CRCpedia article: Rev. Henry Beets
leesukyuong_13740807_348295887_CRCpedia article.docx.55840: Christian Reformed Church History
Dr. Gayle Doornbos
2024000203
April 22, 2026
Rev. Henry Beets (born in Koedijk, Noord-Holland, the Netherlands, January 5, 1869, and died on October 29, 1947) was known as a pastor, writer, editor, and missionary.
Early life and education
Came to the United States in 1886 with his father, Jasper, and mother, Margaret Beets, spending the years of early manhood in Kansas. Henry then travelled to Michigan to study at Calvin College and Theological School. He graduated from the Seminary class of 1895, and on October 20, 1895, he was ordained a clergyman of the Christian Reformed Church.
Career
Based on the archives at Calvin University’s Hekman Library, Dr. Beets served the Christian Reformed Church in three parishes after ordination: Sioux Center, Iowa, 1895-1899; LaGrave Avenue, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1899-1915; and Burton Heights, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1915-1920.
Dr. Beets was a prolific writer and served as an editor for the Banner, the official magazine of the Christian Reformed Church, which was founded in 1866 by a minister in a Dutch Reformed splinter group in New Jersey, Rev. John Y. De Baun, who proposed to erect a standard of truth undefiled in its Purity, Savour, and Unction. Dr. Beets served as its editor from 1902 to 1920. Dr. James D. Bratt writes about the article from The Banner that Dr. Beets held the reins of the Christian Reformed Church magazine, steering it with a tight steer towards indisputable orthodoxy and a winsomely pious approach for their readers during the early 1900s. The struggle with World War I and the controversy within the church denomination had its own challenges, as The Banner sought strong editors who would remain bold in the face of such accusations of controversy or conspiracy. He stepped down from that position to work as the director for missions in 1920.
As a writer, Dr. Beets took on the challenge of recording and drafting a collection of his writings from magazines, research notes, and publications, focused mainly on the Christian Reformed Church, Reformed religion, Dutch Calvinism, Dutch immigrants to North America, and related topics. His interests in missions led him to become a denominational secretary of the Board of Missions in 1901.
In 1920, Dr. Beets took the full-time position as the Director of the Board of Missions, which was founded in 1888 to announce and glorify the name of the Lord, proclaim the gospel where it had not been heard, and cooperate with the church to help lost sinners be saved. At the same time, he served as the denomination’s first stated clerk for forty years.
One of the books Dr. Beets recorded, apart from the book on the Christian Reformed Church, was written to help the younger generation appreciate the denomination and to inform them of its historical origins and plans. Another book in which Dr. Beets recorded his experiences on the missions he took part in is titled Toiling and Trusting: 50 Years of Mission Work, which focuses on the Navajo and Zuni Indians, China, Africa, and South America. Dr. Beets has recorded the struggles and challenges over the past fifty years.
He records not only the basic challenges of finding workers in the mission fields but also the financial support from churches that aided the program, noting the growing support from other churches. The challenges of constructing schools for white children eventually led to the education of the natives. Political disruptions during China’s revolution prevented further mission development and the sending of missionaries to China. Struggles that other missionary organizations faced, Dr. Beets faced as well. They endured by focusing on the Mission Board’s purpose: not sticking to one country or ethnicity, but to all who have not heard of the gospel. As they transitioned from local communities to international communities, their effort to save sinners and bring them to the good news continued during Dr. Beets's tenure as the Director of the Mission Board.
Understanding the challenges of language barriers, the Mission Board tackled the local missionary field by establishing schools for the community and assigning teachers within the denomination and lay workers.
Dr. Beet’s extensive interests in denominational and church histories began with recording the historical facts and reflections on Christian Reformed Church ministers and mission efforts. Beets gathered a sizable pamphlet collection, indexed from research and manuscripts, sermons, speeches, and articles on patriotism during the World War I years, as well as speeches reflecting on the missions in the United States, Canada, China, and Africa for arriving Dutch immigrants.
Personal life
On September 11, 1895, Dr. Beets married Miss Clara Poel, of Grand Haven, Michigan, and they had three sons. Henry Nicholas Beets, M. A., is a graduate of the University of Chicago. He is a radiologist and physicist at a leading hospital in Chicago. Albert Jasper is engaged in business pursuits in Grand Rapids. In 1925, William Clarence was a medical student at the University of Michigan.
Awards and recognition
He was on the editorial team of The Banner from 1902 to 1920.
He served as the Director of the Missions Board from 1920 to 1935.
In 1934, Dr. Beets was knighted by Queen Wilhelmina and awarded the Order of Orange Nassau for his support of Dutch culture.
He retired in 1939—his collection of writings accumulated from 1895 to 1945.
Personal note
The works and achievements of Dr. Henry Beets reveal the love and care he had for his denomination and an unending devotion to the Lord, Jesus Christ. Not only does Beets preach on the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, but he also preaches on the Heidelberg Catechism. His preaching expanded from parish settings to international evangelical contexts, moving beyond Dutch culture to foreign and international cultures. He was bold and courageous to take up the mantle of bringing out the truth. His stance as an editor for a church magazine reflects that his ideals opposed heresy, controversy, and anything that could reflect negatively on God and his people.
The advancement of his stance on Reformed theology has aided his support for Dutch culture. His stance has helped ensure that Reformed theology is a front that future generations can uphold when faced with ignorance of the denomination and its culture. Although the first 100 years of the Christian Reformed Church were rooted in Dutch culture, it has since embraced diverse cultures in line with the Reformed theology of the Christian Reformed Church.
It may be that through Dr. Beets, other cultures have been able to enhance and nurture the Reformed theology based on the missionary works and achievements that Dr. Beets pursued and took up the challenges and overcame the situation for the gospel to spread to other nations that have not heard about Jesus Christ. Although much of his written work remains in Dutch, he also wrote some in English for future generations to read, be instructed, and learn.
Even though the roots of the Christian Reformed Church were not deep in North America during the 19th century, people like Dr. Henry Beets helped shape and strengthen the denomination to look outward and expand its mission. Without these works and achievements by Beets, you wonder what the extent of the Mission Board would have been if Beets had not pursued the director position for missions in the Christian Reformed Church but had remained editor of The Banner.
As it was important for Christian views on political and non-political factors within the Christian Reformed Church, and as the denomination faced society's worldviews, Beets' influence in missionary work may have encouraged the denomination to reinforce its stance on missions. Encouraging pastors and ordained clergy members to pursue missions from local demographics to international and foreign demographics.
References
Archives Calving University’s Hekman Library. “Beets, Henry (1869-1947).” https://archives.calvin.edu/?p=creators/creator&id=1.
Archives of Calvin University’s Hekman Library. “Henry Beets Collection, 1824-1981 | Heritage Hall, Calvin University’s Hekman Library.” Archives. 2017. https://archives.calvin.edu/?p=collections/findingaid&id=2&q=.
Beets, Henry. Toiling and Trusting: Fifty Years of Mission Work of the Christian Reformed Church Among Indians and Chinese with Chapters on Nigeria and South America. Grand Rapids, MI: Grand Rapids Printing Company, 1940.
Bratt, Dr. James D. “The Banner: In the Church but Not Just of It.” Newsletter. The Banner, CRCNA, November 25, 1996. https://www.thebanner.org/features/1996/11/the-banner-in-the-church-but-not-just-of-it.
Sawyer, Evelyn. “Rev. Henry Beets, L.L.D.” June 21, 2002. https://www.migenweb.org/kent/white1924/personal/beets.html.
Footnotes
Evelyn Sawyer, “Rev. Henry Beets, L.L.D.,” June 21, 2002, https://www.migenweb.org/kent/white1924/personal/beets.html.
Sawyer, “Rev. Henry Beets, L.L.D.”
“Beets, Henry (1869-1947),” Archives Calvin University’s Hekman Library, https://archives.calvin.edu/?p=creators/creator&id=1.
Dr. James D. Bratt, “The Banner: In the Church but Not Just of It,” Newsletter, The Banner, CRCNA, November 25, 1996, https://www.thebanner.org/features/1996/11/the-banner-in-the-church-but-not-just-of-it.
Arch. Calvin Univ. Hekman Libr., “Beets, Henry (1869-1947).”
Bratt, “The Banner: In the Church but Not Just of It.”
“Henry Beets Collection, 1824-1981 | Heritage Hall, Calvin University’s Hekman Library,” Archives, Calvin University’s Hekman Library, 2017, https://archives.calvin.edu/?p=collections/findingaid&id=2&q=.
Henry Beets, Toiling and Trusting: Fifty Years of Mission Work of the Christian Reformed Church Among Indians and Chinese with Chapters on Nigeria and South America (Grand Rapids, MI: Grand Rapids Printing Company, 1940), pp. 23-24.
Arch. Calvin Univ. Hekman Libr., “Henry Beets Collection, 1824-1981 | Heritage Hall, Calvin University’s Hekman Library.”
Beets, Toiling and Trusting: Fifty Years of Mission Work of the Christian Reformed Church Among Indians and Chinese with Chapters on Nigeria and South America.
Beets, Toiling and Trusting: Fifty Years of Mission Work of the Christian Reformed Church Among Indians and Chinese with Chapters on Nigeria and South America, pp. 2-3.
Beets, Toiling and Trusting: Fifty Years of Mission Work of the Christian Reformed Church Among Indians and Chinese with Chapters on Nigeria and South America, pp. 11.
Arch. Calvin Univ. Hekman Libr., “Henry Beets Collection, 1824-1981 | Heritage Hall, Calvin University’s Hekman Library.”
Arch. Calvin Univ. Hekman Libr., “Henry Beets Collection, 1824-1981 | Heritage Hall, Calvin University’s Hekman Library.”
Sawyer, “Rev. Henry Beets, L.L.D.”
Arch. Calvin Univ. Hekman Libr., “Henry Beets Collection, 1824-1981 | Heritage Hall, Calvin University’s Hekman Library.”