Today’s Leader of Faith
JOHANNA VEENSTRA
Home Call : 09 April 1933
Missionary, Evangelist, Nurse, Educator, Church Planter, Author
Johanna Veenstra (1894–1933) was a Dutch-American missionary who served in Nigeria. She was the first missionary sent by the Christian Reformed Church in North America to West Africa. Alongside her colleague Miss Haigh, she established a school and a medical dispensary, providing both education and healthcare to the local people. Through her ministry, many from the Kuteb tribe embraced Christianity. Her pioneering efforts contributed to the formation of the Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria (CRCN) and the Reformed Church of Christ in Nigeria (RCCN), both headquartered in Takum, Taraba State. Her efforts bore fruit in 1940, when the CRC officially adopted Nigeria as a mission field, paving the way for the growth of the Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria (CRCN), which today stands as a strong, independent church. She is honored through Veenstra Hall at Calvin University and Veenstra Seminary in Nigeria. Her papers are preserved at Hekman Library.
Veenstra was born on April 19, 1894, in Paterson, New Jersey, on Hopper Street. Her parents were William Veenstra, who later became a Christian Reformed pastor, and Cornelia Anna De Hoop. She studied at Calvin University to strengthen her theological knowledge. She also completed a midwifery course in New York, which later helped her provide medical care in Nigeria. In 1915, while working as a secretary in New York, she was challenged by Karl Kumm of the Sudan United Mission (SUM) to become a missionary in Africa. This encounter led her to join the Union Missionary Training Institute for preparation.
Veenstra embarked on her missionary journey to Nigeria with great determination. On October 2, 1919, she left New York City on the Mauretania for England, and on December 31, 1919, she boarded another ship to Africa, arriving in Lagos in January 1920. By February 1921, she reached her mission station in Lupwe, near Takum in what is now Taraba State, Nigeria. She led missionary efforts there, focusing on medical work, preaching, and education. Her ministry contributed to the growth of Christianity among the Kuteb people and laid the foundation for the Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria (CRCN) and the Reformed Church of Christ in Nigeria (RCCN).
In March 1933, Veenstra fell ill and travelled to the Sudan United Mission hospital in Vom, located in present-day Plateau State. Sadly, on April 9, 1933 (Palm Sunday), she passed away due to appendicitis and was buried in Vom. Beyond her direct missionary work, she played a vital role in bringing Nigeria’s mission needs to the attention of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in North America. Her legacy is honored through Veenstra Hall at Calvin University and the Veenstra Seminary in Donga, Nigeria. Her contributions are also preserved in the Hekman Library at Calvin University, where her papers are archived.