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Brother Andrew
Brother Andrew (1928–2022). Born Anne van der Bijl on May 11, 1928, in Sint Pancras, Netherlands, to a poor blacksmith and an invalid mother, Brother Andrew was a Dutch missionary and evangelist renowned for smuggling Bibles into Communist countries during the Cold War. After limited schooling, disrupted by Nazi occupation, he joined the Dutch army at 17, serving in Indonesia, where he was wounded and began reading a Bible, leading to his conversion in 1950. In 1955, attending a Communist youth congress in Poland, he discovered isolated churches desperate for Scriptures, inspiring his lifelong mission based on Revelation 3:2, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains.” Using a blue Volkswagen Beetle, he smuggled millions of Bibles across the Iron Curtain, founding Open Doors in 1955 to support persecuted Christians, now active in over 60 nations. Andrew authored God’s Smuggler (1967) with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, selling over 10 million copies, and Light Force (2004), detailing outreach to Islamic groups like Hamas. He ministered globally, from China to Cuba, and was knighted by Queen Beatrix in 1993. Married in 1958 to Corry, with five children, he died on September 27, 2022, in the Netherlands. He said, “The real calling is not a certain place or career but to everyday obedience.”
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Sermon Summary
Brother Andrew shares a pivotal moment from 1957 when he attended a Communist youth conference in Poland, feeling overwhelmed by the strength of the Communist youth. Despite his initial feelings of despair, he found hope in a verse from Revelation that urged him to strengthen the remaining believers in Poland. This realization became a defining moment for him, igniting a commitment to support and empower the oppressed Christians behind the Iron Curtain. He recognized that even in the face of overwhelming odds, God could use him to make a difference. This experience shaped his mission to bring hope and strength to those in need.
Defining Moment
In 1957 Andy went behind the Iron Curtain to a Communist youth conference in Poland. He despised Communism but it was the only way that he could see for himself what Communism was doing to the church behind the Iron Curtain. He had 'smuggled' in some religious tracts and passed them out. He had even 'preached' at a few token churches allowed by Communism. He felt good about his trip until the final day when he watched the youths' 'Parade of Triumph' down the main avenue of Warsaw. They marched eight to a rank. Rank after rank, hundreds, thousands. The young Communists bristled with energy and determination. They seemed an invincible force. What could Christians in the western countries do? What could Andy do? Unnoticed in the clamor he sat down dejectedly on a bench. He opened his small Bible. A breeze whipped the pages to the Book of Revelations. Andy's eyes were drawn to a verse in chapter 3. He read, "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die." The meaning hammered him. The remaining believers in Poland must not die. They must be strengthened. This was surely his sign. He wasn't sure just how he would do it, but with God's help he would do it…
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Brother Andrew (1928–2022). Born Anne van der Bijl on May 11, 1928, in Sint Pancras, Netherlands, to a poor blacksmith and an invalid mother, Brother Andrew was a Dutch missionary and evangelist renowned for smuggling Bibles into Communist countries during the Cold War. After limited schooling, disrupted by Nazi occupation, he joined the Dutch army at 17, serving in Indonesia, where he was wounded and began reading a Bible, leading to his conversion in 1950. In 1955, attending a Communist youth congress in Poland, he discovered isolated churches desperate for Scriptures, inspiring his lifelong mission based on Revelation 3:2, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains.” Using a blue Volkswagen Beetle, he smuggled millions of Bibles across the Iron Curtain, founding Open Doors in 1955 to support persecuted Christians, now active in over 60 nations. Andrew authored God’s Smuggler (1967) with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, selling over 10 million copies, and Light Force (2004), detailing outreach to Islamic groups like Hamas. He ministered globally, from China to Cuba, and was knighted by Queen Beatrix in 1993. Married in 1958 to Corry, with five children, he died on September 27, 2022, in the Netherlands. He said, “The real calling is not a certain place or career but to everyday obedience.”