History

L’Abri Fellowship began in Switzerland in 1955 when Francis and Edith Schaeffer decided in faith to open their home to be a place where people might find satisfying answers to their questions and practical demonstration of Christian care. It was called L’Abri, the French word for “shelter,” because they sought to provide a shelter from the pressures of a relentlessly secular 20th century. As time went by, so many people came that others were called to join the Schaeffer’s in their work, and more branches were established.

Excerpts from Photographer Sylvester Jacobs book “Portrait of a Shelter” IVP 1973. (Permission pending).

For an in-depth overview of how L’Abri started, the early years, and developments since then, look at Edith Schaeffer’s book L’Abri, available on Amazon and Barnes&Noble.