The American Church in Paris

The American Church in Paris (ACP) is a Christian community of all socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, races, nationalities, gender identities, and sexual orientations.

We are an interdenominational and international Christian community whose mission is to bear witness by word and deed to the love of God as revealed in Jesus Christ, to provide a place of English-language worship in the American Protestant tradition, and to engage in ministries and services that enrich the lives of residents and visitors in Paris.

On any given Sunday, there are 40-50+ different nationalities represented. We are a community of faith that celebrates diversity – theologically, generationally, racially, and culturally. People of all ethnicities, economic situations, genders and sexual orientations are welcome at ACP.

ACP is the first American church established outside of the United States. With roots as a home church dating back to 1814, ACP was officially chartered and the original site for a building was purchased in 1857. We have been in ministry at the quai d’Orsay location since 1931. Among its many esteemed guest preachers have been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. 

To carry out our multi-faceted and dynamic mission, ACP has a related non-religious, not-for-profit association, the Franco American Community Center in Paris (FACCP), which provides hospitality and resources for a variety of community activities and groups. More than 2,000 people use our facilities each day. Two bilingual schools, a variety of recovery groups, exercise, music and art classes, basketball leagues, a concert series, a community bulletin board for housing and job opportunities, are housed in our building. The separate FACCP association provides a legal structure for these and other activities that are not allowed for religious associations in France.

The ACP is an instrument supported by and in partnership with the American and Foreign Christian Union (AFCU), which is charged with the responsibility for maintaining a place and program of Protestant worship designed particularly for the American community but open to all residents and visitors in Paris.

ACP's Vision, Mission, and Values

Embracing the biblical charge to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly (Micah 6:8), we joyfully and whole-heartedly commit ourselves to discerning and doing the good work prepared for us by the grace of God (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10).

ACP's Affirmation of Welcome and Inclusion:

We believe that we are called to love and welcome all people of all socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, races, nationalities, gender identities, and sexual orientations.
We believe that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ and seek to be his disciple may become members of our church.
We believe that all members of the ACP should have the same rights and responsibilities.
Full text of Affirmation of Welcome and Inclusion at ACP here.

How is it that we are able to live into Jesus’ prayer for his church to be one (John 17:20-21)?
“In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things liberty; in all things, charity.” (Richard Baxter 17th Century Puritan)
“Generosity without orthodoxy is nothing. Orthodoxy without generosity is worse than nothing” (Hans Frei)

ACP's Faith Statement – What do we believe?

Theologically, the American Church in Paris may be characterized as belonging to the historic Christian mainstream. Our constitution states:

The Church recognizes the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the revelation of God in matters of faith and practice, and it accepts as a symbol of our union with the great body of Christians, living and dead, the spiritual truths embodied in the Apostle’s Creed. The church asserts its belief in the freedom and responsibility of the individual and the right of private judgment exercised under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle’s Creed (ecumenical)

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.