Stichting Agapè

Stichting Agapè is a Dutch Christian mission organization that is part of the international Campus Crusade for Christ movement. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1969 under the name Instituut voor Evangelisatie (Institute for Evangelism) and adopted the name Agapè in 1990, aligning with other European national branches. The organization's stated purpose is to help everyone in the Netherlands have the opportunity to come to know Jesus personally, and it pursues this through evangelism, discipleship, training, and practical tools for churches and individual believers. Agapè works across the Netherlands, offering training courses, workshops, and resources that equip Christians to share their faith in everyday settings—at home, at school, at work, or in sports clubs. It also supports church-based initiatives and city-wide movements that connect congregations and Christians for joint mission. The organization has historically been involved in student ministry, youth camps, mission trips, media campaigns, and sports evangelism through Athletes in Action. Its headquarters have moved several times: from Doorn to Amersfoort in early 2015, and then to Driebergen-Rijsenburg in November 2017. As of 2016, the organization employed 55.7 full-time equivalents. Agapè is led by a director and works with various churches and Christian networks. It has published materials such as the booklet "De Vier Geestelijke Wetten" (The Four Spiritual Laws) and ran campaigns like "Er is hoop" (There is hope). It also formerly published the monthly magazine Uitdaging, which was sold in 2003. The organization continues to focus on mobilizing churches and Christians for mission in their local contexts, with an emphasis on city movements and integrated cooperation with sister organizations such as GAIN.

The work of Campus Crusade for Christ began in 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles, under the leadership of Bill Bright (1921–2003), a young businessman who dedicated his life to evangelism on university campuses. The movement spread internationally, and in the Netherlands it started in 1969 under the leadership of evangelist Jan Herm Kits. Kits had encountered a group of Americans from Campus Crusade for Christ during the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, who asked him to set up a Dutch branch of the work. He agreed, and the Dutch branch was named Instituut voor Evangelisatie (Institute for Evangelism). The work soon grew to a team of about 15 people. Kits and his wife worked among students at the Technical University in Enschede, while Oswin Ramaker led a team that trained church congregations in evangelism and follow-up. In the 1970s, the Zomer Explo conference was organized several times, combining spiritual edification with practical evangelism training, largely using the booklet "De Vier Geestelijke Wetten" (The Four Spiritual Laws). In 1970, the organization began publishing the news bulletin Uitdaging, sent to all donors, which reported on developments in the evangelical field. During those years, the first missionaries were also sent abroad. Kits was succeeded as director in 1978 by Leo Habets, who in turn was succeeded in 1986 by Hans Pruis. In the meantime, the organization continued to grow. In 1979, the "Er is hoop" (There is hope) campaign was launched to bring the whole of the Netherlands into contact with the gospel. A year earlier, the Grote Opdracht School (Great Commission School) had started, a one-year course consisting of evening and day sessions aimed at training churches and Christians in evangelism and church planting. At its peak, more than 600 people followed this training. The bulletin Uitdaging was transformed into a monthly news medium in 1980 by Leo Habets and Johan Bos. In 1990, the organization changed its name to Stichting Agapè. All national branches in Europe adopted this name to be more recognizable externally. In the 1990s, two "Er is Hoop" buses were acquired, often used for on-site evangelism. Around that time, Discovery, the youth branch of Agapè, was also founded, organizing teen camps and mission trips. At the beginning of the 1990s, a plan was conceived to reach 14 regions of one million inhabitants each, a project known as Klas 2000. In 1997, Athletes in Action was founded by Henk Stoorvogel, an organization that evangelized through sports, organizing large trips with hundreds of young people to destinations including Greece and Israel. The media department was also active. In the 1980s, the film Jesus was distributed and promoted. Later, much evangelism took place around films such as The Passion of the Christ. Attention was also increasingly given to evangelism on the internet, and Agapè operated several websites aimed at spiritual seekers. In 2002, Willem de Vink succeeded Pruis as director, but he had to leave after two years due to disagreement over the direction he wanted for Agapè. Pruis therefore temporarily returned as director. Partly on De Vink's initiative, a school for artistic young people, the HQ School, was started. After De Vink's departure, the HQ School also became independent. Uitdaging was divested in 2003 and taken over by EB Media (since 2009 Inspirit Media). The main reason for the takeover was that Uitdaging had developed over time into a journalistic medium that regularly took positions against persons or organizations with whom (people from) Stichting Agapè were friends or cooperated, leading to tensions. From 2007 to 2015, Mark and Mira de Boer led the Dutch branch of the organization. Since November 2015, the Reformed (vrijgemaakt) pastor Duurt Vonck has been appointed as director. At the beginning of that same year, the headquarters moved from Doorn to Amersfoort. Agapè had been located in Doorn since 1969, with an interruption in the 1970s. In November 2017, the organization left Amersfoort and moved to Driebergen-Rijsenburg. As of 2016, the organization consisted of 55.7 full-time equivalents. At the end of 2017, part of the staff of Athletes in Action left for the new organization Next Move. In 2018, cooperation with sister organization GAIN was intensified, leading to further integration of activities in both back-office and field work. There is also a greater focus on connecting churches and Christians in a city or locality. In several cities, City Movements are emerging, seeking cooperation and unity under the motto: the whole Church is needed to reach the whole city with the whole gospel.

• 2018

  Cooperation with GAIN intensified, leading to further integration.

• 2017

  Headquarters moves to Driebergen-Rijsenburg; part of Athletes in Action staff leaves for Next Move.

• 2015

  Headquarters moves from Doorn to Amersfoort; Duurt Vonck appointed director.

• 2007

  Mark and Mira de Boer become directors.

• 2003

  Uitdaging divested to EB Media.

• 2002

  Willem de Vink becomes director.

• 1997

  Athletes in Action founded by Henk Stoorvogel.

• 1990

  Organization renamed Stichting Agapè.

• 1986

  Hans Pruis becomes director.

• 1980

  Uitdaging transformed into monthly news medium.

• 1979

  "Er is hoop" campaign launched.

• 1978

  Leo Habets becomes director.

• 1970

  Publication of news bulletin Uitdaging begins.

• 1969

  Dutch branch founded as Instituut voor Evangelisatie under Jan Herm Kits.

• 1951

  Campus Crusade for Christ founded at UCLA by Bill Bright.

A Dutch evangelical mission organization that equips churches and individual Christians to share their faith in everyday contexts, part of the global Campus Crusade for Christ network.

• Trainingen en Workshops

  Customized training and workshops for churches on sharing faith in everyday contexts.

• Gesprekstools

  Practical conversation tools to help start faith discussions outside the church.

• City Movements

  City-wide initiatives connecting churches and Christians for joint mission.

• Studentlife

  Student ministry providing a home away from home for students.

• Athletes in Action

  Sports evangelism organization founded in 1997.

• De Vier Geestelijke Wetten

  Booklet used for evangelism training.

• Uitdaging

  Monthly news magazine published until 2003.

• Er is hoop
• Klas 2000
• Zomer Explo

1. 1Stichting Agapè official websiteagape.nl
2. 2Stichting Agapè - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Stichting Agapè - Dutch Wikipedianl.wikipedia.org