capital campaign 2025
We’re raising funds for a unique and exciting opportunity: A beautiful 18th-century former Roman Catholic Church in Heidelberg has become available for purchase.
When Martin Luther and others tirelessly worked towards Reformation in Germany some 500 years ago, humanly speaking this was an impossible project. And yet, within decades, the Lord turned an entire nation upside down and restored the clarion call of the Gospel and solid, thriving Biblical churches. Within a few decades, the Reformation reached the Palatinate and the city of Heidelberg, where, finally, the Reformed faith was codified in such trusted confessions as the Heidelberg Catechism and joyfully embraced by multitudes.
As believers alive today, all of us are in some important way indebted to this rich heritage in Germany.
As in the 16th century, a work of Reformation was absolutely necessary to restore true Gospel preaching and the true church of Christ in Germany, so it is once again today. 200 years of liberal theology, of godless philosophies of man, and of marginalizing the church have decimated this powerful Biblical and confessional witness and heritage in Germany. In many ways, the state of Christianity is worse today than it was during the days of Luther and the Heidelberg Catechism.
But as the latter so beautifully puts it (Q&A 54): „I believe that the Son of God, out of the whole human race, from the beginning of the world to its end, gathers, defends, and preserves for himself, by his Spirit and Word, in the unity of the true faith, a church chosen to everlasting life.“ We believe, the Lord is doing that very thing once again in Germany today.
While beautiful church buildings are empty or being turned into mosques and restaurants, churches are also being planted and meeting in homes, garages, or office space. There is a new movement towards Reformation happening in Germany.
The Current Realities
In 2010, by God’s grace, we were able to start a mission work in Heidelberg, Germany called „Selbständige evangelisch-reformierte Kirche in Deutschland“ („Independent Evangelical Reformed Churches in Germany“). In this concerted church planting effort, we are self-consciously connecting with the Reformed church in Germany of the past. The church plant in Heidelberg was just the first step in the strategically important project of planting a new Reformed church in Germany. Since then, another congregation has been planted in Hannover, Northern Germany. Currently, we are training future church planters and targeting more cities in Germany.
(Re-)Launching a Reformed denomination is no easy task, and yet the Lord has blessed us with a measure of growth, both spiritual and numerical. We are still a small congregation in Heidelberg, and yet we have outgrown our small meeting space. We have no room for youth activities or offices, and when visitors attend our worship services, we sometimes have to have people stand in the lobby. Since many of our members drive long distances to attend, every Sunday we share a fellowship lunch together between our two worship services. We are thankful for this time of sweet fellowship together, but our current space is no longer suitable for all of our needs as a congregation, stymying our growth - even as the Lord gives the increase.
Our Options
Over the last year or two we have increasingly sensed the need to find new space for our congregation in Heidelberg to allow us to continue to grow and develop in all areas of our ministry. We have identified the following options:
Rent commercial office space with a large, open, central meeting area and 2-3 side rooms. One disadvantage to commercial office space is the location. Often these types of buildings are outside of both the city and the main residential areas, surrounded by businesses and factories. In addition, the connection with public transportation is often complicated. Some advantages to this option include the good availability of parking as well as the opportunity to add additional space as the needs of the congregation grow in the future.
Purchase a “generic” building with the square footage and an interior layout that could be repurposed for the needs of a congregation. Rent levels in Heidelberg are very high, so we believe a long-term plan to rent space would not be economical or wise stewardship for our church for the next decades. However, there are very few generic buildings available for purchase with layouts that match our requirements, and the purchase prices for such buildings can also be quite high.
Find a church building we could co-use, rent, or purchase. The importance of an actual church building for ministry in Germany can hardly be overstated. With the prominence of the official state churches, Germans are generally suspicious of independent religious groups meeting in warehouses and private homes. For this, and a variety of other reasons, our prayer from the beginning has been that we would be able to meet in an historic church building. To purchase such a building would of course be the best option long-term, but this door had never opened for us before, and the very few co-use or rental opportunities that presented themselves always failed to materialize for a number of practical/logistical reasons.
But now, unexpectedly, a wonderful opportunity has emerged.
An Extraordinary Opportunity
We could call it an answer to our prayers, or the providence of God, or a “once in a lifetime opportunity,” or all of the above! Not too long ago we were alerted to a small, beautiful historic church building that had come on the market, less than a mile from our current location. The church was built in 1737 and has space for up to 300 people. The property includes a side building formerly used as a parsonage, which we would use for youth programs and office space for the church, classes, and for the affiliated ministries of our mission work in Germany (such as theological education and publishing). A small open courtyard connects the two beautiful buildings. The buildings are in fantastic shape and have been completely renovated.
This building complex would not only serve the church in Heidelberg perfectly, providing opportunity to grow, but it would also serve as a hub or epicenter of Reformed ministry and church planting in Germany.
Please see Appendix 1 for further details about the building.
Our Call for Help
We are weak and poor on our own, but our God is good, wise, and rich beyond measure. We ask humbly and boldly for you to join us in rebuilding the Reformed church in Germany. We can’t do it on our own. With this opportunity, every dollar we receive would be put towards owning an historic church building in Heidelberg that will serve as an anchor and base of operations for all of Germany.
However, we need to move quickly. There have already been others interested in buying the property. In God’s good providence they have moved on. The owner is very happy to sell to us. But we are aware this could all change in an instant.
Thus, we are launching a capital fundraising campaign (see Appendix 2 for more financial details). Some donors and foundations have already shown initial interest in getting behind such a massive project, which makes us believe it is well worth launching and seeing where the Lord leads.
The Heidelberger Society, Inc., our fundraising partner in the USA, will set up a dedicated account to gather (tax-deductible) funds for the building project. We plan to run the campaign through the end of Q1, 2025 with the following goals:
Take pledges and matching pledges towards the purchase of the building, which will become immaterial in the event that we will not be able to purchase the building.
Gather donations and matching donations, which will be used at our discretion in the event that we cannot purchase the building (i.e. to enable us to relocate to a new, better suited rented facility).
In order to enter into negotiations with the property owner and agent, we hope to have a good idea of whether we will be able to reach our goal by December 1, 2025 (if possible, even earlier).
Therefore, if you decide to partner with us in this strategic opportunity, please let us know of your intentions to give.
How to Help Us Reestablish the Reformed Church in Germany
Please pray for us! Except the Lord builds the house, they (who labor) labor in vain who build it. If you wish to contribute financially, please feel free to reach out directly to discuss ways of participation.
1
paypal
Give on a one-time or regular basis, donations are possible with Credit Card and without Paypal account.
2
paper check
The Heidelberger Society, Inc.
210 E. 9th Street
Bridgeport, PA 19405
3
bank transfer
(soon)
get in touch
Dr. Jon D. Payne
THS President
The Heidelberger Society, Inc.
210 E. 9th Street
Bridgeport, PA 19405
info@heidelbergersociety.com
Thank you!
We are humbled and excited to see what God will do. Thank you for your encouragement and your partnership in this project.
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