The Evangelical Pentecostal Church of Besançon, now known as the Evangelical Church The Mission of Besançon, was founded in December 1963 in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France. Aldo Benzi established the congregation after what he described as a personal conversion experience linked to a recovery from pleurisy that he considered miraculous. Benzi served as the church’s first president and shaped its early religious structure around classical Pentecostalism, emphasizing the gifts of the Holy Spirit and a literal interpretation of the Bible.
In 1977, leadership passed to René Kennel, a former Mennonite farmer. Kennel introduced a mix of Mennonite and Pentecostal influences, placing emphasis on healthy living and missionary work. Under his leadership, the church expanded throughout northern and eastern France during the late 1970s and 1980s. Kennel also trained a new generation of pastors, including his son Étienne, and helped formalize the movement into the Evangelical Missionary Federation by 1989. At its height, the federation included dozens of churches and several thousand members.
The church’s theology was expressed through a creed that evolved from twelve to eight articles of faith. Its central doctrines, including belief in the Trinity and the authority of the Bible, remained broadly aligned with evangelical Christianity. Worship practices, however, were more demonstrative, often including speaking in tongues and worship services lasting several hours. Women were also expected to cover their heads during worship. The movement additionally placed importance on the “spiritual course” of its leader, presenting Kennel’s personal history as an example for members to follow.
During the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, the church became a target of France’s growing anti-cult movement. Critics pointed to evangelism efforts in locations including psychiatric hospitals and schools, describing these activities as forms of “mental manipulation.” Other allegations included the social isolation of members, discouragement of individuality through standardized behavior and dress, and the collection of large donations used to acquire property.
These controversies contributed to the church being listed as a cult in the French National Assembly’s parliamentary reports of 1995 and 1999. The reports described the organization as a movement centered around a “guru-like” leader operating under the protections granted to Protestant religious groups. French tax authorities also challenged the church’s religious status, arguing that its primary purpose was proselytizing rather than worship.
In response, the church pursued a strategy focused on academic and institutional support. It sought backing from sociologists and historians of religion who argued that the movement represented a strict but nonviolent form of Pentecostalism. These scholars contended that the church was being targeted because of its activism and rapid growth rather than because of proven criminal conduct.
In 1999, the Administrative Court of Besançon recognized the church’s religious status for tax purposes. Later, in 2013, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in the church’s favor in the tax dispute, concluding that France had violated protections related to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Internal divisions emerged in 2005 following a sex scandal involving Étienne Kennel, René Kennel’s grandson and a prominent pastor within the movement. He was expelled from the ministry in January 2006. Tensions increased further after allegations that René Kennel had attempted to conceal his grandson’s conduct. Many members left, and pastors within the federation ultimately voted to dissolve the Evangelical Missionary Federation in November 2006.
After the federation dissolved, individual churches either became independent or reorganized under new structures. Membership in Besançon declined significantly, at one point dropping to around 70 people, but the congregation continued operating. In 2020, it formally adopted the name “Evangelical Church The Mission of Besançon.” In recent years, the church has adopted a lower-profile approach to evangelism compared with the public campaigns it conducted during the 1980s.
Key Sources:
Fautré, W. (1999, June 8). The Cult Issue in Western Europe and Religious Intolerance. Human Rights Without Frontiers.
Hervieu-Léger, B. (2000, June 1). L’Église évangélique de Besançon. Réforme.
Klein, G. (2005). Les sectes et l’ordre public. Presses Univ. Franche-Comté.
Van Geirt, J. (1997). La France aux cent sectes.