The Lüderitz Reformed Church is a congregation of the

Reformed Churches in South Africa The Reformed Churches in South Africa () is a Christian denomination in South Africa that was formed in 1859 in Rustenburg. Members of the church are sometimes referred to as ''Doppers''. History of the Gereformeerde Kerke in South Africa I ...

(GKSA) in southern

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. Services are held in three locations,

Lüderitz Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. Lüderitz had a population of 16,125 people in 2023. Th ...

, Aus, and

Rosh Pinah Rosh Pinah is a mining town located in southern Namibia, close to the border with South Africa. It is situated south of Keetmanshoop in Namibia's ǁKaras Region. West of the town lies Diamond Area 1, the main diamond mining area of Namibia. Ro ...

. The congregation was founded on 7 December 1949, spun off of the Bethanie Reformed Church (NGK). Located in one of the driest points of the world, it had a very far-flung membership. Its area included the diamond-crusted Sperrgebiet and included around 15 coastal islands. The capital of the congregation is Lüderitz. Members included karakul farmers, miners, guano harvesters, factory workers, sergeants, railwaymen, and others. The 550 members were so widespread by 1952 that visiting 15 households on the outskirts could entail a 1,400-km journey. At the time, services were also held in Aus, 130 km from the coast, and in

Oranjemund Oranjemund (Dutch for ''"Mouth of Orange"'') is a diamond mining town in the ǁKaras Region of the extreme southwest of Namibia, on the northern bank of the Orange River mouth at the border with South Africa. It had a population of 7,736 peopl ...

, around 300 km from Lüderitz. Oranjemund seceded in 1959, and in 2013 would join the Western and Southern Cape Synod, after which it joined the Namibian Synod. Eighteen months after the foundation of the congregation the first church in Lüderitz was dedicated on 10 June 1950. The congregation's first pastor was the Rev. P.A.M. Brink, previously with the Bethanie mother church.

Select pastors

# Philippus Albertus Myburgh Brink, 1950 - 1955 # Dirk Johannes Malan, 1955 - 1958 # Albertus Johannes de Bruyn, 1959 - 1961 # Pierré Herman Bosman, February 18, 1982 - 1985 (then in

Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It is named after , a German Empire, German industrialist and benefactor of the city. Keetmanshoop had a population of 27,862 people in 2023. History Before the colonial era, ...

-North)

Sources

* Phil Olivier (compiler). 1952. ''Ons gemeentelike feesalbum''. Cape Town/Pretoria: N.G. Kerk-Uitgewers.
Official information from the Dutch Reformed Church in Namibia

External links

Photo of the church building on Google Maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luderitz Reformed Church ǁKaras Region Churches in Namibia 1949 establishments in South West Africa Christian organizations established in 1949 Protestantism in Namibia Reformed Churches in South Africa