patrick

Our First Church Plant in

Toulouse, France

 

Arena Church, Toulouse – or rather, Église Arena – is Arena’s first church plant in France. The campus is under the guidance of Patrick and Lucile Nana-Gassa-Gonga, two passionate leaders with a heart for church planting.

 

Patrick was born in Toulouse, the fourth-largest French city, often nicknamed the Pink City due to the prevalence of pink terracotta architecture. The eldest of five children, Patrick’s parents moved to Bordeaux when he was one year old. His church life began when he joined a church with his mother.

 

God helped him to grow spiritually, and Patrick became a worship leader in his church when he was 22. He became a youth pastor 4 years later. In 2013, he followed the call of God and went to bible school (IBTI) in England. God stirred his heart and gave him the desire to be involved with the ministry of church planting, and in 2015 God brought him back to his birth city to plant a church.

 

Patrick has been married to his lovely wife, Lucile, since 2016. Outside of church environment, you could find him supporting what he considers to be the best football club in the world – Manchester United – in an English pub in Toulouse, or reading a book about French lawyers. Patrick originally wanted to be a lawyer, but God had another plan for him.

ARENA CHURCH IN TOULOUSE

Arena Church is a place where everyone can belong, our ethos is that “everybody is somebody at Arena”. This is no new idea of ours, it comes from the heart of Jesus, he hung around with the majestic and maligned, the businessman and the beggar, the politician and the prostitute and he loved them all. Jesus heart is for everybody, and that is our heart at Arena. We are seeking to build a Church that reaches every area of society, where everyone is welcomed with open arms. Wherever you are in your life, you will be welcomed at the Arena.

Our Sunday services reflect the inclusive nature of Jesus, whether you have never stepped foot in a Church and just want to ‘see what it’s all about’ or whether you have been in Church your whole life, there is something for you. Our services reflect the greatness of our God alongside the reality of our humanity. They are passionate, intimate, exciting and engaging as we seek to go on this journey called life together. We don’t want you to put on a mask or a facade, we want you to come as you are.

We are one Church in many locations. Each of our campuses reflects the heart of Arena but also the community in which we are placed. We would love to welcome you to one of our campuses this week.

PLAN A VISIT

For more information about how you can get involved with our Toulouse gatherings, email admin@arenachurch.co.uk