ICF Karlsruhe

What ICF Karlsruhe does

ICF Karlsruhe (legal name: International Christian Fellowship Karlsruhe e.V.) is a registered non-profit evangelical free church headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, operating under a multisite model with ten physical locations across Baden-Württemberg, Rhein-Neckar, Kraichgau, and Pfalz, plus a continuous online presence via YouTube livestreams and Spotify podcasts. Founded in 2005 by Sibylle and Steffen Beck from the prior initiative Hardt Mission Ministries, it serves a weekly congregation of 1,000+ attendees through three Sunday services at the main 800-seat Eventhall, with parallel programming for Kids, Youth, Young Adults, Singles, Ladies, Men, Family, International, and Business segments, supplemented by life-stage courses (Alpha, Explore, Get Free, Impact, Mentoring, Prepare/Enrich, Konfirmation), pastoral counseling via the ICF Beratungszentrum, prayer ministries (Healingroom, Word4You, Sozo), and the ARCHE children's charity. The organisation is financed entirely by voluntary donations (no tithes or mandatory dues), with one-tenth of donations re-tithed outward through the annual REACH Beyond campaign supporting ICF Cambodia, ARCHE Karlsruhe, and global ICF Movement church planting. Technology is entirely third-party: standard livestreaming, messaging, email, and payment tools underpin operations rather than any proprietary platform, and there is no AI/ML integration. ICF Karlsruhe operates as part of the broader ICF Movement (65+ churches globally) while remaining an independent German e.V. with its own board governance and approximately 60 paid staff supported by over 1,000 active volunteers.

Name

ICF Karlsruhe

Legal name

International Christian Fellowship Karlsruhe e.V.

Website

https://icf-karlsruhe.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ICF Karlsruhe is a non-profit evangelical free church in Karlsruhe, Germany, operating 10 multisite locations and online services, funded by voluntary donations and serving a weekly congregation of 1,000+ across Kids, Youth, Adults, Singles, and other life-stage communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services / Evangelical Free Church

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Places of Worship & Religious Facilities Operations (Cemeteries, Retreat Centers, Pilgrimage Sites) (BPAGAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis) (BPAGAJAD), Ministerial Training Institutes (Clergy Formation) (EDAHAKAE)

Keywords

• Evangelical free church
• Christian worship services
• Faith community programs
• Religious community services
• Church youth programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Karlsruhe

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Voluntary Member Donations: ICF Karlsruhe is a nonprofit organization financed entirely through voluntary donations from members and supporters. No tithes or mandatory dues are collected; belonging is purely voluntary and ideational. The church also tithes 10% of its donations to other Christian organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

ICF Karlsruhe operates as a non-profit evangelical free church delivering weekly Sunday Celebration worship services across 10 physical locations and via YouTube livestream. The church runs age-specific community programs (Kids, Youth, Young Adults, Ladies, Men, Singles, Business, International) and offers faith formation courses (Alpha, Explore, Get Free, Impact, Mentoring), pastoral counseling (ICF Beratungszentrum), life-cycle services (baptism, weddings, funerals), and the ARCHE children's charity.

Product overview

ICF Karlsruhe is a non-profit evangelical free church offering a multi-site church model with one main location and multiple satellite locations. The core product is the Sunday Celebration service (Gottesdienst) with livestream, supplemented by age-specific programs including ICF Kids (0-15 years), ICF Youth (Friday evenings, 13-19 years), and Young Adults Community (20+). The church provides spiritual development courses including Alpha, Explore, Get Free, Impact, and Mentoring, plus family services like PREPARE/ENRICH, Paar-Coaching, Taufe, Konfirmation, and Kindersegnung. Additional offerings include Healingroom and Word4You prayer services, Kids und Jugend ARCHE social ministry, REACH BEYOND annual giving campaign, and various community groups for Ladies, Men, Singles, Families, Business, and International members. The church operates using Multi-site locations (Kraichgau, Rhein-Neckar, Ludwigsburg, Südpfalz) and Micro Churches (Simmersfeld, Bad Windsheim, Zabergäu, Sinsheim, Lauffen, Perouse), with online services via YouTube livestream and Baden TV.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sunday Celebration Worship Services Three in-person Sunday worship services per week at the main Karlsruhe location and across all satellite campuses, plus live broadcast on YouTube and Baden TV. Services include worship, biblical teaching, life-cycle rituals (baptism, communion, marriage), and pastoral announcements. Designed for seekers, believers, and the broader community.
• Online Church Livestream

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 people attended ICF celebrations as of 2013; now serves a multi-site community across 10 locations.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ICF CambodiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026ICF Karlsruhe has supported ICF Cambodia since 2012, funding children's education, orphan sponsorships, and sending volunteers. In 2026, it is sending the Burgbacher family as volunteers to coach local staff in math, Khmer, English, and learning support. ICF Cambodia was founded by Sophal and ND Strupler to bring hope and the gospel to Cambodia.
• ICF MovementcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026ICF Karlsruhe is a member of the ICF Movement — a network of 65+ churches globally. The movement coordinates church planting, the annual REACH Beyond campaign, the EQUIP resource platform, the Ladies Lounge conference, and the Pastors & Key Leaders Training (PKLT). ICF Karlsruhe contributes financially (10% tithes) and participates in movement-wide initiatives.
• Kinder & Jugend ARCHE Karlsruhe e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 2012 as a self-standing registered association, ARCHE accompanies children and youth growing up in emotional or financial need, providing after-school support, workshops, and a nurturing environment. ICF Karlsruhe is the founding and home church, and ARCHE is a key beneficiary of the annual REACH Beyond campaign. A second ARCHE location was opened in Bretten in 2015.
• Shelter (Mission Organization)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerShelter is a mission organization focused on sharing the gospel on the Greek island of Crete and planting churches in urban areas. Brigitte Gramlich, who was baptized at ICF Karlsruhe in 2005, works as a missionary with Shelter (VEM) since 2009. ICF Karlsruhe functions as her home church and provides financial support.
• ACK Karlsruhe (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICF Karlsruhe is a member of the ACK Karlsruhe, an inter-church cooperation body bringing together Christian churches in the Karlsruhe area for dialogue and joint action.
• Forum Evangelischer Freikirchen KarlsruheminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICF Karlsruhe participates in the Forum Evangelischer Freikirchen Karlsruhe, a network of evangelical free churches in the city.
• Evangelische Allianz KarlsruheminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICF Karlsruhe is a member of the Evangelische Allianz Karlsruhe. Steffen Beck has served as honorary chairman of the Evangelische Allianz Karlsruhe since 2007. The church adheres to the Basis der Evangelischen Allianz (basis of the evangelical alliance) and the Apostolic Creed.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves16 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Chrischona Deutschland: German network of evangelical free churches (Swiss-origin) with multisite Sunday services, contemporary worship, and structured community programs. Operates with similar volunteer-driven model and comparable theological positioning in the German free-church landscape.
• ICF München: Sister ICF church in Munich operating under the same ICF Movement umbrella, with comparable multisite, community-architecture, and donor-model approach. Closest structural mirror of ICF Karlsruhe in a different German metropolitan market.
• Vineyard Deutschland: German branch of the international Vineyard church movement; operates a network of contemporary evangelical free churches with comparable seeker-friendly worship, small-group structures, and life-stage ministries. Competes for the same donor and member pool in Germany.
• Lebenswerk Heilbronn: Contemporary German free church running a multi-campus model in southwestern Germany with similar seeker-friendly, community-driven programming. Directly comparable in target demographic, regional footprint, and operational style.
• ICF Zürich: Founding church of the ICF Movement to which ICF Karlsruhe belongs; both operate the same multisite free-church model with contemporary worship, life-stage communities, and church planting. ICF Zürich is effectively the parent reference point for ICF Karlsruhe's playbook, branding, and movement-wide campaigns.
• Christliches Zentrum Stuttgart: Large German non-denominational free church in the same region as ICF Karlsruhe, running a multisite model with similar contemporary worship style, life-stage communities, and seeker-friendly programming. Directly comparable on theology, demographic target, and operational approach.

Broad incumbents

• Willow Creek Community Church: US-based megachurch whose Willow Creek Kongress (attended by the Becks in 1999) directly inspired ICF Karlsruhe's founding vision, model, and contemporary-worship philosophy. Functions as the strategic blueprint and ideological reference for ICF Karlsruhe's approach.
• Hillsong Church: Global contemporary evangelical church network running multisite campuses, branded worship, and digital content at much larger international scale. Comparable on seeker-friendly worship style, life-stage communities, and digital distribution playbook.
• FEG (Bund Evangelisch-Freikirchlicher Gemeinden in Deutschland): National federation of German Baptist/free-church congregations; an established incumbent in the same broad religious-organization space. While it operates at much larger federation scale, it competes for the same evangelical Protestant member base as ICF Karlsruhe.

Others

• Arche Deutschland: Germany branch of the international Arche charity that supports disadvantaged children — directly analogous to ICF Karlsruhe's own subsidiary, Kinder- und Jugend ARCHE Karlsruhe e.V. Comparable as the ecosystem/mission counterpart and potential donor/partner overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCNshqh-axwENmUmHITY1stA
• Instagraminstagram.com/icf.karlsruhe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/icf-karlsruhe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ICF Karlsruhe