From a small church on the Vogelzang in 1921 to one of the largest church congregations in the Netherlands, with thousands of members.
Salvation Army soldier Sjoerd Veltman builds the congregation's first church building.
The growing number of churchgoers soon calls for more space.
The congregation moves into a new church building on the Brouwerssingel.
Under his leadership the congregation grows from around 60 to thousands of members.
The church building is significantly expanded to accommodate the growth.
The congregation moves to its current location on the De Haven industrial estate, at De Bolder.
The building is expanded once again to house the growing congregation.
The Bethelkerk is among the largest local faith communities in the Netherlands.
From Salvation Army soldier to church founder
The roots of the Bethelkerk lie with Sjoerd Veltman (1877–1952), a Drachten-based Salvation Army soldier who, in 1921, had the congregation's first church building constructed on the Vogelzang. What began as a modest, local faith community grew steadily over the following decades, with expansions including one in 1923. Around the Second World War the congregation numbered about 50 members.
On 1 October 1966 the congregation moved to a new church building on the Brouwerssingel, where it remained for decades before the next major growth phase began.
From 60 to thousands of members
The Bethelkerk's real growth spurt began in 1988, with the arrival of Reverend Orlando Bottenbley. Under his leadership the congregation grew from around 60 members to about 2,250 members in 2007, over 2,700 in 2009 and roughly 3,000 members in 2015. This makes the Bethelkerk one of the largest local church congregations in the Netherlands — often referred to as a "mega-church". Daughter congregations have also been founded from Drachten in places such as Groningen, Dokkum and Leeuwarden.
To accommodate all this growth, the church building was significantly expanded in 1992, adding almost two-thirds more floor space. In 2000 the congregation moved to its current location on the De Haven industrial estate, where the building was expanded again in 2004.
Address & capacity
De Bolder 75, Drachten (De Haven industrial estate)
The current church hall seats around 3,000 visitors, making the Bethelkerk one of the largest church buildings in the Netherlands.
The Bethelkerk in pictures
The current church building of the Vrije Baptistengemeente Bethel.
Source: Wikipedia. Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA), photographer RomkeHoekstra.
