Danish Mission College

The College of Missions (Danish: Missionskollegiet; Latin: Collegium de cursu Evangelii promovendo) or Royal Mission College (Kongelige Missions-Kollegium) was a Dano-Norwegian association based in Copenhagen which funded and directed Protestant missions under royal patronage. Along with the Moravian church, it was the first large-scale Protestant mission effort.

The college was established by Frederick IV to institutionalise the work he began by funding Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Pluetschau's mission at the Danish colony of Fort Dansborg (Tranquebar) in India. Among its first efforts were funding missions in Lapland and Hans Egede's Bergen Greenland Company, which established the Island of Hope mission in 1721. Two child converts from the mission would later inspire Count von Zinzendorf to begin the Moravian missions.

Its first chairman (præses) was Johan Georg von Holstein (16 Feb 1662 – 26 Dec 1730), who was the namesake for Holsteinsborg (now Sisimiut) in Greenland.

Work among the Sami (Finnemisjon) was initiated under the pietist Thomas von Westen (1682–1727) in 1716. He swiftly established thirteen stations before his death.

...
Wikipedia