COLL/024 Guide to the J.R. Brink Collection Brink, J.R. Collection

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Hekman Library 1855 Knollcrest Circle SE Grand Rapids, MI, 49546 URL: http://archives.calvin.edu Email: crcarchives@calvin.edu Phone: 616-526-6913 Fax: 616-526-7689
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Guide to the J.R. Brink Collection 1892/1958 Heritage Hall, Hekman Library Overview of the Collection J.R. Brink Collection 1892-1958 COLL/024 Brink, J.R., 1872-1960 7.00 3.39 cubic ft. Heritage Hall, Hekman Library
Hekman Library 1855 Knollcrest Circle SE Grand Rapids, MI, URL: http://archives.calvin.edu Email: crcarchives@calvin.edu Phone: 616-526-6913 Fax: 616-526-7689
Minister of the Christian Reformed Church and missionary. The collection includes letters, reports, financial records, medical remedies, sermons, topic notes, and a scrapbook with articles submitted to periodicals.

Other Information:

Collection in Dutch.

Biographical Information:

The Rev. Mr. Brink was born in Onnen, Groningen, the Netherlands, on 13 November 1872, the youngest of eight children. His father was a carpenter, a loyal member of the Gereformeerde Kerk. When relatives in the United States wrote urging the family to join them, his parents decided to emigrate. They settled on a farm near Jamestown, Michigan. Early days were beset with hardship.

After about five years the family moved to Holland, Michigan, where his father resumed his carpentry trade, but died within a year. John was eighteen and went to work in a furniture factory to support his mother. The following years were spent teaching in the Grand Haven Christian School, studying for a year and a summer at Hope College, and teaching for two years at a Christian school in Chicago.

Although he enjoyed teaching, he still strongly felt the call to the gospel ministry. When Classis Holland granted him $175 a year for theological study, he and his mother moved to Grand Rapids. Six years later, in 1902, he graduated from Calvin’s “Theological School.” That same year he married Helen Noordewier, daughter of Rev. Jacob Noordewier, the Christian Reformed pastor after whom Noordewier Hall (at Calvin College) is named.

His first congregation was the Reeman, Michigan, Christian Reformed Church, where he served with joy until 1905. During those years he paid back the money borrowed from classis for his education. Two children, Johanna and Ralph, were born in Reeman. After this he served as home missionary in Grand Rapids until 1907, when he moved to the East Side Church of Cleveland, Ohio. Daughter Catherine was born there, but died at the age of thirteen months. When the Second Church of Englewood called him for a second time, he accepted the call and moved to Chicago in 1911.

In 1913 he was called a second time to serve as home missionary for Classes Grand Rapids East and West. He accepted the call, since this work had always had a big place in his heart. He was particularly well-suited to this pioneering in church extension. Strong and energetic, he was perpetually optimistic about the potential for growth in small congregations. He took special delight in watching the development of leadership and spiritual growth in these young churches. During these busy, active years he served in more than twenty locations, starting sixteen new congregations, including some in Canada. Two more daughters, Ruth and Lois, were born during those years.

Classis Illinois called him to the same kind of work in 1928. While based in Chicago, he worked in wide-ranging fields, starting ten new congregations in less than ten years. From 1938 to 1942 his work was again centered in Grand Rapids. The two years before his retirement as home missionary were difficult ones. An accident, in which a train seriously injured his foot, and the lingering illness and death of Mrs. Brink, took their tolls. However, he was able to get the Boston Square Church started before his compulsory retirement as missionary in 1943. A brief period of service at Rehoboth, New Mexico, and three years as pastor in Conrad, Montana, preceded his second retirement in 1946. His last years were spent in Grand Rapids, where he passed away on 22 July 1960.

Access Terms

This Collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Corporate Name: Christian Reformed Church -- Missions Geographic Name: Hanley (Mich.) -- History Personal Name: Brink, John R., 1872-1960 Topical Term: Church work Missions Sermons, Dutch Traditional medicine
Arrangement of Materials:

Folder level description

Detailed List of Contents id9571 Correspondence and Miscellaneous Papers 1892-1958 id9572 1 id9573 1 1 Biographical material id9574 1 2 Correspondence 1892-Jan 1912 id9575 1 3 Correspondence, Goodman 1912, 1913-April 1917 id9576 1 4 Correspondence July 1917-Sept. 1925 id9577 1 5 Correspondence Sept 1925-July 1927 id9578 1 6 Correspondence Sept 1927-Jan. 1931 id9579 1 7 Correspondence Jan 1931-March 1939 id9580 1 8 Correspondence Aug 1939-1956 id9581 1 9 Sermons and sermon notes 1895-1939 id9582 1 10 Sermon notes 1940-1958 id9583 1 11 Undated sermons and sermon notes id9584 1 12 Church financial reports id9585 1 13 Bulletins and church articles id9586 1 14 Church Reports 1913-1931 id9587 1 15 Church Reports 1932-1956 id9588 1 16 Notes and articles about churches id9589 1 17 Miscellaneous notes and sermons, Dutch id9590 1 18 Miscellaneous notes id9591 1 19 Miscellaneous notes and letters id9592 1 20 Miscellaneous notes and letters id9593 2 id9594 2 1 Miscellaneous notes id9595 2 2 Miscellaneous notes - Dutch id9596 2 3 Note scraps id9597 2 4 Miscellaneous list of names id9598 2 5 Collected tracts and articles id9599 2 6 Collected periodical articles id9600 2 7 Collected poems id9601 2 8 Church related notes id9602 2 9 Articles about Home Missions id9603 2 10 Back to God Hour radio addresses id9604 2 11 Correspondence - re: The Banner id9605 2 12 Miscellaneous writings - Dutch id9606 Churches Served by J. R. Brink id9607 3 id9608 3 1 Memoirs by J. R. Brink id9609 3 2 Memoirs of J. R. Brink by R. J. Brink and Ruth (Brink) Hoeksema 1985 id9610 3 3 Churches served (A): Arcadia, CA; Aylmer, ON. Notes and correspondence id9611 3 4 Churches served (B): Blenheim, and Burlington, ON; Burton Heights, and Boston Square, Grand Rapids, MI; Bozeman, MT; Bunde, MN. Notes and Correspondence id9612 3 5 Churches served (C): Caledonia, Comstock, and Coopersville, MI; Cleveland, OH; and Conrad, MT. Reports id9613 3 6 Churches served (C): Chatham, ON. Notes and correspondence id9614 3 7 Churches served (D): De Motte, IN; Delavan, WI; Des Plaines, IL; Decatur, Detroit, Dorr, and Dutton MI. Reports id9615 3 8 Churches served (E): Edgerton, MN; Englewood, IL. Reports and correspondence id9616 3 9 Churches served (F): Fair Oaks, IN; Flint, MI. Reports and correspondence id9617 3 10 Churches served (G): Godwin Heights, Grand Rapids, MI; Grand Haven, MI; Grant Park, IL; Grant, MI; Grundy Center, IA; Gun River, MI. Reports id9618 3 11 Churches served (H): Hamshire, TX; Hebron, IN; Holland, MI. Reports and correspondence id9619 3 12 Churches served (H): Hamilton and Holland Marsh, ON. Reports and correspondence id9620 3 13 Churches served (I): Imlay City, MI. Report and correspondence id9621 3 14 Churches served (K): Kankakee, Illinois. Report and correspondence id9622 3 15 Churches served (L): Lacombe, AB and Lansing, MI. Reports id9623 3 16 Churches served (M): Martin, MI; Momence, IL; Morrison, IL. Reports and correspondence id9624 3 17 Churches served (N): New Era, MI. Report and correspondence id9625 3 18 Churches served (O): Oak Lawn, IL; Ontario, CA; Oskaloosa, IA, Otsego, MI. Reports id9626 3 19 Churches served (P): Pipesone, MN; Plainfield, MI; Portland, MI; Report and correspondence id9627 3 20 Churches served (R): Randolph, WI; Raymond, MN; Rehoboth, NM. Reports and correspondence id9628 3 21 Churches served (S): Sarnia, ON; Sparta, MI; Reports and correspondence id9629 3 22 Churches served (T): Toronto, ON; Traverse City, MI. Reports and correspondence id9630 3 23 Churches served (W): Walker, MI; Western Springs, IL; Willard, OH; Wyoming Park, MI. Reports id9631 Sermon Material 1889-1957 id9632 4 id9633 4 1 Addresses. Notes and observations 1889-1942 id9634 4 2 Commemorative sermon on Deut. 8:2 on the 40th anniversary of preaching of J. Noordewier, bound book id9635 4 3 id9636 4 3 Sermons on Matt. 13:33 1900 id9637 4 3 Sermons on John 20:11-18 1901 id9638 4 3 Sermons on I Corinthians 6:20 1901 id9639 4 3 Sermons on I John 3:2, 3 1901 id9640 4 4 Sermons: Miracles of Jesus, bound notebook 1902 id9641 4 5 Sermons, bound notebook 1904-1905 id9642 4 6 Sermon notes, bound notebook 1904-1912 id9643 4 7 Catechism sermons and notes, bound notebook 1917 id9644 4 8 Sermon notes 1908 id9645 4 9 id9646 4 9 Record of preaching, etc. 1937-1957 id9647 4 9 Diary with list of sermons 1936-1947 id9648 4 10 Collected poems and quotation in notebooks of Mrs. J. R. Brink (Helen Noordewier), essay dated July 21912 id9649 4 11 Notes on dogmatics. Notebook 1899 id9650 Notebooks, Biographical Material, Reports 1893-1940s id9651 5 id9652 5 1 Alphabetical index of references - notebook id9653 5 2 id9654 5 2 Biographical material - notebook on consistory and committee activities 1913-1919 id9655 5 2 Notebook on mission work 1919-1920 id9656 5 3 Biographical material - notebook 1927-1940 id9657 5 4 Biographical material - notebook on education 1930s id9658 5 5 Biographical material - notebooks 1925-1926, 1932, 1934-36 id9659 5 6 Biographical material - notebook on mission experience 1940s id9660 5 7 Biographical material - notebook 1941-1943 id9661 5 8 Divorce and remarriage issue in CRC - published reports id9662 5 9 Household remedies - notebook (Dutch) and translation of collection of remedies by J. R. B. id9663 5 10 Index notebook, events and topics 1935-1939 id9664 5 11 Regulations of the school of the Holland CRC of Grand Haven, Michigan 1893 id9665 5 12 Things old and new in church life clippings 1920s and 1930s id9666 Addenda 1892-1940s id9667 6 id9668 6 1 Articles written by J. R. Brink id9669 6 2 Call letters and personal papers id9670 6 3 Financial records 1892-1937 id9671 6 4 Financial records and preaching assignments 1900-1935 id9672 6 5-6 Letters written by J. R. Brink id9673 6 7 id9674 6 7 Reports to Classes: Grand Rapids 1914-1917 id9675 6 7 Reports to Classes: Illinois 1928-1939 id9676 6 7 Reports to Classes: Grand Rapids April 1939 id9677 6 8 Reports to Classes: Illinois 1927-1939 id9678 6 9 Reports to Classes 1910s and 1920s id9679 6 10 Reports to and of Classes 1930s id9680 6 11 Reports to and of Classes 1940s id9681 Scrapbook id9682 7 Scrapbook