BUILDING PARTNERSHIP
STRATEGIC CHURCH PLANT RELOCATION in BRNO
Much has been written about the spiritual climate in the Czech Republic. Some sources report less than 1% of the population as evangelical believers with a large majority identifying as atheistic or agnostic.
While we certainly feel these realities, we don't think this is the complete story. People are curious, asking questions, and we believe the Spirit is moving in this nation with a rich spiritual heritage. We want to join in this work the Lord is already doing by relocating our church plant to a community without an evangelical church presence.
WHAT is KONTAKT?
Církev Bratrská church plant in BRNO
In 2021, a core team was sent out from CB Betanie to start a new church plant in Brno. Kontakt began meeting regularly, and now meets for worship every Sunday at 5pm.
We meet in the attic of a historic building in Brno for one reason- rent is inexpensive. However, in Summer 2026, the City of Brno will take over the building, removing current tenants to turn it into a museum.
Our church needs to move, but where and how?
VISION
Church plants and even established churches in Czechia are often forced to make substantial compromises in their location. Either an inexpensive, small, or non-strategic locations is chosen, or sky-high rent is needed for a better location. This dilemma comes at a great cost to the church and substantially hampers church planting efforts across the country.
We believe that the "doors closing" in our current space could be an "open door" from the Lord to establish roots in a Brno suburb without an evangelical church presence. We hope to carefully and prayerfully move forward in purchasing a small space in south of the Brno. Purchasing a building, with assistance from outside donations, will allow us to strategically choose the location, remove ongoing rent costs and location concerns, and look forward in community-focused ministry and even future church planting.
CONSIDERATIONS
📈 THE MARKET
Czechia has faced high inflation and a challenging property market. We need to consider the right balance of size, price, and condition in this market.
⛪️ BUILDING
Czech churches operate in smaller spaces than in the US. We will be looking for a minimum of 150 sq/m or about 1,500 sq/ft of total space.
📌 LOCATION
The ideal location will have good public transit access, reasonable parking options, proximity to residential areas, good property accessibility, and street visibility.
🧑🧑🧒🧒 COMMUNITY
There are several suburbs of Brno south of the center that do not have a evangelical presence. We will focus our search in these communities for available space.
💵 FINANCES
This is not a small investment for a fledgling church. Without substantial outside financial support, this project will not be realized.
📊 BUDGET
The working budget, given current market conditions, is between $700,000 and $1 million. At the onset, around 7-9% of the budget is available locally.
NEXT STEPS
We hope to identify interested churches and individuals who are interested in participating in this project. Gauging interest and forecasting giving is an important initial step we need to take. In this, there are a few important things to know:
- US donations will be processed through Greater Europe Mission (GEM), allowing for tax deductible giving. GEM will process gifts at-cost for the transaction; 3% credit card, 0.5% ETF, and 0% check.
- Since we have a substantial goal we are currently looking at project feasibility. We primarily want to identify churches and individuals who are feeling led to pledge or estimate substantial support in this building acquisition.
- Once we make the giving page public, gifts and givers of all size will be welcome to participate!
- Ongoing communication about the project will take place on this page and in other methods that will be launched soon.
For more information or to express your desire to participate, please fill out the form which will be reviewed by our team. Daniel and Jennifer Kandel, missionaries in Brno and members of Betanie/Kontakt church plant will reply to your inquiry and schedule a time for a call.
