Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau

What Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau does

Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau (EKHN) is one of Germany's 20 Protestant regional churches (Landeskirchen) and the second-largest by membership, serving approximately 1.6 million registered members across the German state of Hesse and parts of Rhineland-Palatinate. Headquartered in Darmstadt under Kirchenpräsidentin Prof. Dr. Christiane Tietz, EKHN delivers its mission through a deeply decentralized network of Kirchengemeinden (parishes), Dekanate (deaneries), Nachbarschaftsräume (neighborhood spaces), Kindertagesstätten (daycare centers), and Diakonie social and nursing stations. Core offerings span the full lifecycle — baptism, confirmation, marriage, funeral, pastoral care, and end-of-life chaplaincy — alongside social welfare services delivered primarily through Diakonie Hessen (nursing care, disability support, crisis counseling, disaster relief, refugee aid) and inclusive community programs (CSD participation, OASE events, #einfachheiraten marriage campaign).

EKHN operates a digital infrastructure that includes the Philippus-Support membership communication platform, the Meldekanal online reporting portal for cases of sexualized violence, EKHN Guides and Kasualkarten informational products, and multi-channel newsletters and social media presence (Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, WhatsApp). No proprietary technology platform or AI/ML capabilities are described.

The revenue model is dominated by the statutory Kirchensteuer (church tax), collected as a payroll-deducted surcharge on income tax for registered members and administered by the German state. Secondary streams include voluntary donations and Kollekten (e.g., €5.6M to Brot für die Welt, a 13% YoY increase; €2M to Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe), and Diakonie service revenue funded through public health insurance reimbursements and government contracts. Go-to-market is community-led via the local parish network and event-driven via large public gatherings (Hessentag with 115,000+ visits, CSD, OASE, baptism festivals). Strategic priorities include the ekhn2030 administrative modernization, deepening ecumenical cooperation with EKKW and the Catholic Bistum Mainz, and digital transformation of member services.

Name

Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau

Legal name

Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau

Website

https://ekhn.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau (EKHN) is Germany's second-largest Protestant regional church, serving ~1.6 million members across Hesse and Nassau with spiritual care, lifecycle services, and Diakonie social welfare delivered through a network of parishes, deaneries, and neighborhood spaces, funded primarily by statutory church tax and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services and Church Administration

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (81311), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Denominational & Ecclesiastical Governance Bodies (Dioceses, Synods, Conferences) (BPAGAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG), Faith-Based Healthcare Ministries (Hospitals, Clinics, Medical Missions) (BPAGAJAH), Faith-Based / Nonprofit Assisted Living Providers (HLADABAH)

Keywords

• Religious services
• Pastoral care
• Social welfare
• Protestant church administration
• Community outreach

Headquarters

HQ city

Darmstadt, Hessen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Church Tax (Kirchensteuer): The primary revenue stream for EKHN and German Protestant churches is the Kirchensteuer (church tax), a mandatory contribution collected by the German state through the tax system from registered church members. This constitutes the vast majority of the church's operational funding.
2. Donations and Collections (Spenden und Kollekten): Voluntary donations including collections during services (Kollekten) and designated appeals such as Brot für die Welt. In the most recent reporting period, EKHN contributed 5,617,139 euros to Brot für die Welt, a 13% increase year-over-year.
3. Diakonie Social Services Revenue: Through the Diakonie Hessen network, EKHN provides social services including nursing care, elderly care, disability support, and crisis counseling. These services are funded through a combination of public health insurance reimbursements, government contracts, and charitable donations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

EKHN is a Protestant regional church body delivering religious services (worship, sacraments, pastoral care, lifecycle rites such as baptism, marriage, and funeral), social welfare services through the Diakonie Hessen network (nursing care, disability support, crisis counseling, disaster relief), and community programming across Hessen and parts of Rhineland-Palatinate. The church is funded primarily through the state-collected Kirchensteuer (church tax) and voluntary donations, operating hundreds of local parishes, deaneries, daycare centers, and welfare stations that together form a regionally embedded community service infrastructure.

Product overview

The Evangelical Church in Hessen and Nassau (EKHN) operates as a regional Protestant church body offering primarily service-based offerings rather than a unified technology product. The organization provides digital communication services including Philippus-Support for member communication, an anonymous reporting channel (Meldekanal) for sexualized violence cases, informational guides (EKHN Guides) for religious life events, ceremonial cards (EKHN-Kasualkarten), and newsletters. These services support church administration, community engagement, and pastoral care across parishes and neighborhood spaces within the church region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Philippus-Support Digital membership communication tool providing registration, training materials, and videos for parishes and neighborhood spaces to improve member outreach and engagement within EKHN.
• Meldekanal der EKHN Online reporting system allowing anonymous or identified reporting of all forms of sexualized violence occurring within the responsibility of the Evangelical Church in Hessen and Nassau.
• EKHN Guides Orientation guides for life's significant moments including baptism, resilience, and faith, providing accessible religious guidance and practical information for the public.
• EKHN-Kasualkarten (Ceremonial Cards) Informational cards for baptism and wedding ceremonies combining contemporary illustrations with compact service and information notes for couples and families.
• EKHN-Newsletter Email newsletter providing current news, statements, church offers, developments, events, and training opportunities for church members.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,617,139 euros contributed to Brot für die Welt in one year, a 13% increase YoY — reflecting both fundraising effectiveness and member engagement.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• Evangelische Kirche von Kurhessen-Waldeck (EKKW)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026EKHN and EKKW conducted the joint #einfachheiraten campaign, offering marriage blessings and church weddings at 33+ locations across both regional churches' territories. The campaign served nearly 600 couples and demonstrated a close ecumenical and strategic alliance in shared programmatic initiatives.
• Bistum Mainz (Catholic Diocese of Mainz)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026EKHN and the Bistum Mainz collaborate on ecumenical projects including the shared use of the Friedenskirche in Hirzenhain-Bahnhof, where both the Protestant and Catholic communities worship together. The two churches also conducted the ekhn2030 innovation day jointly in Worms alongside the diocese. This represents a deepening ecumenical partnership.
• Merck (Science and Technology Company, Darmstadt)minorOthers · 1 January 2026Kirchenpräsidentin Prof. Dr. Christiane Tietz visited Merck's Darmstadt headquarters on July 20, 2026, meeting with company leadership. The visit represents outreach to the business community and dialogue between the church and a major regional employer.
• Diakonie HessencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Diakonie Hessen is the primary social welfare arm of EKHN and the Catholic Diocese of Limburg, delivering nursing care, disability services, crisis counseling, and poverty assistance across the EKHN territory. The Diakonie operates under a unified framework for recognition procedures for victims of sexualized violence in coordination with EKHN.
• Brot für die WeltcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Brot für die Welt is the Protestant development aid organization that receives donations collected through EKHN parishes. In the most recent year, EKHN contributed 5,617,139 euros to Brot für die Welt, representing a nearly 13% increase compared to the prior year and reflecting a strong fundraising partnership.
• Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (Diakonie Disaster Relief)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiakonie Katastrophenhilfe channels international disaster relief donations from EKHN members. In 2025, the organization received approximately 30 million euros in donations overall, with 2,028,958 euros from the EKHN area specifically. EKHN also contributed 60,000 euros jointly with other Landeskirchen to support people in Lebanon affected by the Middle East conflict.
• Zentrum OekumenecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Zentrum Oekumene is an ecumenical center operated jointly by EKHN and the Catholic Diocese of Limburg, focusing on interchurch dialogue, peace work, and refugee support. Pfarrerin Sabine Müller-Langsdorf, who was sent into retirement from this center, was a key figure in its peace and ecumenism programs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Erzbistum Paderborn: Large Catholic archdiocese covering parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, and Lower Saxony. Operates under the same Kirchensteuer system and via Caritas social services, with overlapping geographic reach into areas adjacent to EKHN's territory; relevant as a cross-denominational, overlapping-territory peer.

Broad incumbents

• Caritas Deutschland: Catholic counterpart to Diakonie, operating parallel social-welfare and healthcare delivery nationally. Comparable service portfolio (elder care, disability services, crisis counseling, refugee support) and parallel funding mix — the most relevant cross-faith benchmark for Diakonie Hessen's economics and reach.
• Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD): National umbrella organization of Germany's 20 Protestant regional churches, including EKHN. Comparable as the federated governance layer above EKHN; useful for understanding shared policy, public-affairs, and Brot-für-die-Welt fundraising structures that EKHN participates in.
• Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern: The largest German Protestant regional church by membership, operating under the same legal and tax framework. While geographically distinct from EKHN, it is the most relevant scale benchmark for Lutheran/EKHN-type operations, Diakonie delivery, and ecumenical policy positioning.

Direct peers

• Evangelische Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz: Large Protestant regional church operating in northeastern Germany under the same Kirchensteuer and Diakonie framework. Comparable governance, financial structure, and social-welfare delivery model — a useful peer for evaluating EKHN's strategic positioning and reform trajectory.
• Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland: Large Protestant regional church covering adjacent territories in North Rhine-Westphalia and parts of Rhineland-Palatinate. Directly comparable in governance model, funding base, Diakonie welfare delivery, and parish structure, and overlaps with EKHN's footprint in the Nassau region.
• Diakonie Deutschland: National federation of Diakonie welfare organizations tied to the Protestant church system, of which Diakonie Hessen (EKHN's welfare arm) is a member. Comparable as the institutional platform through which EKHN delivers nursing, disability, and crisis-counseling services — and as a national-level counterpart for joint advocacy and scale benchmarking.
• Bistum Mainz (Catholic Diocese of Mainz): Catholic diocese covering largely the same Hessian and Rhineland-Palatinate territory as EKHN. Directly comparable as a co-territorial religious public-law corporation funded by Kirchensteuer, and an active ecumenical partner (Friedenskirche Hirzenhain-Bahnhof, joint ekhn2030 events) — the closest cross-faith peer.
• Evangelische Kirche von Kurhessen-Waldeck (EKKW): Fellow German Protestant regional church (Landeskirche) operating in the geographically adjacent Hessian territory. The most directly comparable peer: same legal status (Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts), same Kirchensteuer revenue model, same ecumenical orientation, and explicit joint-program partner with EKHN (e.g., #einfachheiraten campaign).

Others

• Brot für die Welt: Protestant development and relief aid organization operated under EKD and the regional churches. EKHN is one of its largest parish-network fundraisers (€5.6M in the most recent year). Relevant as a key downstream beneficiary and the primary vehicle through which EKHN's donor capital is deployed internationally.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ekhn_de
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCRhNpEd-JrNaJbTqWwlVIgQ
• Facebookde-de.facebook.com/ekhn.de
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ekhn
• Instagraminstagram.com/ekhn.gemeinsam

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau