Afrikaans speakers only began settling around the villages of Aus and
Bethanie, both German colonial foundations, in the 1920s. Pastors from the
Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) were not eager to relocate to what was then
South West Africa, only starting the congregations in
Otjiwarongo and
Gibeon by 1902 and delaying the founding of southern parishes such as
Keetmanshoop (1924) and
Warmbad (1928). The Keetmanshoop congregation stretched over a vast area that has since spun off into the congregations based in Aus,
Bethanie, and
Lüderitz - at the time stretching about west-to-east from
Aroab to
Lüderitz, including many less easily accessible areas. The pioneers of the church in southern
Namibia were men such as Manie Potgieter (arriving in 1925) and S. Fouche (arriving in 1931). Fouche helped establish the Bethanie congregation (in what is now Lüderitz), but in 1938, the official founding year, M.C. Hattingh became its first formal pastor. The sheer size of the parish complicated the choice of parsonage. A poorly built rectory in Bethanie was what the pastor had to settle for until a suitable church hall for Bethanie-Aus was built. Parsonages were rented in each town and one bought in Aus later. A proposal to build a hall in Lüderitz was delayed. On September 28, 1940, the Rev. Hattingh moved into a spacious, comfortable hall in Bethanie, built for the cost of £3,500. A hall was rented in Aus and that of the
German Evangelical Church was used in
Lüderitz. Church council meetings alternated among Aus, Bethanie, and Lüderitz. Since Aus was a more central location, the pastor moved there and it was separated municipally from Bethanie. This happened during the tenure of Dr.
Petrus Swart, who transferred to Soutpan after more than six years of service. Dr. P.A.M. Brink from Gansbaai arrived in 1949, at which time the separation of Aus from Bethanie and Lüderitz was completed. He was hired in Lüderitz and served Aus residents from there. == Gallery ==