Centennial Corner: July/August 2007

In the middle of the 20th century, the spiritual climate of the Reformed Church in the Netherlands was similar to the climate of the Methodist Church in America at the end of the 19th century. Large groups of "come-outers" left the Reformed Church under the leadership of Karel Hoekendijk and united in the Pentecostal society Stromen van Kracht (Streams of Power). A few people living in the Haarlem area who were attending the Stromen van Kracht meetings were attracted by the message of full salvation and a deeper spiritual life, but did not feel comfortable with the manifestations of Pentecostal power and speaking in tongues. Among this group were Cor and Miep Holleman, Wim and Ria de Vries, Bob and Rita Seijlhouwer, and Hetty van Houweningen. They decided to start their own weekly meetings, at the home of de Vries, to search and study the Scriptures in regard to full salvation. They also prayed that the Lord would bring them in contact with other people who could help them to grow spiritually. In one of their meetings in 1965, Hetty van Houweningen told about her friend, Jeanine van Beek, who was coming to visit her from Australia on her way to Germany to become a pastor in the Church of the Nazarene. In a couple of weeks, Jeanine visited with the small group and told about her newfound faith because of the Church of the Nazarene. They sensed this meeting was an answer to their prayers. The Hollemans discovered that what Jeanine explained to them, the doctrine of full salvation and second blessing, was exactly what they had experienced themselves some time before when they fully surrendered their lives and dedicated themselves to the Lord. Contact was made with Jerald Johnson, then superintendent of the Middle European District, and a church plant was started at Haarlem. The church was organized in January 1967 and Cor became the first pastor of the church in the Netherlands. In the following years under Cor's ministry, two lay people in the church, Jan Spijkman and later Jan van Otterloo, felt called to the ministry and studied at European Nazarene Bible College. Together with Cor and Jacob Overduin, who came to the Netherlands from the Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, California, they became the pioneering pastors of the Nazarene church in the Netherlands. This year the Netherlands District celebrated its 40th anniversary. Today, the district has 11 congregations and more than 1,770 members. Jan W. van Otterloo is one of four pioneering pastors for the Church of the Nazarene in The Netherlands. Holiness Today, July/August Issue

 

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