Who we are

The Liebenzell Mission is an international missionary organization and has been active in Bangladesh since 1974, cooperating there with various local partner organizations.

Liebenzell Mission International operates non-denominationally around the world for over 110 years. We spread God’s love amongst people of all nations, plant churches, provide training, provide aid in emergencies and help people to become self-sufficient.

In 1974, three years after the state formation, the first Liebenzell missionaries traveled to Bangladesh. They included the Rechkemmer family and two deaconesses. The two nurses, Sister Charlotte Andres and Sister Gertrud Endlich from the Elim Social Welfare Motherhouse (Diakonissenmutterhaus) worked at what was then the PG hospital. Later, co-workers worked at the local evangelical church association ‘Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha’ (BBCS). The latter has its roots with William Carey (1761 – 1843), an Englishman who came to the Bangladesh area as the first protestant missionary in 1793. The BBCS, consisting of 349 parishes, is one of the biggest church associations in the country and the Liebenzell Mission helps to support its social welfare and Christian mission projects. In this capacity the Liebenzell Mission supports two community development projects in the villages of Shantikutir (since 1978) and Mallikbari (since 1979) applying an integrated approach whereby the missionaries work together with the villagers to improve the development of their social, financial, health and spiritual situation.

At times of natural disaster, the Liebenzell Mission provides valuable aid as, for example, when a tsunami hit the area in 2004, followed by a cold spell in December, or after the tsunami in the summer of 2007 and the devastating effects of cyclone ‘Sidr’ in November. In these cases the Liebenzell Mission provided aid quickly and unbureaucratically and will continue to do so in the future.

In collaboration with the organization ‘International Needs’, over 50 boys have been given a home in the ‘Baptist Children’s Village’ in Khulna and a further 60 boys and girls are cared for and educated at a children’s village in Savar. These projects are financed by sponsorships arranged by the Liebenzell Mission. The Liebenzell Mission also supports the schooling of disadvantaged children in various Bangladesh regions (see projects). Liebenzell missionaries support Christian churches by offering programs for children, young people and women, as well as providing training opportunities for lay people and pastors via the mission’s TEE program (out-of-school theological training). In this way parish members are trained, encouraged and motivated to lead lives as conscious Christians in a minority situation.