Evangelical Church

What Evangelical Church does

EKBO (Evangelische Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz), trading as 'Evangelisch im Osten', is the regional Protestant church (Landeskirche) serving Berlin, Brandenburg, and the Schlesische Oberlausitz in eastern Germany. It is constituted as a Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts (public law corporation) under German religious law, headquartered at Georgenkirchstraße 69/70, Berlin, and led by Bishop Dr. Christian Stäblein. The church delivers spiritual services (worship, sacraments, pastoral care), social welfare programmes (refugee support, diaconal care, hospice counselling), cultural programming (concerts, exhibitions, education), and humanitarian fundraising via partner organisations. Its income derives principally from the Kirchensteuer (church tax) remitted by the German state, alongside donations, Kollekten, and shop sales of publications; the church operates a digital donation flow via the Twingle platform and a fulfilment partnership with Wichern-Verlag for its EKBO Webshop.

The organisation runs its operations through a fixed parish network and structured ecclesiastical bodies (Konsistorium, Landessynode, Kirchenleitung) and wholly-owned operating subsidiaries covering music, mission, media, diaconal services, environmental protection, antisemitism prevention, abuse safeguarding, and church construction. It maintains 19 international church partnerships (including in London, Göteborg, the United Church of Christ USA, and the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan) coordinated through the Berliner Missionswerk, and runs a regional event programme of approximately 5,000 listings per year across Berlin, Brandenburg, Görlitz, and Potsdam. Marketing and constituent communications operate through owned channels (ekbo.de, monthly newsletter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn) and a dedicated press office at presse.ekbo.de.

Commercially, EKBO is structurally a non-profit and not an investable enterprise: there is no parent company, no private equity, no funding rounds, no disclosed headcount, and no public revenue figure. The investment-relevant material here is the underlying revenue durability of a tax-recurrent Landeskirche, the breadth of its parish-level distribution, and the risk profile of declining religious membership across German Protestantism — none of which can be quantified from the supplied dataset.

Name

Evangelical Church

Legal name

Evangelische Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz

Website

https://ekbo.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Evangelical Church (EKBO) is the state-recognised Protestant regional church for Berlin, Brandenburg, and the Schlesische Oberlausitz, serving registered members and the wider community with worship, pastoral care, social welfare, cultural programming, and humanitarian fundraising through a parish network and digital channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (813110), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues) (BPAGAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International) (BPAGAJAE), Faith-Based Healthcare Ministries (Hospitals, Clinics, Medical Missions) (BPAGAJAH), Christian Colleges with Theological Programs (EDAHAKAG)

Keywords

• Religious services
• Pastoral care
• Community worship
• Diaconal services
• Spiritual guidance

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Church Tax (Kirchensteuer): The church receives a portion of income tax from members who have registered as church members with German tax authorities. This is collected by the state and remitted to the church.
2. Collections (Kollekten): Donations collected during worship services and special collection campaigns. These support diocesan projects, humanitarian causes, and partner organizations worldwide. Collections are processed via digital donation forms or direct bank transfer.
3. Shop Sales: Sale of church publications including the Basic Order (Grundordnung), postcards, flyers, posters, maps, and promotional materials through the EKBO web shop. Products include the Sprengelkarte (district map), annual saying postcards, and informational brochures.
4. Partner Organization Support: The church facilitates donations to partner organizations including Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World) and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (Diaconal Disaster Relief), receiving a portion or acting as intermediary for humanitarian aid.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Evangelical Church (EKBO) is a regional Protestant church providing worship services, sacraments (baptism, confirmation, marriage, burial), pastoral care and counseling, diaconal social services including refugee support, cultural programming (concerts, exhibitions, workshops), and educational programs for children and youth. It also facilitates donations to humanitarian causes through its digital donation platform and sells church publications (constitutional documents, maps, postcards) through its web shop.

Product overview

The EKBO operates a unified digital platform for church communication and community engagement, consisting of an e-commerce web shop for publications (brochures, postcards, district maps), a digital donation system powered by Twingle, a comprehensive event calendar, newsletter distribution, and a press room. The core offerings are informational and community-focused rather than a traditional software product portfolio, with publications (Grundordnung, Sprengelkarte, seasonal postcards) and donation/collection services forming the primary product ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MUSIK TUT GUTES: Fundraising campaign launched during the Corona pandemic featuring music videos from church musicians to support social projects.
• Kühle Kirchen
• Kirche mit Flüchtlingen
• Wir gegen Antisemitismus
• Aktiv gegen sexualisierte Gewalt

Products and services

• EKBO Webshop Online e-commerce platform selling church publications, postcards, brochures, posters, maps, and promotional materials to the general public, with shipping within Germany via standard post or internal church mail (Fachpost).
• Grundordnung (Constitutional Document) Official constitutional document of the EKBO available as a printed brochure (9th edition), sold through the EKBO web shop for members and the public.
• Sprengelkarte (District Map) Map poster showing churches organized by church districts (Kirchenkreise) and Sprengel (parishes) of the EKBO, available for purchase through the web shop.
• Jahreslosung Postcards (Annual Devotional Postcards) Annual devotional postcards featuring the year's theme scripture (Jahreslosung), currently the 2026 edition with the message 'Gott spricht: Siehe, ich mache alles neu!', available through the web shop.
• Fundraising Starterset Quartett A quartet card game providing a playful introduction to fundraising work for church congregations, available through the EKBO web shop.
• EKBO Newsletter Monthly newsletter providing information about EKBO positions on societal, political, and ethical questions based on biblical interpretation and theological reflection, available by subscription to members and supporters.
• Event Calendar (ekbo-termine.de) Comprehensive online calendar of church events including Gottesdienste (worship services), concerts, exhibitions, seminars, and community activities across Berlin, Brandenburg, and the Schlesische Oberlausitz region, with nearly 5,000 events listed.
• Press Room (presse.ekbo.de) Press portal with newsroom, press releases, and image materials for media professionals, also distributing Evangelical Press Service (epd) messages.
• Digital Donation Form Online donation platform powered by Twingle enabling secure digital tithes and collections for church projects and humanitarian causes, with 100% of donations forwarded to selected recipients including Brot für die Welt and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe.
• Worship and Sacramental Services Regular worship services (Gottesdienste) and sacramental services including baptism (Taufe), confirmation (Konfirmation), marriage (Trauung), and burial (Bestattung) provided to registered church members and the broader community through the parish network.
• Pastoral Care and Counseling (Seelsorge und Beratung) Pastoral care (Seelsorge), bereavement counseling through Hospiz- und Palliativberatungsdienst Potsdam, family counseling, refugee support (Kirche mit Flüchtlingen program) including translation, legal advice, and integration assistance.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,655 Euro raised for social projects during the Musik tut Gutes campaign
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Berliner Missionswerk (Berlin Missionary Work)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Berliner Missionswerk supports youth exchange programs between EKBO and its 19 partner churches worldwide. Young people from EKBO and partner churches can spend a year abroad at a partner church. The missionary work also coordinates encounter trips for church leaderships and themed meetings.
• Partner Churches Worldwide (19 total)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEKBO maintains 19 church partnerships including: churches in London, Göteborg (Sweden), United Church of Christ (USA), and Presbyterian Church of Taiwan. These enable reciprocal visits, youth exchanges, and thematic collaboration on shared interests.
• Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerBrot für die Welt is active worldwide with local partner organizations in nearly 90 countries, working for global justice, peace, and education while combating hunger and poverty. EKBO promotes donations to this organization and facilitates contributions through its collection campaigns.
• Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (Diaconal Disaster Relief)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerDiakonie Katastrophenhilfe has been providing emergency aid since 1954 for people affected by catastrophes. EKBO facilitates donations for crisis situations including Sudan crisis, Middle East conflict, Ukraine war, and Afghanistan earthquake relief.
• VCP Berlin-Brandenburg (Verband Christlicher Pfadfinder:innen)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVCP Berlin-Brandenburg is part of Germany's largest Protestant scouting association. The church supports their work through collections, as they provide space for children and teenagers to develop into independent, responsible adults.
• Evangelische Schülerarbeit Berlin (BK)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProtestant student work that brings together parish youth work traditions with nature and adventure pedagogy. Operates the Youth Camp Bäkewiese in Berlin-Wannsee, featuring a willow church built by teenagers in 2014.
• Twingle GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationBerlin-based online donation platform provider that enables the church's digital donation system. Twingle handles secure payment processing and donation management, with extensive experience in the church sector.
• Wichern-VerlagcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExternal service provider handling invoice creation, order processing, and shipping for the EKBO web shop. Orders are fulfilled through this partner's logistics operations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD): The umbrella organization of Germany's 20 regional Protestant churches (Landeskirchen). EKBO is a member church of EKD, making EKD the closest broad-incumbent peer at the national federation level — comparable governance, funding model (Kirchensteuer), and mission scope, but operating at federal scale rather than regional.
• Diakonie Deutschland: The national social-services arm of the German Protestant church federation. Comparable to EKBO's Diakonie Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz subsidiary — same mission (diaconal social work, refugee support, hospice care, healthcare) — but operating at national federation scale rather than regional.
• Caritas Deutschland: The Catholic counterpart to Diakonie — Germany's largest welfare confederation. Comparable in mission (social services, refugee support, healthcare, hospice), funding (parish collections and public contracts), and operational model, but faith-tradition-adjacent rather than direct competitor.

Direct peers

• Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen: Another EKD regional Protestant church (Landeskirche) covering Westphalia. Directly comparable in structure, mission, funding mechanism, and operational scope, serving a similarly sized German region with parishes, diaconal services, and educational programs.
• Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern: A regional Lutheran/Protestant Landeskirche serving Bavaria — directly comparable to EKBO as a fellow EKD-member regional church with identical public-law status, Kirchensteuer funding model, parish network, and diaconal/social-welfare programming, but operating in a different German region.
• Berliner Missionswerk: Listed as an EKBO subsidiary, but also operates as an independent mission society coordinating EKBO's 19 international partnerships and youth exchanges. Closely comparable as a faith-based international missions organization under EKD auspices.
• Katholisches Bistum Berlin: The Catholic diocese serving the same Berlin-Brandenburg region as EKBO. Comparable as a public-law religious corporation with state-collected Kirchensteuer, parish network, and social-welfare (Caritas) operations — operating in overlapping territory with overlapping services to similar populations.
• Wichern-Verlag: Listed as a wholly-owned EKBO subsidiary handling publications, logistics, and order fulfillment for the EKBO web shop. Directly comparable as an in-house publishing and distribution operation serving the regional church's communication and fundraising needs.

Others

• Brot für die Welt: The development and relief service of the German Protestant churches — a key partner of EKBO that channels the church's international humanitarian donations. Comparable as a faith-based humanitarian fundraising/distribution organization, though operating globally rather than regionally.

Regional players

• Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche: The Reformed Protestant tradition within the EKD, which has its own Moderamen housed within EKBO's administrative structure in Berlin. A constituent member of the EKBO region rather than a standalone peer — relevant for understanding intra-EKBO Reformed-evangelical dynamics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/gemeinsam-ekbo
• Facebookfacebook.com/EKBO.de
• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/ekbo
• Instagraminstagram.com/ekbo_evangelisch_im_osten

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Evangelical Church