Action Biblique Suisse Church Association
The « Action Biblique » church association in Switzerland currently includes 14 churches in the French and German parts of Switzerland. Additionally the church association extens to several other countries of the world including Portugal, Italy, Boivia, and Brazil. Literally translated as biblical action, is an evangelical missionary work that began in 1907, whose initial vocation was the dissemination of the Bible.
In addition to the churches in various cantons in French and German speaking Switzerland, Action Biblique Suisse is also active in christian Youth camps known as the JAB (Jeunesse (Youth) Action Biblique). Please see our dedicated Youth ministry page for more information.
Action Biblique Suisse also runs a christian retreat center called the Berghaus (literally “house in the mountains”). It is ideally located in the region of Interlaken. Please see our Isenfluh-Berghaus page and the main Isenfluh Berghaus website for more information.
Our Roots in Switzerland, Geneva and Lausanne
Action Biblique is an evangelical missionary work that began in 1907, whose initial vocation was the dissemination of the Bible. A first Biblical Alliance was founded in Switzerland in 1914 by the ministry of the Scottish evangelist Hugh Edward Alexander (1884 – 1957). Trained at the Biblical Institute in Glasgow at the time of a religious revival in Wales, he came to settle in Cologny, near Geneva, on August 6, 1906. In 1919, he opened a “Missionary Biblical School ” French-speaking in Bienne which closed in 1924 due to pressure from the civil authorities. In 1926, he officially created the Action Biblique (AB) Christian denomination. AB founded the Biblical Institute of Geneva in 1928. The AB Lausanne-Renens church was founded in 1923 (at the time it was located at Tunnel near the Riponne).
In 2005, the association had 10,000 members. In 2014, the association had 15 churches in Switzerland and several others in France, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Ivory Coast. As of 2017, it has 50 churches around the world.
The Churches of French-speaking Switzerland
Action Biblique Suisse includes several evangelical churches in French-speaking and German-speaking Switzerland:
Canton of Vaud:
The Action Biblique Church of Lausanne Renens has existed since 1923 (at the time it was located in the Tunnel near the Riponne). It is located near the EPFL (federal polytechnic school of Lausanne) and not far from the University of Lausanne and the church regularly welcomes students. The church regularly hosts the “Reconnexions” reunion where young people from the youth groups in French-speaking Switzerland meet for moments of sharing.
AB Riviera-Vevey Church: the church moved in 2020. Services and other meetings take place at Emmaus:
Emmaus Forum
Geneva room
Route de Fenil 40
1806 Saint-Légier
Canton Jura:
Église AB Moutier ; and Église AB St-Imier
Canton of Geneva:
2 churches currently exist in Geneva.
Located in the Geneva countryside in Meinier near Anière, Cologny and Corsier, the AB Genève-Meinier Church is also easily accessible from the Left Bank areas of Geneva (Eaux-Vives, Champel, etc.). The church is regularly visited by students from the Institut Biblique de Genève, which is located in Cologny.
AB Genève-Servette Church: Ideally located 10 minutes on foot from the Cornavin-Genève train station and from the University (Uni-Dufour, Uni-Mail) and Plainpalais.
The AB-Meinier and AB-Servette churches in Geneva regularly hold activities together (for example, Youth Biblical Action activities, worship evenings).
Canton Neuchâtel:
Église AB Montagnes neuchâteloises (Le Locle) et Église AB Neuchâtel
Canton of Valais:
The canton of Valais neighbours the canton of Vaud and the AB Monthey Church in Valais regularly organizes activities with the AB Vevey Church in Vaud (choir, common worship, youth group meetings). In recent years an outing / picnic in the village of Torgon was organized.
German-speaking Swiss churches:
The churches in German-speaking Switzerland have experienced significant growth in recent years. The AB-Bern Church offers services in the villages of Gümligen, Kiesen and Burgdorf. Action Biblique is also present in Basel and Zürich, see their respective websites AB Basel; AB Zurich.
Other sister Associations are in France, Italy, Portugal, Bolivia, Brazil and Ivory Coast.
Youth Activities
Switzerland boasts a large number of youth nature camps organized by various organizations such as the scouts and others, many of which operate under the Jeunesse et Sports affiliation. Action Biblique organizes a large number of youth camps for all age groups and throughout the year which also are affiliated to Jeunesse et Sports. Discover through our website and various links, the JAB (Jeunesse Action Biblique), which translates to Action Biblique youth. (JAB) is an evangelical Christian youth organization. JAB Sport / Retreat Camps are organized through the Association of Evangelical Churches of Action Biblique Suisse. The camps feature various sports mostly taking place in the mountains (hiking, kayaking, skiing, overnight camping etc). Many of the camps have obtained the “Jeunesse et Sports” affiliation which requires specific training for the counselors supervising the camps. Activities are also regularly organized with the other AB churches in the Canton of Vaud (AB-Vevey, AB-Monthey) as well as the other churches in French-speaking Switzerland. Larger camps and get togethers are also organized with some of the Action Biblique churches in France (particularly the ski-camp in Contamines which takes place yearly at the end of December).