The meaning of the Bethel logo

On July 23, 1954 the United Boards of Bethel, Sarepta and Nazareth decided to "create a new seal for the v. Bodelschwingh Foundation Bethel". An illustration of this was pasted into the protocol book. However, this seal, the old Bethel cross, was not regularly used for Bethel print products until the publication of the staff magazine "Der Ring" in January 1961. Much later, in 1975, the Bethel Cross and its significance were presented to the public in the "Greetings from Bethel" calendar. Deacon Werner Pöschel, then head of the graphic design workshop in Bethel, explained the meaning of the Bethel cross as follows: "This symbol is formally reminiscent of the so-called 'crown cross' of the Inner Mission ... but is by no means intended as a mirror image duplication of it. ... Rather, the basic idea of this symbol corresponds to that of a short story by Pastor Fritz. It is entitled 'Streams that flow backwards': From the centre of the cross, streams flow in the four cardinal directions, returning to their source. A symbol for the work of Christ for Christ." Since that time, Pöschel has been named as the person who designed and drew the original shape of the Bethel cross.

Werner Pöschel (1927-2002) came to Bethel in 1949 and, even as a student deacon, produced design work, primarily for the Nazareth Deacon's Institution. In 1955, the deacon became head of the Lydda Graphic Workshop in Bethel. Pöschel gave himself the artist's name "Petit Frère" and also worked part-time with a wide range of works.

The introduction of today's Bethel logo was decided on January 22, 1991 by the then Board of Directors. A proposal by the external graphic designer Erwin Poell from Heidelberg was accepted. Instead of introducing a completely new logo, he based it on the old Bethel cross, which he further developed in a modern "redesign". In doing so, "the semiotic richness of the old sign was to be supplemented by the symbolic content of 'light' and open 'paths' from the cross to the cross". All associations that are of fundamental importance for life and work at Bethel.

The Bethel logo was registered as a trademark with the Federal Patent Office on January 19, 1994. This not only protected the name "Bethel" as a word mark, but also the entire Bethel logo in its current form.