The written archive of the UEM Archive and Museum Foundation preserves and catalogues a total of around 3,200 files consisting of historical archives - including letters, reports, diary entries and other written documents - from the Rhenish Missionary Society (approx. 2,400 files) and the Bethel Mission's historical mission archive (approx. 800 files). These files include numerous records that also document the history and development of today's member churches of the UEM. These two historical archives are supplemented by the UEM archive, which continues to grow as a result of the current work of the UEM. The archives of the UEM's predecessor organisations - the Rhenish Mission and the Bethel Mission - offer in part unique original and primary sources, which have already been researched by numerous researchers for a wide range of questions in theses and publications. The finding aids, which provide a cursory overview of the files and their contents, can be downloaded as PDF files (see below).

- Archive of the Rhenish Mission (Society), reporting period 1799-1970 also contains documents from the Elberfeld and Barmen missionary societies. Finding aids are available for southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia), Indonesia (Borneo/Kalimantan, Sumatra, Nias, Mentawai and West Papua), Papua New Guinea, China/Hong Kong and home work in Germany).

- Archive of the Bethel Mission/Evangelical Missionary Society for German East Africa, 1885-1970 This archive also contains material on the Evangelical Africa Association. A printed finding aid is available.

- The archive of the VEM, from 1970 
catalogued by a non-publicly accessible finding aid, largely not yet released for use due to legal retention periods

- Estates
for the most part already included in the finding aids for the mission regions

- Map collection
A printed overview is available.

- Collection of audio material
Tapes, audio cassettes, records

Finding aids of the Written Archives can be viewed online:

Introduction Finding Aid

Finding Aid Bethel Mission

Finding Aid Rhenish Mission

Library

The library - consisting of around 60,000 books - complements the archives and is organised into a historical and a present part. The first part contains the contemporary publications of the missionary sisters and missionaries sent by the Rhenish Mission and Bethel Mission as well as various historical German and foreign-language missionary journals and numerous early linguistic works. The second part, which continues to grow, consists of current academic publications and published master's theses and dissertations, which are the result of research in the archives and thus contribute to answering numerous research questions and opening up new fields of research.