Ekklesia

What Ekklesia does

Ekklesia is a privately held Dutch publishing house and training organization headquartered in Houten, Netherlands, focused on change management methodologies—principally Motiverende Gespreksvoering (Motivational Interviewing, MGV)—alongside faith, spirituality, and church-life content. The company was founded by Bert Bakker (born 1955), who pioneered the introduction of the Miller, Rollnick, and associated MGV canon into the Dutch market, and operates under the related brands Ekklesia Advies (training and consulting) and Paraklesis Boeken (distribution). Its product portfolio combines published books (EUR 4.00 to EUR 49.99, with bulk discounts from 10+ copies), reference tools such as the Waaier pocket fan cards (over 30,000 units sold), worksheets, video content, and structured training programs covering basic, advanced, and expert-level MGV plus organizational change, church and meaning, and personal growth.

Ekklesia generates revenue across three streams: one-time book and reference-tool sales via the ekklesia.nl webshop (DTC e-commerce), professional-services training delivered primarily in-company with open enrollment courses offered one to two times per year, and short-term coaching and organizational change consulting typically priced on request under multi-year relationships. Training for development-country organizations is delivered at cost (travel and accommodation only), which functions as a mission-aligned loss leader rather than a commercial channel. Customers span healthcare and welfare professionals, the education sector, Dutch churches and religious organizations, managers and organizational consultants, and development/mission organizations, with named testimonials from a family physician (Ton Dapper), a teacher (Huib Terlouw), a pastor (Alex Boshuizen), an organizational consultant and former chairman of the Orde van Organisatieadviseurs (Frans Verhaaren), a deputy school director (Coby van Veldhuizen), and researchers at Universiteit Leiden.

The business model is fundamentally a founder-delivered professional services and niche publishing operation with high dependence on Bert Bakker's expertise and reputation, low fixed-cost intensity, and no disclosed external funding, M&A activity, or hires. Sales and marketing run through the company website (webshop, blog, content), social channels (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest), direct phone and email, and word-of-mouth built through symposia presentations (groups of over 100) and supervision groups meeting three times per year.

Name

Ekklesia

Legal name

Ekklesia

Website

https://ekklesia.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Ekklesia is a Dutch publishing house and training organization that publishes and sells books, reference tools, and training programs on Motivational Interviewing (MGV) and change management, serving healthcare, education, church, consulting, and development-organization professionals in the Netherlands and selectively abroad.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Change Management Training and Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Operations, Quality & Process Improvement (Lean/Six Sigma) (EDAGANAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Business, Personal Finance & Careers Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAK)

Keywords

• Motivational interviewing training
• Change management consulting
• Professional book publishing
• Organizational development coaching
• Church change facilitation

Headquarters

HQ city

Houten

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Sale of published books and educational materials through the Ekklesia webshop. Books cover psychology, change management, faith, spirituality, and church life. Unit pricing per product with bulk discounts for larger orders.
2. Training Services: In-company training programs on Motivational Interviewing, organizational change, and related topics. Also offers open enrollment basic training courses one to two times per year, plus supervision groups and deepening tracks.
3. Coaching and Consulting: Short-term coaching for professionals at HBO+ and university levels (typically 1-3 sessions), team coaching, and organizational change consulting for churches and other organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ekklesia publishes books and delivers training and consulting on Motivational Interviewing (Motiverende Gespreksvoering / MGV), organizational change, and faith-based organizational development. Operating as a Dutch publisher and training organization, it serves healthcare, education, church, and not-for-profit sectors through book sales, in-company training programs, supervision groups, and short-term coaching engagements led by founder Bert Bakker.

Product overview

Ekklesia is a Dutch publisher and training organization offering books, professional training programs, and consulting services focused on change facilitation and Motivational Interviewing (Motiverende Gespreksvoering). The product portfolio centers on the MGV methodology introduced by Miller and Rollnick, encompassing books (the standard work 'Motiverende Gespreksvoering: Mensen helpen veranderen', specialized titles for healthcare, education, and church contexts), training programs (basic, advanced, and expert-level courses), reference tools (Waaier fan cards, worksheets), and consulting services for change management. The offering is structured as a multi-format publishing and education business where books serve as both standalone products and complements to training programs, while consulting services provide hands-on change facilitation for churches and organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Boeken (Books)

Quantifiable outcome

• MGV effectiveness scientifically proven over 20 years of research
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Uitgeverij Coutinho: Dutch publisher specializing in educational and professional content for higher education and applied sciences. Comparable because it serves the same Dutch professional-learning market with textbooks used in HBO/university curricula where Ekklesia also places content.
• Boom Uitgevers Amsterdam: Major Dutch trade and educational publisher with broad professional and academic catalog. Directly comparable as a Dutch-language publisher serving professional, educational, and societal topics including psychology and social sciences.
• Bohn Stafleu van Loghum: Leading Dutch publisher for healthcare, nursing, and medical professionals. Highly comparable because both firms publish applied professional content for Dutch healthcare practitioners — a primary customer segment for Ekklesia's MGV-in-healthcare materials.
• Uitgeverij Koninklijke Van Gorcum: Dutch professional and academic publisher with strength in psychology, education, and social sciences. Comparable as another Dutch niche publisher producing applied professional books and training-adjacent titles in the same domain space.
• Lannoo: Belgian/Dutch trade publisher with significant output on well-being, personal development, religion, and professional growth. Comparable because it publishes across the same faith-and-meaning and professional-development verticals that define Ekklesia's catalog.

Emerging players

• Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT): Global membership and certification organization for MI trainers. Comparable because both compete for the same Dutch practitioner training budgets and represent the international MI training community whose materials Ekklesia localizes and teaches from.

Broad incumbents

• Pearson Netherlands: Global educational publisher with Dutch operations across K-12, higher education, and professional learning. Comparable because it competes for the same Dutch institutional training and textbook budgets Ekklesia serves, at meaningfully larger scale.
• Springer Nature (Netherlands): International academic and professional publisher with significant Dutch academic market presence. Comparable as a broader incumbent that publishes applied psychology, healthcare, and education titles competing for the same Dutch professional shelf.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Ekklesia