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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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Brother Andrew shares his journey as a young Dutch missionary who, in 1955, discovered a desperate need for the Word of God in Poland behind the Iron Curtain. This experience led to the founding of Open Doors, an organization dedicated to supporting the persecuted church and distributing millions of Bibles worldwide. His autobiography, 'God’s Smuggler,' recounts his daring adventures and commitment to spreading the Gospel despite significant risks. Recognized for his lifetime of service, Brother Andrew continues to focus on the challenges posed by the Islamic World, fostering relationships with leaders in the Middle East to promote peace and understanding. Now in his 70s, he remains active in ministry alongside his wife, Corrie, and their family.
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Who Is Brother Andrew?
In 1955 a young Dutch missionary named Brother Andrew went on a group tour to Poland. There he discovered a Christian church behind the Iron Curtain desperately in need of the Word of God. Brother Andrew (as he would later be known around the world) distributed a suitcase full of Christian literature…marking the humble beginnings of Open Doors with Brother Andrew. Today Open Doors is working in more than 60 countries to strengthen the Persecuted Church, sustaining indigenous Christians in hostile lands so they can continue to spread the Gospel to the unsaved majority around them. His autobiography, an international bestseller, God’s Smuggler (which has sold over 12 million copies in over 40 languages), details dangerous border crossings in his Volkswagon bug, KGB pursuits, and Brother Andrew’s courageous journey toward living radically for Jesus Christ. In 1997, Brother Andrew was the recipient of the World Evangelical Fellowship’s Religious Liberty Award, recognizing his lifetime of service to the persecuted church and passion for spreading the Gospel. Brother Andrew’s work through Open Doors has led the organization into places where most Christians do not go. His underground network of indigenous Christians has aided in the secret distribution of millions of Bibles each year worldwide. Open Doors has trained thousands of Christian pastors and church leaders through seminaries and persecution seminars, assisted in economic relief, literacy training, and vocational training in the most dangerous countries in the world. In the last several years, Brother Andrew has focused his attention on the Islamic World. Still traveling extensively, mostly to the Middle East, he feels passionately that the rapid spread of Islam could be, by far, the greatest challenge that he and Open Doors have yet faced. His friendships and love of God have taken him into private meetings with Yasser Arafat and with leaders of the Hamas and Hezbollah; he is among the few Western leaders to regularly go to these groups as an ambassador for Christ. He has also broken Christian religious barriers by preaching in Catholic and Coptic Orthodox churches. The oldest international ministry to persecuted Christians, Open Doors will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2005. Currently in his 70s, Brother Andrew and his wife, Corrie, live in Holland and have 5 children and 4 grandchildren.
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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.”