Annotated Bibliography

There is no comprehensive overview of Dutch reformed denominations in North America in the English language (or in Dutch, according to a Dutch gentleman). The timeline and congregational lists are the result of original research which will (Lord willing and time permitting) appear in Reformed Roots and Branches, a book I hope to complete some day. This book will discuss our roots in the Netherlands and the many branches in the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States.

General Studies

Dutch in North America

Lucas, Henry L. Netherlanders in America: Dutch Immigration to the United States and Canada, 1789-1950 (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1955).
Van Hinte, Jacob. Netherlanders in America: A Study of Emigration and Settlement in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries in the United States of America, ed. Robert P. Swierenga, trans. Adriaan de Wit (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985. Translation of Nederlanders in Amerika: Eene Studie over Landverhuizers en Volkplanters in de 19de en 20ste Eeuw in de Vereenigde Staten van Amerika [Groningen: P. Noordhoff, 1928]).
De Jong, Gerald F. The Dutch in America, 1609-1974 (Boston: Twayne, 1975).
Bratt, James D. Dutch Calvinists in Modern America (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984). Primary focus on RCA and CRC; chapters 7 and 8 give overview of Hoeksema case and origin of PRC.
Oosterman, Gordon, et al. To Find a Better Life: Aspects of Dutch Immigration to Canada & the United States, 1920-70 (Grand Rapids: National Union of Christian Schools, 1975).

Canadian Immigration

Hawkins, Freda. Canada and Immigration: Public Policy and Public Concern (Montreal and London: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1972).

General Church Information

Gaustad, Edwin Scott. Historical Atlas of Religion in America, rev. ed. (New York: Harper & Row, 1976). Includes many helpful maps, charts, and tables.
Jacquet, Constant H., Jr., and Alice M. Jones. Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches (New York: National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, various years).
Mayer, F. E. The Religious Bodies of America, 4th ed. (St. Louis: Concordia, 1961). Good overview of Reformed tradition. Brief overviews of RCA and CRC; single paragraphs on PRC and NRC.
Mead, Frank S. Handbook of Denominations in the United States, 8th ed. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1985).
Melton, J. Gordon, ed. The Encyclopedia of American Religions, vol. 1 (Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books, 1989).
Motz, Arnell, ed., Reclaiming a Nation: The Challenge of Re-evangelizing Canada by the Year 2000, rev. ed. (Richmond, British Columbia: Church Leadership Library, 1990).
Piepkorn, Arthur Carl. Profiles in Belief: The Religious Bodies of the United States and Canada, vol. II: Protestant Denominations (New York & San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978). Part III covers the Reformed and Presbyterian tradition. Best coverage of RCA, CRC, PRC, NRC, and FRC in a single volume. One glaring error in the RCA section on the True Dutch Reformed/CRC background. Despite its relatively recent date, the Canadian Reformed are overlooked.

General Reformed Studies

Calvin Theological Journal, vol. 28, no. 2, November 1993. Theme of this issue is the Dutch connection. Includes articles on the Gereformeerde, the "second" Dutch reformation (nadere reformatie), and the theology and ecclesiology of the GKN in the 19th century.
ten Zythoff, Gerrit J. Sources of Secession (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987). Part of the Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America, this volume explains the circumstances leading up to the Afscheiding and the founding of the CRC.

Denominational Studies

Canadian Reformed Church

Van Oene, W. W. J. Inheritance Preserved: The Canadian Reformed Churches and the Free Reformed Churches of Australia in Historical Perspective, rev. ed. (Winnipeg: Premier Publishing, 1991). A good introduction to the Canadian Reformed.
Yearbook: Canadian Reformed Churches (Winnipeg: Premier Printing, various years).
Plantinga, Theodore, ed., Seeking Our Brothers in the Light: A Plea for Reformed Ecumenicity (Neerlandia, Alberta: Inheritance Publications, 1992). Discusses 1944 schism in GKN, response of the CRC, and strained relations between CRC and Canadian Reformed Church.

Christian Reformed Church in North America

Centennial Facts and Background (Grand Rapids: Centennial Committee of the Christian Reformed Church, 1956). An interesting history of the various church schisms and unions plus a good deal of helpful statistical data. The diagram on page 8 provided much of the information in A Timeline of Dutch Reformed Churches.
De Ridder, Richard, and Thea B. Van Halsema, My Church (Grand Rapids: Committee on Education of the Christian Reformed Church, 1967).
De Klerk, Peter, and Richard R. De Ridder, eds. Perspectives on the Christian Reformed Church: Studies in Its History, Theology, and Ecumenicity (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1983).
One Hundred Years in the New World (Grand Rapids: Centennial Committee of the Christian Reformed Church, 1957).
Yearbook of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, various years.

Free Reformed Church of North America

Yearbook of the Free Reformed Church of North America (Chilliwack, British Columbia: Free Reformed Church of North America, since 1975).
Jaarboek van de Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (Dordrecht: Uitgeverij D. J. Van Brummen N. V., before 1975)
Personal correspondence with Rev. P. Vander Meyden, pastor of the Free Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Independent and Orthodox Reformed Congregations

"Canadian Developments Among Independent Reformed Churches." Clarion. Vol. 4, no. 11, issue dated June 5, 1992, pp. 229-30.
Christian Renewal, The Abraham Kuyper Christian Citizen Foundation, Jordan Station, Ontario.

Netherlands Reformed Congregations

1993 Church and School Directory (Grand Rapids: Netherlands Reformed Congregations & Christian Educational Association).
Beeke, J. R. Sovereign Grace in Life and Ministry: Memorials of Four Pastors who Served Netherlands Reformed Congregations in North America (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984).
Kersten, G. H., and J. Van Zweden. A Brief Historical Survey of the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands and the United States of America (no city: no publisher, no date).
Personal correspondence with Dr. Joel R. Beeke, pastor of Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Orthodox Protestant Reformed Churches

Acts of Synod (no city: Protestant Reformed Churches of America, various dates).

Protestant Reformed Churches

Acts of Synod and Yearbook of the Protestant Reformed Churches in America (no city: no publisher, various years).
Hoeksema, Herman. The Protestant Reformed Churches in America, 2d ed. (Grand Rapids: no publisher, 1947). Herman Hoeksema's insider's perspective on the denomination he founded. Includes Protestant Reformed catechism.
Information packet from Protestant Reformed Church, South Holland, Illinois.

Reformed Church in America

Brouwer, Arie R. Reformed Church Roots (no city: Reformed Church Press, 1977). Brief mention of Dutch immigration to Canada, pp. 172-73.
Gasero, Russell L., Historical Directory of the Reformed Church in America 1628-1992 (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1992). Part of the Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America, this is a direct descendant of Edward T. Corwin's Manual of the Reformed Church in America first published in 1859. This is an extensive, almost exhaustive, and relatively accurate (it does list the Lethbridge congregation as founded in 1852 in the Chronological List of Congregations, but corrects this to 1952 in the main listing) listing of every congregation and every pastor in RCA history. Such volumes from other denominations, especially the CRC, would be most helpful.
Acts of Synod of the Reformed Church in America, various years.
Pioneer (Cambridge, Ontario: Council of the Reformed Church in Canada). The November 1987 issue contains several articles on reformed roots in Canada, including the RCA and CRC.

Back to index.