The Federation of Free Evangelical Churches in Germany has elected longtime staff leader Sascha Rützenhoff as its first general secretary, a post created as part of a restructuring of the denomination's national leadership.
Delegates at a special federal assembly in Coburg, in the Franconia region of Bavaria, chose Rützenhoff for a six-year term on Saturday, the federation, known by its German abbreviation FeG, said in a press release. The meeting also filled four of five new leadership posts overseeing ministry "focus areas."
The elections put into practice structural changes approved at the federation's regular assembly in Solingen on Sept. 25-26. Under the new model, the federation's national secretaries become regional secretaries concentrating on church development, while focus areas organize work that cuts across departments. The federation comprises 504 independent congregations with 40,933 members.
Rützenhoff will join President Henrik Otto and Managing Director Guido Sadler in a three-member executive leadership on Jan. 1, 2027. That team forms part of a wider extended leadership body.
A member of the federation's leadership for 14 years, Rützenhoff has headed its domestic mission department, FeG Inland-Mission, as a federal secretary since 2013.
'An enabler'
In remarks to delegates, Rützenhoff said he takes Jesus as his model for leadership. Titles, positions and recognition matter less than a willingness to accept responsibility in service to others, he said.
"I see myself as an enabler," Rützenhoff said, according to the federation. He compared the national office to a Formula 1 pit crew, in which specialists work toward one goal: getting the driver back on the track quickly. The shared mission should take priority over the interests of individual departments, he said. Church life, he added, takes place in local congregations, and the national headquarters should serve them.
"I want to help ensure that the FeG Federation is and remains this: a community of life and service," Rützenhoff said. He asked delegates to extend him trust as the new office takes shape.
Otto said the search began well before the nomination and weighed both internal and external candidates. The federation looked for someone theologically articulate, experienced in leadership and personnel management, familiar with the different streams within the movement and able to guide change, he said.
Thomas Koch of the federation's personnel committee cited Rützenhoff's strategic ability, management experience and network of contacts. His knowledge of the churches and national structures would allow him to begin without a long orientation period, Koch said.
Wider leadership appointed
Earlier in the day, the federation's standing committee elected leaders to six-year terms for four of the new focus areas. Katharina Steinhauer will lead church planting, Dirk Ahrendt evangelism, Bernd Kanwischer church development and Merle Schwarz leadership development.
No candidate was nominated for the fifth area, which focuses on reaching young people. The federation's leadership will arrange an interim solution, according to the press release.
Founded in 1874 and headquartered in Witten, the federation belongs to the Association of Evangelical Free Churches and the Council of Christian Churches in Germany. It is also associated with the Evangelical Alliance in Germany. Otto has served as president since 2024.
