The First NRC of Grand Rapids, Michigan (7)

1911–1921: Rev. H. A. Minderman (1856–1933)

The congregation’s pastoral vacancy after Rev. Pieneman’s departure lasted only two years. The seventh call sent out was accepted by Rev. H. A. Minderman of the Christian Reformed Church, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.1 He was installed on November 19, 1911 as the sixth pastor of the Grand Rapids flock, whom he served for ten years to the spiritual benefit of many.

The best summary of Rev. Minderman’s life has been written by his close friend, Rev. G. H. Kersten, and reads in part as follows:

Brother Minderman was serving in the military when the Lord became too strong for him. Although he was born of godly parents and was raised under the truth, he was nevertheless a stranger of his own heart. As much as a good upbringing under the Word of God is to be valued, it cannot communicate that which is essential unto salvation. Only God can do this, and at the age of twenty Minderman was powerfully convinced of his guilt and sinfulness. His entire life testified against him. The sorrows of death compassed him and the pains of hell gat hold upon him; he found trouble and sorrow. This lasted for a considerable period. Even though the sustaining grace of the Lord was not withheld from him, it became increasingly impossible for him to be saved. This situation changed, however, when the way of salvation in Christ was opened to him. Yes, it pleased the Lord to seal His grace. Minderman was privileged to take hold of Christ’s sacrifice and to find reconciliation with the Father in the blood of the covenant.

The receipt of these great benefits did not only yield rest to his soul, but it furthermore strengthened Minderman and was of great support to him in the ministry of the Word to which the Lord called him. In the meantime, he had been married to Hendrika J. Scholtens and made his living by way of a leather business in Gouda. He did not want to give up this business, however, and he resisted the Lord as long as he could. However, God directed the way which His servant had to go and humbled him before His countenance. It was then that Minderman’s will was swallowed up in God’s will and that he was privileged to surrender himself unconditionally to the Lord.

In those days also Adam van der Heyden—no stranger among God’s people in Rotterdam—was called to the service of the Lord. Together with him and Rev. de Bruin, a trio of friends was formed who were bound together by more than earthly ties. From that trio first Van der Heyden passed away, and now also Rev. Minderman has departed.

During my first stay in Rotterdam I was privileged to become acquainted with Rev. Minderman. We lived only a few minutes apart from each other. At that time Minderman was still Christian Reformed, which, however, had no effect upon our relationship. His desire was to preach nothing else but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He had an aversion for neo-reformed Christianity in the very depth of his soul. It was his delight to search the old writers—a rich treasure of them was to be found in his bookcases. I have frequently complained that ministers are so ignorant of these precious old works and only read current literature. This cannot but have a very detrimental influence upon their sermons. Let us expel all that modern material with its diluted language—however pure the vocabulary may be. The earnest study of the good old writers will bear rich fruits; that was to be detected in the preaching of Minderman. All who spoke of this—that is, all who sought the old truth-bore witness to this. The Lord did not leave his preaching without fruit, which on the other side frequently earned the minister of Rotterdam many enemies. Nevertheless, he did not mince any words.

Rotterdam was the second pastorate of Rev. Minderman. He began his ministry in Couda, but only stayed there for a year. In 1896 he received a call from Rotterdam and Rev. Minderman labored there until 1911. Much transpired during those fifteen years—very much by which the Lord confirmed to him that He remains the Faithful and Unchangeable One.

After these fifteen years there came a great change. In 1911 he received a call from Grand Rapids, one of the American congregations which maintained correspondence with the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands. By accepting this call Rev. Minderman severed his ties with the Christian Reformed Church. It was a big step for him, but he never regretted it. As successor to Rev. Pieneman, Rev. Minderman labored for ten years in Grand Rapids. Once during that period he visited the Synod of the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands, gathered in Rotterdam. During those days we spent much time together and the old bond of friendship was strengthened. The congregations had not forgotten the American minister upon his return. Dirksland called him and in 1921 Minderman returned to the Netherlands. He had been a minister in Lisse since November 1923, and there he exchanged time for eternity on March 23.

Especially in Lisse he experienced grievous times. The Lord visited him with the affliction of a serious eye disease. How distraught he was when the professor in Leiden told him that he would become completely blind. Nevertheless an attempt was made to deal with it surgically in Utrecht. Here death was imminent due to the anesthesia; however, the Lord averted this danger. The surgery was a success and after a very long period of time he was again able to see and could distinguish objects around him.

In deep sorrow Rev. Minderman wept about the loss of his wife. He complained; “Is there sorrow like my sorrow?” It was as if he would be overcome by sorrow. With me, many shall not be able to forget the day of the funeral. The Lord comforted this deeply grieving old servant by way of a simple address directed to him. The effect was such that he received courage and strength to testify at the open grave that the right hand of the Most High brought deliverance (Ps. 77).

Subsequent to this the illness manifested itself which would bring him to the grave. Surgery was no longer of any avail and was thus also not attempted. The physician shared this with Rev. Minderman who was aware of the fact that his end was approaching slowly. This ill man, who had lost much weight, was able to speak until briefly before his death. How greatly I may rejoice over the fact that, together with Rev. Lamain, I visited him as yet near the end. He took hold of my hand and testified of the joy which filled his heart and which made all things plain. All obstacles and hindrances had been removed. The Lord had bound the need of the congregations upon the heart of this old servant and had encouraged him in this. “Yes, the Lord shall dwell there,” thus spoke Rev. Minderman who was near death, “as despised as the Reformed Congregations may be with many.” This old servant had also been exercised with the dark condition of the nation. This had caused him to be overcome with anxiety. However, no matter how fearful the times may be, God’s people shall come forth tried as gold. How he encouraged us to remain faithful and not to depart from the old paths!

This conversation was among the last which Rev. Minderman was able to engage in. I was no longer privileged to see him after that. However, the peace he enjoyed when I left him is a sweet memory to me. His strife has come to an end and all tears have been wiped from his eyes. Among the redeemed who are before the throne, he also sings the song of the Lamb who has purchased him—and all the elect—with His blood.2

Concerning Rev. Minderman’s ministry in Grand Rapids, the 700th Anniversarybooklet notes:

It was during Rev. Minderman’s ministry that the Division Avenue and the Turner Avenue Churches were united by denominational ties. Rev. j.C. Wielhouwer was the pastor of the latter congregation when this occurred. Throughout the years since the Turner Avenue congregation was organized it was recognized that the doctrine professed by both churches was the same. Many times throughout these years there were overtures sent and meetings held between the two consistories to effect a union, but without success. In December 1917, Rev. Minderman was called to attend the consistory meeting in the Turner Avenue Church where he informed them that the basis for unity would have to be subjection to the Church Order and to come without reservations. At a joint meeting of the consistories of both churches held in the Division Avenue Church on January 3, 1918, the union was ratified. This association lasted about thirty years when difficulties developed which caused a separation.

Finally, we wish to relate a few impressions conveyed by our seniors relative to Rev. Minderman’s ministry in Grand Rapids. As with Rev. Pieneman, we will let our seniors speak in their own words:

I remember Ds. Minderman as a man of extraordinary gifts. He was a fine orator, and to my knowledge, never ascended the pulpit unless he was prepared. He always gave a good explanation of the text. He studied much, often late into the night using a flat iron to keep his feet warm. Except for emergencies, his wife would allow no one to see him on Saturdays. I remember that when someone complained about how much he studied, my father replied, “You may think that way, but a minister must study for his sermons.”

In those days, most ministers preached for two hours. Ds. Minderman was no exception. Of course, he could not speak English, but he was really at home in the Dutch language. I can still recall many of his sermons, especially those on the parables and the Song of Solomon. He also preached a long series of sermons on Israel’s leadings through the wilderness.

Most of the people liked Ds. Minderman’s sermons, but some said that he missed the point. Under one sermon my father had a special blessing and talked to us about it when we got home. It was on Isaiah 13:16. This also made an impression upon me. Ds. Minderman’s “toepassings” (applications) were very compelling. As a young girl, I became instantly alert, hoping there might be something for me.

There was quite a bit of fruit on his sermons. Several people were converted. I can remember how that Chris Van’t Hof [later to become a well-respected elder] cried aloud in church, “Eternally lost!”

By the grace of God, I may say that the Domine also had to preach one unforgettable sermon for me. It was on John 1:48, “Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.” Under this sermon I received a hope that Christ also saw me before I could ever see Him.

Ds. and Mrs. Minderman had three daughters—Marie, Alyda, and Hendrika; and two sons—George and one in the Netherlands. Alyda was a nurse. Hendrika taught in our school for awhile. Everyone loved her. She would ask me to deliver something to the parsonage for her, and then the Ds. or “Juffrouw” [that is, the minister’s wife] would give me an apple or an orange. It was so wonderful because we were very poor.

Both the minister and his wife were meticulous and dignified in their appearance. The Mindermans had a horse and buggy. The horse’s name was Bop. They also had a big white dog which would always run ahead of the horse.

Ds. Minderman was a very lovable man with a kind disposition. He especially loved children. As children, we felt free with him. He used to take me by the chin when he saw me. When my brother was two years old, he had such a severe case of pneumonia that the doctor feared he wouldn’t make the night. Ds. Minderman offered a very sincere prayer at his bedside, and the next morning my brother was much better.

He was often humurous with us, too— especially with his cigars. When I asked him to marry us, he seemed pleased that I brought him a handful of cigars.

As children we highly respected Ds. Minderman. The 7th and 8th grade pupils of Hastings School always had their catechism classes above the horse barns next to Division Avenue Church. Quite often we would get there early so that we could arrange for a few boxing matches among the boys of the class. This was kept a secret for some time but eventually someone told Rev. Minderman. He came very quietly downstairs and found us boxing. Naturally, he deplored this sport, and told us so. Having great respect for him, we stopped this immediately.

I made confession of faith under Ds. Minderman. The class was much smaller then, so we met in the parsonage study. He was an excellent teacher.

Several ministers from CRC circles would often come to hear him preach, especially Dr. Beets of Calvin College and Rev. Veltkamp of Coldbrook CRC. I remember that Dr. Beets invited him to speak at a CRC Classis meeting, and preceding his speech Dr. Van Lonkhuizen of Calvin and Alpine

Ave. CRC gave a lecture on baptism. This lecture did not please Rev. Minderman at all; he raised some questions, but waited in vain for an answer.

Ds. Minderman impressed me as living very close to his flock. For example, he would always choose a text at the burial of God’s people which depicted their life. He buried my God-fearing father from Psalm 37:37, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.”4

By grace, Psalm 37:37 also became Rev. Minderman’s experience. On March 23, 1933, at the age of seventy-six, the Lord released him into the church triumphant. Before the overflowing Lisse church in The Netherlands, Rev. Kersten buried him from Revelation 7:15, “Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.”5

1As an “Article 8” minister, Rev. Minderman had no formal theological training. He was ordained in the Christian Reformed Church of Gouda, The Netherlands (1896). At Rotterdam (1896–1911) he severed ties with the Christian Reformed for some years and became independent During these years of independency, he established close bonds of friendship with Rev. Kersten and Rev. Beversluis. After some time, he and his congregation were reconciled with the Christian Reformed denomination. When he was called to Grand Rapids, the Classis raised some objections that the Division Avenue congregation had crossed denominational boundaries in calling a minister. Nevertheless, Classis gave permission to proceed with the installation.

2Ds. G. H. Kersten, Bedroefden om der Bijeenkomst Wil,pp. 1 79–83.

3P. 14.

4We wish to thank the seniors from our Grand Rapids congregation for these remarks.

The funeral was published as a booklet but is also in Bedroefden om der Bijeenkomst Wil,pp. 183–190.

Dr. J.R. Beeke and Rev. j. den Hoed are continuing a series of articles on the histories of individual Netherlands Reformed Congregations.

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