Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (SELK)

What Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (SELK) does

The Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (SELK), legally Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, is a confessional Lutheran church body and Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts (corporation under public law) headquartered at Schopenhauerstraße 7 in Hannover, Germany. It was formed in 1972 through the merger of several independent Lutheran churches in West Germany, consolidating a tradition that traces back to the Altlutheraner resistance to the 1817 Prussian Union; the former GDR Lutheran church joined in 1991, unifying nearly all confessional Lutheran minority churches in Germany. The SELK serves 31,584 members (as of 31.12.2022) across 174 congregations organized into 107 pastoral districts spanning all of Germany, supported by 102 active parish pastors, 10 ordained clergy in superdiocesan offices, and a wholly-owned mission subsidiary, Lutherische Kirchenmission (Bleckmarer Mission), active in southern Africa, East Asia, and Brazil.

The organization's core offering is worship, sacramental ministry, theological education, and pastoral care grounded in the Lutheran confessions and the Book of Concord (1580). Operational products include the monthly magazine 'Lutherische Kirche', the 'selk_news' email newsletter, multiple YouTube channels for worship services and theological content, and a multi-language website (German, English, French, Spanish, Polish, Italian). It maintains its own seminary, the Lutherische Theologische Hochschule in Oberursel, for clergy training.

Revenue is generated entirely through voluntary member contributions (Kirchenbeiträge), donations, and collections — the SELK deliberately operates outside Germany's state church tax system. In 2019, the General Church Treasury received €9,212,557 in contributions primarily funding clergy salaries and pensions, with total contributions including donations and collections reaching approximately €9.5 million. The church is governed by a Kirchenleitung led by the Bishop, a Kirchensynode as the highest legislative body, and four regional Propsts (provosts). It is a member of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen in Deutschland (ACK), but is not affiliated with the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD) or the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), reflecting its commitment to exclusive altar and pulpit fellowship with Lutheran bodies on a quia basis.

Name

Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (SELK)

Legal name

Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche (SELK)

Website

https://selk.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (SELK) is a confessional Lutheran church body in Germany serving 31,584 members across 174 congregations, funded through voluntary contributions rather than state church tax.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services (Confessional Lutheran Church)

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis) (BPAGAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG)

Keywords

• Lutheran worship services
• Religious pastoral care
• Theological education
• Christian community ministry
• Mission and outreach

Headquarters

HQ city

Hannover

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Voluntary Church Contributions: The SELK is financed through voluntary church contributions (Kirchenbeiträge) paid by its members, rather than through the public church tax system. These contributions fund the general church treasury, primarily for the salary and pension support of clergy.
2. Donations and Collections: Additional funding comes from donations for salary and pension funds, collections (Kollekten) for church institutions and works, and gifts for local congregations and other purposes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The SELK provides confessional Lutheran religious services to its members and the broader public, including worship services, sacraments (baptism, Holy Communion, confession), pastoral counseling, religious education, youth ministry, and community fellowship. It operates its own theological seminary (Lutherische Theologische Hochschule) for clergy training and the Lutherische Kirchenmission (Bleckmarer Mission) for mission work in southern Africa, East Asia, Europe, and Brazil. Supporting media products include the monthly 'Lutherische Kirche' magazine, the 'selk_news' newsletter, and multiple YouTube channels featuring worship services and theological content.

Product overview

The Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (SELK) is a religious organization that provides spiritual services and communication products rather than technology products. Its offerings include the monthly magazine 'Lutherische Kirche' serving as the church bulletin, the 'selk_news' email newsletter for congregational updates, and multiple YouTube video channels featuring worship services and theological content from various congregations. The church maintains a comprehensive multi-language website providing religious information and community resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Confessional Lutheran Worship Services and Sacraments Weekly worship services and sacramental ministry (baptism, Holy Communion, confession) offered to members and visitors across the SELK's 174 congregations in Germany, grounded in the Book of Concord (1580).
• Pastoral Care and Counseling Personal pastoral counseling, spiritual guidance, and visitations provided by SELK pastors to members and their families, including crisis care, life-event counseling, and ongoing spiritual direction.
• Theological Education (Lutherische Theologische Hochschule) Seminary-level theological education and pastoral training provided through the Lutherische Theologische Hochschule (LThH) in Oberursel, training candidates for ordination as SELK pastors.
• Mission and Outreach (Lutherische Kirchenmission / Bleckmarer Mission) Mission and outreach program operated by the SELK through the Lutherische Kirchenmission (Bleckmarer Mission) e.V., headquartered in Bleckmar (Bergen), with focus areas in southern Africa, Germany, East Asia, other European countries, and Brazil.
• Youth Ministry and Religious Education Religious education, confirmation classes, and youth ministry programs offered to children, adolescents, and young adults through SELK congregations and church districts across Germany.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and not_applicable.

• International Lutheran Council (ILC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1972The SELK is a member of the International Lutheran Council (ILC), together with other confessional Lutheran church bodies worldwide. The ILC connects churches that hold to the Lutheran confessions as found in the Book of Concord.
• Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen in Deutschland (ACK)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SELK belongs to the ACK (Working Group of Christian Churches in Germany) as part of the so-called 'altkonfessionelle' (old confessional) churches group.
• Lutheran World Federation (LWF) - Non-membernot_applicableOthersThe SELK is NOT a member of the Lutheran World Federation because they believe that altar and pulpit fellowship equals church fellowship.
• Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD) - Non-membernot_applicableOthersThe SELK does not belong to the EKD (Evangelical Church in Germany), which is a federation of united and Lutheran churches with full altar and pulpit fellowship.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bund Evangelisch-Freikirchlicher Gemeinden in Deutschland (BEFG): German Baptist Union, another major Evangelical Free Church body. Operates very similarly to the SELK — congregationally organized, voluntary contributions, not part of the EKD — and serves as one of the closest structural and operational comparisons.
• Evangelisch-methodistische Kirche (EmK): A German Free Church denomination with comparable structure (congregations, pastors, voluntary contributions), national scope, and doctrinal distinctiveness relative to the EKD. Closely comparable in size, governance model, and grassroots church-led GTM motion.
• Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS): The largest confessional Lutheran body in the United States and a fellow member of the International Lutheran Council. Directly comparable to the SELK on confessional subscription (quia), governance, seminary-driven formation, and missional focus.
• Evangelische Brüder-Unität (Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine): A historic German Protestant Free Church (Moravian tradition) operating as a recognized public-law corporation with its own congregations and theological training. Comparable in being a small, doctrinally distinct, non-state-tax-funded Free Church in Germany.
• Selbständige Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche (SERK): An independent Reformed sister denomination in Germany with a similar profile: small, voluntary-contribution based, explicitly non-EKD, doctrinally conservative, and operating its own theological faculty. A directly comparable peer in size, structure, and self-positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Norddeutschland (Nordkirche): A large united Evangelical-Lutheran regional church in northern Germany and a member of the EKD. Overlaps with the SELK on Lutheran heritage and northern Germany geography but operates under the state church tax system on a much larger scale, making it a benchmark for the structural difference between state-tax and voluntary-contribution Lutheran bodies.
• Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD): The umbrella federation of 20 Protestant (Evangelical) churches in Germany and the dominant Protestant body. Overlaps with the SELK on Lutheran and Reformed identity and on broad mission territory, but operates at vastly larger scale and with a different (unierte/LWF-affiliated) doctrinal stance; the SELK explicitly distinguishes itself by not being a member.
• Vereinigung Evangelischer Freikirchen (VEF): An umbrella association of German Evangelical Free Churches. Provides a structural analogue to the SELK as a coordinating body for non-state-tax free-church communities in Germany, although the SELK is not a member; highly relevant as a comparable organizational structure.

Regional players

• Evangelisch-Lutherische Freikirche (ELFK): An independent confessional Lutheran body in Germany of similar small scale and history, sharing the SELK's heritage traceable to 19th-century Old Lutheran resistance to the Prussian Union. Functions as a closely adjacent peer within the same historical and confessional tradition.

Others

• International Lutheran Council (ILC): The worldwide association of confessional Lutheran churches of which the SELK is a member. Not a direct competitor but a direct institutional peer/partner for the SELK, providing shared mission coordination, fellowship, and global Lutheran coordination.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCn-nX3hn-qmH-g4iJ-pXBRQ
• Instagraminstagram.com/selk.kirche
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/selk_kirche

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (SELK)