Hermannsburg Mission

The Hermannsburg Mission (German: Hermannsburger Mission) was founded as the Hermannsburg Mission Centre (Missionsanstalt Hermannsburg) in 1849 in Hermannsburg, near Celle, North Germany, by Louis Harms. In 1977, the independent mission society was merged into the work of the Evangelical-Lutheran Mission in Lower Saxony. As a result, it became an institution recognised by the state church.

On 12 October 1849, Louis Harms (1808–1865) founded the Hermannsburg Mission Seminary. This date counts as the foundation date for the Hermannsburg Mission. Harms worked at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Hermannsburg on the Lüneburg Heath, from 1844, initially as a curate and, later, as its Lutheran pastor. He was considered a good minister by the community and had a great talent for bringing things alive. On Sunday evenings, the villagers gathered in the hallway of the rectory to listen to him. His stories simultaneously entertained, instructed and built people up. Local history provided him with lively material. His stories were published in the anthologies Honnig (Low German: "Honey") and Goldene Äpfel in silbernen Schalen ("Golden Apples in Silver Dishes").

With his preaching Harms sparked a revival movement that reached as far as the patricians in nearby Hamburg. On 12 October 1849, the first students moved into the Hermannsburg Mission Seminary, newly founded by Harms. He appointed his brother, Theodor, as the first director. Harms campaigned tirelessly for donations. The eloquent and energetic evangelist managed to interest a large number of poor men from the heath in mission service, not unlike the effect that David Livingstone had on the poor of Scotland.

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