May 7 – The Homeless

Homeless Evangelical Mission (Mission Évangélique parmi les Sans-Logis – MESL)

Location: Paris (75)

Represented by Gilles Boucomont

Current Context

The Homeless Evangelical Mission (Mission Évangélique parmi les Sans-Logis – MESL) has brought together Christians of both Protestant and Evangelical denominations to serve the most needy. Open year round, even on public holidays, it serves close to 90,000 hot meals a year, gives 800 people a postal address, offers lockers, and organizes doctor or podiatrist visits in addition to other services. 

MESL’s motto “LA PAROLE ET LE PAIN” (the Word and the Bread) makes reference to how it ministers by feeding both the soul and the body. Making a Bible study and worship time with food distribution available to those excluded from society shows how all can be included in the Kingdom of God.

More generally, this work is known in the street community as a haven of peace where distributions are conflict-free because the Prince of Peace is seen at work.

Regeneration: hope for the homeless 

Titus 3:5-6, speaks of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, highlighting a fundamental message of the Gospel: salvation does not rest on our works, but on divine mercy. This message is particularly relevant when we consider the reality of homeless people, faced with marginalization, suffering and abandonment. The regeneration offered by Jesus Christ not only transforms individuals from within, through faith, but also touches the concrete needs of their daily lives, enabling them to become more integrated, whether through work, a better relational network or the overcoming of self-destructive habits that many of them deal with.

The growing reality of homelessness

In France today, the number of people living on the streets is continually on the rise. Faced with this reality, we can feel overwhelmed. The Gospel is a source of hope for all, including those who seem most lost and those seeking help. It endows Christians with a capacity for compassion that surpasses human norms. Through this compassion, believers are called to become the hands and feet of Christ in the world. Helping the homeless doesn’t just mean providing them with a roof over their heads or a meal. It also means bringing them a message of hope, showing them that they are loved and precious in God’s eyes, in the eyes of “the one who didn’t even have a stone to lay his head on” (as Jesus is described in the Gospels). 

We are all in need of God’s mercy and regeneration. This truth urges us to reach out to those in need, not out of duty, but out of gratitude for what we have received. In a world where social challenges seem insurmountable, the Gospel offers a hopeful response. 

S. is a volunteer from Mauritius. A former Hindu, she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and was baptized in a church near MESL. She came to know the Lord through MESL and serves Him by serving the poorest. She went from an unhealthy marriage relationship keeping her in bondage to freedom in Jesus Christ. 

Actions taken and results achieved in 2024

We work with homeless people and those in very precarious situations. In 2024, we finally rolled out a “Street Bible”, a project we had worked on with the French Bible Society. We now have a tool for reaching those on the streets, able to offer them a weather-proof and easy to read Bible with specially adapted resources. 

The number of people we feed continues to grow. Our permanent staff of 4 are joined by 60 dedicated volunteers). We have started a DETOX group, which offers a Bible study focused on the possibility of liberation from addictions. 

Projects in 2025

2025 marks our 60th anniversary. While we long for a day when both homelessness disappears and our ministry is no longer needed, we want to continue to better combine the care of bodies with the care of souls by offering both physical and spiritual nourishment as long as we can. LA PAROLE ET LE PAIN !

Prayer topics

1. Pray that the scandal of there being 100,000 vacant homes in Paris, and 7,000 homeless on the streets, will be remedied by courageous public policy. 

2. Pray that Christians will no longer see the homeless as objects of compassion, but as brothers and sisters, some already in Christ, and others soon to be. 

Further information

1. Street Bible on the Impact France website: impactfrance.org/biblerue

2. MESL website: mission-evangelique-parmi-les-sans-logis.fr/