Erzberger, Jakob H. (1843–1920)

Jakob (James) Erzberger was a pioneering convert to Seventh-day Adventism in Europe and became the first European to be ordained as a Seventh-day Adventist pastor.

Early Years

Jakob Erzberger¹ was born on March 23, 1843,² in Seltisberg near Liestal in Switzerland.³ As a result of the death of his father, young Jakob, from the age of three, grew up in poverty. His mother, Anna Erzberger (nee Nefzger), struggled to provide for her four young sons through fabric weaving. Because of the godly influence of his mother, Jakob decided to work for God at a young age.⁴ In 1859, being Evangelical Reformed, Erzberger was confirmed by Pastor Joseph Otto Widmann in Liestal and later found a job as a gatekeeper in the cantonal hospital.⁵

Education

In 1864, at the age of 21, Erzberger was summoned to the bedside of a dying patient at the hospital. This encounter prompted him to reflect on his own preparedness for death and inspired him to enroll at the evangelical St. Chrischona Pilgrim Mission Seminary near Basel. This period marked significant spiritual growth and maturity for Erzberger. “On his arrival one of the seminary students remarked that the devil did not dare to enter the seminary gate. Young Erzberger replied that the devil had managed to make it into the hallowed seminary grounds as Erzberger often confronted him ‘in his own heart.’”⁶ After completing his first year of study in 1864/1865, Erzberger began a three-year internship as a colporteur, evangelist, and chaplain at the prison in Pruntrut.

Meeting Adventists

During a preaching tour, Erzberger became acquainted with the Dietschy family in Tramelan, who were known for their devout Christian faith. Later, a prisoner in Pruntrut informed him that the Dietschy family had begun observing the seventh-day Sabbath. Upon completing his service at the prison, Erzberger promptly visited the Dietschy family to discuss this biblical topic, which had preoccupied him for some time. The Dietschy family had recently joined a group of Adventists organized by Michael Belina Czechowski in 1867 in Tramelan. Erzberger soon became convinced of their beliefs, joined the group, and requested baptism.⁷ On August 31, 1868, he was baptized by Albert Vuilleumier, the group's elder, in a nearby lake. After reporting his new biblical convictions to his seminary, Erzberger was unable to continue his studies.⁸

Consequently, Erzberger chose to work independently as a colporteur and minister to the small group of Adventists in Tramelan. At that time, the Adventist believers in Tramelan believed they were the only individuals worldwide who held these convictions. However, Albert Vuilleumier later discovered a copy of the Review and Herald, inadvertently left by Czechowski, and learned that an established Seventh-day Adventist Church already existed in North America, a fact Czechowski had not disclosed openly.⁹

After a written contact had been established, Erzberger was sent in 1869 to Battle Creek, Michigan, to get in personal contact with the American Church. Although he arrived late for the conference, Erzberger became the first official delegate from overseas to a General Conference session. He was warmly welcomed in the home of James and Ellen White, co-founders of Adventism. While John H. Kellogg tutored Erzberger in English, James White gave him Bible studies.¹⁰

In 1870, Erzberger was ordained during a ceremony led by James White and John N. Andrews at a camp meeting in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. At the same time, Erzberger was commissioned to go back to do mission work in Europe.

Erzberger contributed significantly to the establishment of Adventism in Switzerland and Germany. In the winter of 1872 to 1873, he held evangelistic meetings in La Chaux-de-Fonds and in Le Locle. According to Karl Waber, that was the first time he had undertaken a public effort for evangelism. In La Chaux-de-Fonds, the auditorium was so crowded that many listeners had to stand. At the end, Erzberger baptized several people and founded a congregation in Le Locle with eighteen members.¹¹

Discouragement and Marriage

Between 1871–1874 Erzberger had to fight with several difficulties.¹² As a result of this discouragement, caused by some members he gave up his public ministry for some time. These members “accused Erzberger of becoming ‘proud’ of his new ‘American knowledge’ that he was preaching about”, as Ellen White described it later.¹³ When J. N. Andrews came to Switzerland in 1874, he helped Erzberger overcome his discouragement and return to ministry¹⁴ In January 1875, they began a fruitful collaboration.

In 1882, Erzberger married Marie Yersin. The couple had two sons: Heinrich (born in 1884) and Jakob (born in 1886). Marie worked for some time as a housekeeper in the church school in Pierterlen. However, her health was poor. Despite medical help and a major operation, she died on December 9, 1903, at the age of just 53. This was very hard for Jakob.¹⁵ Two years later, Erzberger entered into a second marriage with Maria Pauline Kaufmann from Lahr (Germany). She outlived Erzberger by several years.

The First Work in Germany

In 1875, after hearing of a Sabbath-keeping group in Germany, Erzberger and Andrews travelled to the Elberfeld, Wuppertal, area where they met a group of Baptist Christians (Getaufte Christen-Gemeinde). This group had formed around a weaver, revivalist, and former minister of the Reformed Church, Johann H. Lindermann.¹⁶ Their beliefs were quite similar to the Adventists even though they had existed independently. Andrews, not able to talk in German, spent a few weeks in Vohwinkel and the Wuppertal area (in Hilden, a small town near Düsseldorf) preaching in English while Erzberger translated for him. After that Andrews went back to Switzerland.¹⁷

Erzberger stayed back and continued holding lectures in Hilden and Solingen (1875) as well as in Langenberg (a district of Velbert today) in 1876.¹⁸ The spiritual nurturing of the groups led to a baptism of eight people in a lake between the towns of Solingen and Vohwinkel on January 8, 1876. The group became the first official Adventist church in Germany.¹⁹

In the next months, as a result of the positive responses to the Adventist message, Andrews was called on by Erzberger for assistance in Germany. The duo visited Solingen, where a congregation of sixteen members had been established by Erzberger. After conducting a baptism of three new members, Erzberger and Andrews proceeded to Essen, where they met with a congregation of seven Sabbath keepers originally from East Prussia. It is possible that this group also attended the lectures in Langenberg since Langenberg is near the city of Essen. Two of the members were baptized. Andrews returned to Switzerland after another visit with the group, where he spoke on the Sabbath and encouraged and mentored Erzberger.²⁰ t is important to note that Erzberger also produced the first German Adventist tracts (translated from English, probably printed in Solingen, Germany), which the young church distributed.²¹

Mission in Different Places

Throughout Andrews's entire work period in Europe, Erzberger was an indispensable helper, serving as his translator into French or German. In the period 1878/1879, when Andrews visited the US the last time, Erzberger continued the evangelistic work in Switzerland. During the period 1879-1883 we find his name as a member of the “Comité de Societé” of Les Signes des Temps.²²

In 1880 Erzberger met fierce resistance when he preached in the Canton of St. Gallen. After giving only two public lectures in Azmoos, he was almost killed by violent opponents. J. N. Andrews wrote in the Review:

His enemies ... a little after midnight made a violent assault upon the house where he lodged, and broke open the doors to seize him. He attempted to escape by a window, but one of the party was watching for him, and knocked him down and kicked him with much violence, so that he bled much from the mouth. Bro. E. thought it's best to refrain from further effort in that canton for the present.²³

During the visit of Ellen White in Europe, Erzberger helped her in some places as a guide. She mentioned him as her interpreter at the dedication service at the little church in Tramelan on December 25, 1886.²⁴ Additionally, when Ludwig Conradi was sent to Europe in 1886, Erzberger was inspired by Conradi’s evangelistic drive. Erzberger shared his dwelling with Conradi for a time and assisted in the first evangelistic efforts at Lausanne and Basel, Switzerland.²⁵

Soon, Erzberger began holding prophecy seminars in various big cities in the German and French languages in Switzerland: Lausanne, Basel, Zürich, Bern, which led to the establishment of churches in those cities. Emil E. Frauchiger, a former Methodist preacher and later Adventist pioneer, heard Erzberger in Lausanne for the first time and exclaimed that the whole city was taken by storm.²⁶ Erzberger also went with Conradi to Hamburg, from where both carried out pioneer mission work. In Hamburg, Julius T. Böttcher, another pioneer worker, joined Erzberger and Conradi in organizing evangelistic series. They were successful. For instance, by November 1899, Conradi reported of the “good interest” generated by the lectures held by Erzberger and Böttcher in the city of Barmen.²⁷

Aside from his close association with Conradi, Erzberger was a motivated minister who often worked far beyond his capabilities. He did not let the death of his wife, Marie (at the age of 53), in 1903, cause him to falter. From 1904 onwards, Erzberger worked extensively as a traveling evangelist throughout Germany.

Even for the travel-accustomed Erzberger, the trip in 1904 with H. F. Schubert to Russia and the Caucasus must have been a special experience. The two men planned to complete the 3000 km journey in four days. Due to an extremely thorough check in Warsaw, they missed their direct wagon and had to change trains three times. The way back was even more complicated, but the meetings in Furstenort and Shitomir were encouraging and showed the progress in the South- and North-Russian field.²⁸

For many years, Erzberger showed enormous commitment to preaching the Advent message. For example, he preached 49 sermons and organized 28 Bible studies and 17 evangelistic in April 1906. In Osterode, he collapsed during an evangelistic meeting that same year.²⁹ When Conradi moved to Germany and concentrated his efforts there, Erzberger was left as the only Adventist preacher to care for all the German-speaking churches in Switzerland for several years.

During the period from 1895 to 1921, the magazine “Zions Wächter” was the official paper for the German-speaking Adventists. In this magazine we find 74 articles and reports written by Erzberger, and his name is mentioned more than 270 times. Two articles which he wrote shortly before his death are worth mentioning. One is about his acceptance of the Sabbath³⁰ and the second about his baptism.³¹

Later Years

From 1906, Erzberger lived in Switzerland again, first in Gelterkinden near Liestal, then in Sissach from 1909 on.³² After some years, Erzberger’s eyesight began to fail. Still, he continued visiting churches.³³ Soon, in 1920, Erzberger was worn out by sickness. He was cared for by his second wife, Marie Pauline Kaufmann (born in 1862), to whom he was remarried in 1905. She was from Lahr, Germany. Jakob H. Erzberger died on July 13, 1920, bringing the efforts of a European Adventist giant to rest. He had been living in Basel.

Contribution

Jakob H. Erzberger served the Seventh-day Adventist Church as evangelist, pastor, missionary and leader of a burgeoning Adventist movement in Europe. During his 50 years of service, he left several legacies worthy of note. He was the first ordained Adventist minister in Europe. He was instrumental in establishing the first Adventist congregations in Switzerland and Germany by building on the work of Czechowski and of Lindermann. Moreover, Erzberger is known to have produced and published the first indigenous German Adventist tracts. Although he had no major organizational or leadership responsibilities, the sacrificial efforts of Erzberger played key roles in the grounding and establishing Adventism in its earliest years in Europe. In summary, Erzberger was one of the founding fathers of European Adventism. If one were to compile from the “Zinos-Wächter”³⁴ all the places in which Erzberger worked, he must have known and served more or less all Adventist churches in Germany and Switzerland.

The two sons of Erzberger, Heinrich and Jakob, inherited the mission and ministry legacy of their father. Heinrich Erzberger was a missionary to the Middle East (Syria, Turkey) and Bulgaria while Jakob Erzberger worked in the Adventist Sanitarium in Gland.

Ludwig R. Conradi wrote about Erzberger’s legacy:

He [Jakob H. Erzberger] served fifty years as an ordained minister in this denomination, and saw the cause develop from the very first few Sabbath keepers in Switzerland, to thousands in every part of Europe at the time of his death. He surely rests in peace from all his labors.³⁵

Jacob Erzberger served as a circuit preacher throughout Switzerland and Germany. He consistently prioritized the mission over personal recognition, exemplifying the direct and focused approach often associated with Swiss ministry. Even as a senior worker, he was willing to work under younger colleagues. Erzberger was content to support the efforts of Czechowski, Andrews, and Conradi, who became recognized as the founding fathers of European Adventism. In many respects, Erzberger was the “first fruit” of Czechowski’s mission work in Europe. He frequently followed up on the evangelistic efforts of other pioneers, providing pastoral care and establishing new believers in the faith after the initial pioneers moved on to new areas.³⁶

Sources

Andrews, James N. “Report from Switzerland.” ARH, March 2, 1876.

Andrews, James N. “Germany and Switzerland.” ARH, May 25, 1876.

Andrews, James N. “Wants of the Cause in Europe.” ARH, October 14, 1875.

Conradi, Ludwig R. “In Memory of J. H. Erzberger.” ARH, December 23, 1920.

Conradi, Ludwig R. “In the Central European Union.” ARH, June 10, 1915.

Conradi, Ludwig R. “The Hamburg Mission.” The Signs of the Times, December 16, 1889.

Ertzenberger, James. “Germany.” ARH, July 6, 1876.

Ertzenberger, James. “Report from Bro. Ertzenberger.” ARH, March 2, 1876.

Ertzenberger, James. “Solingen— Germany.” ARH, January 27, 1876.

Heinz, Daniel. “Erzberger, Jakob.” In Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, Vol. 16. Nordhausen: Traugott Bautz, 1999.

Heinz, Daniel. “Jakob Erzberger: The Forgotten Pioneer.” Adventist World, May 2010.

Osterburg, H. “Der Vaeter Weise.” Adventbote, October 15, 1958, November 1, 1958, January 1, 1959, and January 15, 1959.

Waber, Karl. Highlights from the History of Seventh-day Adventists in Switzerland 1865-1901. Advent-Verlag Schweiz, 2024.

Notes

1. In some English and French sources, either the spelling “Erzenberger” or “Ertzenberger” is used.↩

2. Ludwig R. Conradi, “In Memory of J. H. Erzberger,” ARH, December 23, 1920, 20.↩

3. Daniel Heinz, “Erzberger, Jakob,” Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, vol. 16 (Nordhausen: Traugott Bautz, 1999), 465.↩

4. Daniel Heinz, “Jakob Erzberger: The Forgotten Pioneer,” Adventist World, May 2010, 24.↩

5. Heinz, “Erzberger, Jakob,” 465.↩

6. Heinz, “Jakob Erzberger: The Forgotten Pioneer,” 24.↩

7. Conradi, “In Memory of J. H. Erzberger,” 20.↩

8. Heinz, “Jakob Erzberger: The Forgotten Pioneer,” 25.↩

9. See Karl Waber, Highlights from the History of Seventh-day Adventists in Switzerland 1865-1901 (Advent-Verlag Schweiz, 2024), 30-31.↩

10. Ibid., 41-42.↩

11. See Karl Waber, Highlights from the History of Seventh-day Adventists in Switzerland 1865-1901 (Advent-Verlag Schweiz, 2024), 47.↩

12. See James Ertzenberger, “Switzerland,” ARH, December 26, 1871, 14; James Ertzenberger, “Report from Switzerland,” ARH, January 9, 1872, 29.↩

13. Heinz, “Jakob Erzberger: The Forgotten Pioneer,” 25.↩

14. See J. N. Andrews, “Meeting the Sabbathkeepers in Neuchatel,” ARH, November 24, 1874, 172; J. N. Andrews, “The Cause in Europe Onward,” Signes of the Times, March 11, 1874, 142.↩

15. Jakob Erzberger, handwritten personal record, Historisches Archiv für Schweizer Adventgeschichte, Krattigen.↩

16. See the full story by H. Osterburg, “Der Vater Weise,” Adventbote, October 15, 1958, 310-311; November 1, 1958, 326- 327; January 1, 1959, 8-9; January 15, 1959, 22-23.↩

17. See J. N. Andrews, “Wants of the Cause in Europe,” ARH, October 14, 1875, 116.↩

18. James Ertzenberger, “Germany,” ARH, July 6, 1876, 14.↩

19. See James Ertzenberger, “Report from Bro. Ertzenberger,” ARH, March 2, 1876, 70; see also Waber, Highlights from the History of Seventh-day Adventists in Switzerland 1865-1901, 36 ff.↩

20. James, N. Andrews, “Germany and Switzerland,” ARH, May 25, 1876, 164. The group of Sabbath keepers came probably from the “Apostolische Gemeinde” (Apostolic Church) in Essen.↩

21. See James Ertzenberger, “Solingen— Germany,” ARH, January 27, 1876, 30; James N. Andrews, “Report from Switzerland,” ARH, March 2, 1876, 70.↩

22. Les Signes des Temps, January 1880, p. 337, Comité de Societé: J. N. Andrews, J. Erzenberger, Pierre Schild.↩

23. J. N. Andrews, “Bale, Switzerland,” ARH, May 20, 1880, 332; Waber, Highlights from the History of Seventh-day Adventists in Switzerland 1865-1901, 68f; J. Erzenberger, “Schweiz,” Stimme der Wahrheit und prophetischer Erklärer, May 1880, 39.↩

24. Ellen G. White, “Visit to Tramelan, Switzerland,” ARH, April 5, 1887, 209-210.↩

25. Conradi, “In Memory of J. H. Erzberger,” 20.↩

26. Heinz, “Jakob Erzberger: The Forgotten Pioneer,” 25.↩

27. Ludwig R. Conradi, “The Hamburg Mission,” The Signs of the Times, December 16, 1889, 11.↩

28. Schuberth, H. F., “Unsere Konferenzen im Osten”, Zions-Wächter, December 5, 1904.↩

29. “Erzberger, Jakob,” Biographisch, 465; Erzberger, Jakob, “Arbeit in der preußischen Vereinigung,” Zions-Wächter June 4, 1906, 207f.↩

30. Jakob Erzberger, “Annahme des Sabbats,” Zions-Wächter, January 22, 1919, 10.↩

31. Jakob Erzberger, “Meine Taufe, ” Zions-Wächter, April 16, 1919, 75-76.↩

32. “Erzberger, Jakob,” Biographisch, 465.↩

33. Ludwig R. Conradi, “In the Central European Union,” ARH, June 10, 1915, 11.↩

34. The official Church paper, published from 1895 to 1921.↩

35. Conradi, “In Memory of J. H. Erzberger,” 20.↩

36. Heinz, “Jakob Erzberger: The Forgotten Pioneer,” 25.↩