Protestant Church in the Netherlands

The Netherlands, one of the smaller West European countries (16 million inhabitants), has many denominations. In 2004 three Protestant churches (the Netherlands Reformed Church, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands) became one church together. The name of this united church is the Protestant Church in the Netherlands.

The Protestant Church in the Netherlands has about 2250 congregations and over 3000 ministers. An average congregation celebrates a church service every Sunday. During the week there are all kinds of activities, from youth work to catechism classes for adults. Also, for instance, volunteers work in a walk-in centre for homeless people, the choir practises, the youth club organises a fund-raising campaign for mission work…

Working for others

A congregation does not exist for itself. Both the local and the national churches offer financial and practical help to people inside and outside the congregation. This help varies from giving presents to the elderly at Christmas to working with drug addicts, from a fund-raising campaign for a water project in Ghana to teaching Dutch in a centre for asylum-seekers.

Co-operation

The Protestant Church in the Netherlands works closely together with other organisations. Local churches often have contacts with Roman Catholic parishes. On a national level, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands is a member of the Netherlands Council of Churches and we also have strong ties with SKIN, the umbrella organisation of migrant churches in the Netherlands. The Protestant Church in the Netherlands works together with the Jewish and Muslim communities in various ways.

The Protestant Church in The Netherlands is a member of the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.

More information about the Protestant Church in The Netherlands can be found at www.pkn.nl