Our History

Where it all began

Officially, the work of the Evangelical “Stadtmission” (City Mission) in Southern Africa (ESSA) began in 1966. However, the history of this goes back further.

Already after the first, but especially after the second world war, many Germans came to South Africa as immigrants and settled mainly in the Johannesburg and Pretoria area and in Natal and in the Cape region. Many Germans have lived in Namibia since colonial times. Around 1950, some Christians in Johannesburg and Pretoria formed a home group and prayed for a spiritual revival among the many immigrants. Those prayers have been answered.

In 1959, five families in the Johannesburg area started a Bible study for German speakers. One of these families bought a farm at Hartbeespoortdam in 1961. There were regular camps.

Beginning in 1962, two women from this circle strove to recruit full-time pastors for immigrant missionary service. They wrote to various Bible schools. In 1966, the St. Chrischona pilgrimage mission sent a missionary to South Africa for this task. Contacts were made through visits, camps, adventure trips, and camps. The circle of interested parties expanded and camping trips with students from the German Schools were also done.

In 1970, another missionary came to the rescue, who founded the first city mission in South Africa in Johannesburg, then the “stronghold of the immigrants”. Through God’s work, many German speakers found faith in Jesus Christ; thus, a congregation was founded.

In the years that followed, the work grew, and more city missions were founded. Namibia soon came into focus. Evangelism trips, farm church services and Bible studies contributed to the fact that a “Stadtmission” (City Mission) could also be started in Windhoek. The St. Chrischona Pilgrim Mission and its congregations supported this growing work in Southern Africa, and more missionaries were sent.

Development:

1966 Hartbeespoortdam
1970 Johannesburg
1974 Cape Town
1977 Windhoek
1983 Pretoria
1987 Vanderbijl Park
1994 Tygerberg (merged with Cape Town in 2009)
2008 Swakopmund

In this development, we recognize God’s wonderful work and his faithfulness. Many people have found faith in Jesus Christ through the service of the “Stadtmission” (City Mission) and have been encouraged in their Christianity.

For this, we give the living God all honour, worship and all thanks!

Personal experiences and exciting stories of this development are recorded in Johannes Trauernicht’s book “Leben unter dem Kreuz des Südens” (Brunnen Verlag).

Development of the English speaking communities

In 2020, the German-speaking church called “Evangelische Stadtmission Windhoek” (Evangelical City Mission Windhoek) started an English presentation called “Food for Thought.” This was led by Pastor Rudi Penzhorn. This soon led to the first small English groups being formed in the Windhoek area. In March 2021, this English-speaking congregation called “Olympia Community Church” (OCC) was founded by the Evangelical Stadtmission Windhoek with the support of the Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary (NETS). In January 2023, the leadership of OCC announced that it would join ESSA as the first English-speaking congregation of the association.