It was first built to emphasize the importance of the sermon and the preaching of the Word of God in the worship service.
It also symbolizes that the Word of God stands together with the sacraments (Holy Communion) which takes place on the altar below.
Pulpit altars were quite popular in Upper Franconia, southern Lower Saxony, the Bergisches Land, and the Saxon duchies of today's state of Thuringia.
The earliest verified example of a pulpit altar in the Thuringian area was built in the castle chapel of Callenberg Castle in Coburg (today Upper Franconia in Bavaria), built under Duke Johann Casimir of Saxe-Coburg and it was inaugurated in 1618.
However, the Batak Christian Protestant Church moved the pulpit to the right side, which functions as the place for the minister to preach.