John Cornelius De Korne Collection, 1910-1951 | Heritage Hall, Hekman Library

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Collection Overview

Title: John Cornelius De Korne Collection, 1910-1951

ID: COLL/056

Primary Creator: De Korne, John Cornelius (1888-1951)

Extent: 11.0 Boxes. More info below.

Arrangement: Folder level description

Subjects: Missionary Monthly, Missions - China

Abstract

Minister of the Christian Reformed Church, Missionary to China, Director of Foreign Missions, Secretary of Missions, and editor of Missionary Monthly. The collection includes correspondence; speeches; newspaper articles; booklets; essays; sermons; notebook covering 1929-1938 baptisms, confessions of faith, membership listings, communion service dates, and funeral statistics; maps, liturgical forms, secret sects, and writings from China; 1923-1934 account book; scrapbook of working in China, Nigeria, and among the Navaho; and manuscripts entitled "The Fellowship of Goodness," "The Christian Approach to the Heart and Mind of China," and "Chinese Altars to an Unknown God." [See also the Campus Titles Database.]

Biographical Note

The collection reveals a man actively involved in World Missions. From the time, he and Lee S. Huizenga were appointed by the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church in 1918 to evaluate the mission fields of Sudan and/or China, until the end of his life, De Korne worked to advance the Gospel throughout the world.

John Cornelius was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on October 16, 1888. In 1908, he enrolled in Calvin College, after spending a brief period working in an office. He graduated in 1917. While at the seminary, he married Nettie M. Goudwaard in September 1914.

During WW I he was associated with the Army YMCA, 1918-1919, visiting Army camps providing spiritual support to the troops. When the Synod of 1920 approved the China field for mission work, De Korne became part of the staff in China. He remained a member of the China mission staff until 1934 when the work was terminated because of unrest in the Far East. From 1934-1939 he served the Second CRC of Wellsburg, Iowa. In 1939, he was appointed Director of Missions.

Books published include Chinese Altars to the Unknown God, To Whom I Now Send Thee; he edited Navajo and Zuni for Christ and wrote extensively in the Banner and Missionary Monthly.

His correspondence reveals contacts with missionaries and mission organizations within and outside of the Christian Reformed Church.

There are letters and minutes that unfold the tension between members of the staff in the China mission field. There were personality clashes and policy differences that prompted special meetings of the China Missions Board and special reports to the denominational board. Synodical decisions were necessary to resolve some differences.

De Korne, the scholar, studied at the Kennedy School of Missions where in 1934 he received a PhD. A dissertation on secret societies in China was never published but our collection includes his notes and a copy.

His colleagues described him as a true Christian gentleman—"efficient yet tender, determined yet gracious, gifted yet modest, distinguished and still most humble."

J. C. De Korne passed away at the age of sixty-three after suffering a series of heart attacks. His plans to preach an evening service on Sunday, December 9, 1951, did not take place.

Subject/Index Terms

Missionary Monthly
Missions - China

Administrative Information

Repository: Heritage Hall, Hekman Library

Alternate Extent Statement: 6.1 cubic ft.

Acquisition Source: Gift of B. De Korne

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Early Years in the Synodical Committee, 1910-1919],
[Series 2: Synodical Committee 1919-1920. China Mission field 1920-1934],
[Series 3: The China Period, 1920-1935],
[Series 4: The China Period - Jukao],
[Series 5: The China Period - Secret Society Studies, 1917-1934],
[Series 6: Wellsburg Period, 1934-1939],
[Series 7: Correspondence and notes, 1938-1951],
[Series 8: Sermon Outlines, Addresses, Ph.D. Thesis, 1917-1935],
[Series 9: Books],
[All]

Series 2: Synodical Committee 1919-1920. China Mission field 1920-1934

Box 2

Folder 1: Synodical Committee for Mission Extension, Reports and correspondence, --- October 1919 to December 1919
Folder 2: Synodical Committee for Mission Extension. Reports and correspondence --- 1920
Folder 3: Call Letter from First Zeeland to be missionary to China --- August 23, 1920
Folder 4: Correspondence and other material. Hartford School of Missions and beginning of work in China --- 1920
Folder 5: Passport to Shanghai, China --- August 4, 1920; November 19, 1918
Folder 6: University of Nanking Department of Missionary Training. Student Roster and class papers --- 1921
Folder 7: Correspondence --- 1921
Folder 8: Correspondence --- 1922-1923
Folder 9: Correspondence --- 1924-1926
Folder 10: Correspondence with First Zeeland Christian Reformed Church --- 1924-1933
Folder 11: Correspondence --- 1927
Folder 12: Correspondence --- 1928-1931
Folder 13: "Circle Letters," No. 13-16 --- 1931-1933
Folder 14: Correspondence --- 1931-1933
Folder 15: Correspondence --- 1932-1934
Folder 16: Material on Sabbath Observance --- 1929
Folder 17: Various papers, including President Chiang Kai Shek's remarks to a group of missionaries --- December 2, 1931