The Free Evangelical Church was formed as a result of the split in the

Evangelical Church in New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands The Protestant Church of Kanaky New Caledonia (), known until 2013 as the Evangelical Church in New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands (), was formed in 1958, the denomination has announced its 50th anniversary in 2008. The London Missionary Socie ...

. Its leader was Raymond Chaelemagne a missionary in the

Kanak people The Kanaks (French language, French spelling until 1984: Canaque) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific Ocean, Pacifi ...

. The

Paris Evangelical Missionary Society The Paris Evangelical Missionary Society (in French, ''Société des missions évangéliques de Paris''), also known as the ''SMEP'' or ''Mission de Paris'', was a Protestant missionary association created in 1822. As with other Christian societie ...

requested him to return to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, but numerous teachers and supporters requested him to stay. This created the split. Ministers are men only. It has 74 parishes and 2,000 members. Reconciliation with The Evangelical Church in New Caledonia began in 1992.

References

Reformed denominations in Oceania Religion in New Caledonia {{Reformed-denomination-stub