Wildfires that forced residents to evacuate parts of southwestern France this summer also created unexpected opportunities for Christians to build relationships with people affected by the disaster, according to a church-planting leader working in the region.
Arnaud Schrodi, director of church planting and development for Perspectives, an evangelical Protestant network in France, was among those evacuated from Pessac, a suburb of Bordeaux. Looking back on the experience, he said the fires caused widespread destruction and left communities dealing with smoke, ash and uncertainty.
“The forest fires this summer were devastating,” Schrodi told Christian Daily International.
The area between the Atlantic coast and Bordeaux was particularly badly affected, with hundreds of people reportedly losing their homes. Although Schrodi and his church-planting team were not close enough to directly assist many of the families who lost their homes, Pessac was also affected by toxic smoke, evacuations and falling ash.
Schrodi said the crisis brought neighbours together and created opportunities for conversations that might otherwise not have happened.
“There was an outpouring of support, which gave us the chance to talk a great deal with our neighbors and get to know each other better,” he said.
For Schrodi, those relationships can become an important part of Christian witness. He is considering organising a prayer and worship gathering in the village of Le Porge for people affected by the fires.
Paul Cooke, director of France Mission, also described the situation in the mission's latest newsletter. He recalled receiving a WhatsApp message from Schrodi on 25 July as the fires approached the Bordeaux area.
Schrodi reported that strong winds had pushed smoke towards Pessac, leaving the area under a thick cloud accompanied by the smell of burning and falling ash. An overnight evacuation warning was issued for western Mérignac, only a few hundred metres away from Pessac.
Schrodi's wife, Colette, and their children were away on holiday at the time, but he evacuated with his parents and mission team members Bruno and Annaelle.
He said the experience had reminded them of their dependence on God and encouraged them to seek strength in the Lord.
The fires came as Schrodi and his team were already working to establish a stronger Christian presence in an area that has relatively few evangelical churches.
According to Cooke, southwestern France has attracted increasing numbers of young workers, students and families, but the region has only around 300 churches serving approximately 8 million people across 129,000 square kilometres.
Cooke compared this with New York City, where around 3,000 evangelical churches serve a similar population within an area of about 1,214 square kilometres. By that comparison, southwestern France has around 10 times fewer churches despite covering roughly 100 times more land.
Schrodi said his concern for the region began when he was 25 and saw a map showing the distribution of evangelical churches across France.
He was struck by the strong Protestant presence in his native Alsace and became increasingly aware of the need for greater Gospel witness in southwestern France.
Although he initially expected to become involved in a church-planting project in Biarritz, he said the opportunity did not come immediately. Instead, he spent two decades gaining experience through study, ministry and other projects.
Schrodi studied for four years at the Geneva Bible Institute and then spent 10 years involved in church planting in Strasbourg. In August 2025, he and his family moved to the Bordeaux area to develop a church-planting network with Union Perspectives.
The family is now based in Pessac, which is adjacent to Bordeaux and home to a major university campus. Their church plant began in their home, while they continue searching for suitable premises where they can hold worship services, work with students and establish a centre for training future church planters.
The wider vision is to plant, train, send and multiply churches across southwestern France, with Bordeaux serving as the regional centre.
Schrodi said the team's goal is simply “to humbly participate in the work of evangelism so that the Good News of Jesus may spread.”
Pessac was chosen partly because the town has a population of around 66,000 but only one Protestant church, while its university campus has more than 60,000 students.
Schrodi hopes the new congregation can eventually play a role similar to the church in Antioch in the New Testament by helping to equip and send people into new areas.
The team is developing a regional training centre for church planters and a ministry focused on students. It also hopes to establish a coffee shop as a welcoming “third space” where people with little connection to church can form relationships with Christians.
The project also aims to support independent churches through guidance and mentoring.
Schrodi has asked Christians around the world to pray for people who have never heard the Gospel, additional team members, suitable premises, future church planters and financial support for the work.
Based on reporting by Christian Daily International.
