The Bund Freier evangelischer Gemeinden (FeG), Germany's free evangelical denomination, took the next step in its structural reorganisation at a special federal assembly in Coburg on 17 October, electing Sascha Rützenhoff as its first General Secretary and choosing leaders for four of five new cross-cutting “focus fields.” The assembly built on preliminary decisions taken at the regular FeG Bundestag in Solingen on 25–26 September.
Under the changes, the federation's secretaries become regional secretaries with an explicit focus on developing local congregations, new focus fields coordinate work across former departmental boundaries, and a General Secretary takes charge of day-to-day executive leadership. Rützenhoff, who has sat on the FeG leadership body for 14 years and has led its domestic mission work since 2013, was elected for six years. From 1 January 2027 he will form the executive leadership alongside Präses (president) Henrik Otto and managing director Guido Sadler. He described himself as an “enabler” who favours accompaniment over control and sees the federal office as a service centre for the congregations.
Earlier in the day the federation's standing committee elected leaders for the new focus fields for six-year terms: Katharina Steinhauer for planting congregations, Dirk Ahrendt for strengthening evangelism, Bernd Kanwischer for developing congregations and Merle Schwarz for supporting leaders. No candidate was proposed for the fifth field, “winning the younger generation,” and the leadership will appoint an interim arrangement. Delegates questioned why no woman had been nominated for General Secretary, noting that the new executive team is entirely male. Otto acknowledged that communication about the process had not reached every level of the federation and that the realignment is not yet complete.
On finance, the assembly approved the 2025 annual accounts and a 2027 budget unanimously. Sadler reported that core donations in the first three quarters of 2026 ran above the comparable period last year, and encouraged congregations to raise their contribution per member to €81.60 a year on the way to a target of €100. He warned against financing the federal budget from reserves or from the sale of vacated church buildings. Gunther Kurzius, a lawyer from FeG Wetzlar, was elected to the federation's finance committee for four years.
(Originally published in German. Summary translated by CC / Connexion.)
Source: Bund Freier evangelischer Gemeinden / FeG Deutschland — feg.de
