroiled in many trials (often on the grounds of defamation or for financial issues), losing most of them. In 2006 a sex scandal within the church led the federation to be dissolved, and the church in Besançon became independent.Since 1988 the church has been the subject of recurring public controversy; anti-cult associations and organizations (UNADFI, CCMM and MILS – then MIVILUDES), former members and the vast majority of media presented it as a dangerous group, mainly because of its intensive missionary activities and healing practices. The church was eventually listed as a cult in the 1995 and 1999 parliamentary reports established by the French National Assembly. Protestant and academic circles, however, disagreed with this assessment, considering the church to be a genuine Pentecostal group. The latter responded to criticism through a defensive strategy, which included outreach to sociologists and historians and better ties with mainstream religions, local and national institutions.".