It’s an exciting journey and daring experiment with community-led redevelopment. This building is not going to be the next church to be turned into luxurious apartments, a restaurant or bookstore. It will continue to be a place where the gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed. We love to share our enthusiasm with you and hope you feel warmly invited to join our efforts in whatever way you can!
Groenmarktkerk
The Groenmarktkerk has been our home since January 2025, when we got a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy the building from the roman-catholic diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam. Built in 1844, Groenmarktkerk is one of the oldest and largest church buildings in Haarlem. It’s a national monument in a place where once stood a monastery, within walking distance of Grote Markt, Haarlem’s vibrant main square and right around the corner of the famous Corrie ten Boom House.
Our plans
Groenmarktkerk used to be one of the few churches that could be visited on weekdays and we are happy to continue that hospitality. It is our vision that Groenmarktkerk will be open to visitors on every day of the week. It will be a place of worship. It will accommodate an interdenominational House of Prayer for the city. Teenagers will have their own spaces where they can chill and take part in youth activities. There will be flexible workspaces and room for workshops and small meetings. The church hall will be a giant living room with a ‘social coffee corner’ based on the principles of pay it forward where your coffee comes with a Bible verse of the day. At night, it may be used for concerts and other events. It will be a place where people from all different walks of life are welcome and can mingle and meet.
And you know what? It’s not a utopian dream. As a community, we are already working hard to make it all happen. That’s what this website is all about. (Sorry for the Dutch-only sections though.) Step by step, we are getting there. We are very grateful for all the help we have received from others so far – often from complete strangers who just sympathize with our mission.
Join the mission!
We like to invite you to be part of this amazing endeavor too. It takes as little as telling others about our story. But you could also jump into the action straight away and join one of our projects. For instance, we are redecorating our prayer chapel with 10,000 prayers of blessings from every corner of the country (and beyond). Prayers of Blessing what your prayer is for the visitors of the chapel, and we’ll include it in the colorful mosaic of blessings.
Of course, if you want to support us financially, we would be more than glad to accept your gift. If you have access to the Dutch payment system iDeal, then you can use the donation form in the right column right Donate. If not, fill in the form below, and we’ll contact you.
Finally, should you be around, feel free to join one of our Sunday services. We start at 10:30 local time and we have live translation available. Services usually last for 90 minutes or so, but if you’re lucky you’ll pop in on one of our community lunch Sundays. More info can be found on our re:connect community church website (in Dutch though).
Contact us
