Johannes Gossner (1773-1858) studied at the University of Dillingen and the seminary at Ingolstadt. His reading of the Scriptures and his evangelical beliefs caused him to leave the Roman Catholic Church, where he had been a parish priest for 7 years. In 1829 he was appointed pastor at the Bethlehem Church in Berlin, where he served for 17 years, founding schools, asylums, and the Berlin Mission Society. [Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia]