The Stiftung Schleife is a non-denominational Christian movement. Its direct roots lie historically in the parish Winterthur-Seen of the Evangelical-Reformed State church. Since its founding, Christians of various denominations and nationalities have joined the Schleife Foundation and the Schleife Community. We are united by the desire to follow Jesus Christ and to implement his instructions for a healthy, successful life in a contemporary way.
The Schleife Foundation is organized by the board of trustees consisting of 10 persons and an executive board. The overall leadership of the Schleife Foundation lies with Andreas Keller, Jochen Thomann is Executive Director. It currently has a staff of 23 permanent employees, 4 apprentices and over 200 volunteers.
The Schleife Publishing House AG is attached as an independent legal affiliate of the Schleife Foundation. The publisher is Marcus Watta and the supervisory board consists of 5 members. In addition to the publishing house manager, Schleife AG employs an administrative employee.
An independent legal establishment, Schleife Verlag AG is affiliated with the Stiftung Schleife.
Interview with Marcus Watta
How would you describe Schleife Publishing’s culture?
We respect our clients and our authors. We try to make products from real lives and real experience, and are therefore based on life. When these writers write something, they do not write exciting ideas; they write about what they have experienced. We are always looking to expand product boundaries or our own limits. For example, we are currently planning a book of poetry for the first time. On the music side, the entire music world is under pressure that is not something we have seen as a Christian publisher before. We are working on ways to create more music productions. We are moving in a good direction. I always liked Schleife publishing from a distance as a musician and song writer very much for the attitude. Now that I can manage this publishing house, it is important for me to maintain this attitude, while at the same time making the content and form of our products more and more precise.
Are you addressing a specific target group?
Our products are very different, and accordingly our customers are different. We do not primarily think about target groups. We do what we think is important now, or what will enrich for people. This also entails risks, because there are products that have barely found their audience. Yet we remain in this attitude that we do what we feel is important.
What did you plan next?
Currently, two new books are in production. One is a work on Brother Klaus by Geri Keller, and on the other is a workbook on the „Heavenly Time“, which is part of the family workshop. Both have been in process for a long time, so there is a lot of work and lots of love in them. Soon a new project, the translation of the book „Heart Made Whole“ by Christa Black Gifford will begin. Occasionally, things come together when an author we know offers us something and we notice – that it fits – we have to do that.
Information about the individual products and the shop can be found on the publisher’s website www.schleifeverlag.ch
The Schleife Community, with about 300 people, including children and teenagers, is under the leadership of Thomas and Katharina Bänziger. The Schleife Community is the spiritual community of the employees of the Schleife Foundation and the Schleife Publishing House, as well as part of the volunteer coworkers with their families.
In the eighties, a community of prayer and cell groups started to grow within the Reformed Church of Winterthur-Seen under the leadership of Geri Keller and his wife Lilo. As time went on, their ministry kept growing and started to impact others. In 1992, the Keller’s left the parish ministry in order to fully dedicate their lives to their new calling. In order to perform all the tasks associated with this growth, the Stiftung Schleife (engl: Schleife foundation), based in Winterthur, was founded on the factory premises of the same name.
Connected to the Stiftung are the Schleife Publishing House and the Schleife Community, which unites persons of responsibility and employees, who call the Schleife their spiritual home. A generational change was initiated in 2008 by transferring the management of the foundation to Andreas Keller and, in 2010, the Schleife Community to Andreas and Stephanie Keller. In 2014, Andras Keller took over the mandate of the Head of the Board of Trustees.
Together on the way
The Schleife Community is a ministry community, where everyone feels called to serve in the kingdom of God and does this voluntarily. As its members are fully part of the Schleife and support it in prayer, the strength and faith that arises is able to carry the ministry and the Schleife movement. The community now includes a total of about 200 adults and approximately 100 children and young people.
To implement all the projects and tasks in the Schleife, there are different workspaces where the different teams and their leaders do their work.
This includes:
The Stiftung Schleife is financed to 30% by seminar and conference fees. The remaining 70% will be covered by donations.
Donations are always credited to the area as desired by the donor. For instance, if “pastoral care” or a conference is noted on the payment as the reason for a donation, then it will be credited accordingly. Transfers without a specific payment purpose will be credited to the Schleife.
Would you like to support the Schleife? Thank you, we are very happy for any support! More information can be found here.
10% of our revenues are reinvested in other ministries and movements (for example GdV, JmeM).
If you have any questions, please contact our secretariat.
