Bakker, Gerrit (1789-1871)
After studying two years at the university of Groningen and then completing the course at the [[Amsterdam Mennonite Library (Bibliotheek en Archief van de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente te Amsterdam)|Amsterdam Mennonite Seminary]], Gerrit Bakker became a proponent (ministerial candidate) and began his preaching service in Oldeboorn. During his stay here he brought the Tjalleberd congregation into existence (1817). On 8 March 1818 he began his long term of service in Noordhorn in the province of Groningen (at that time called Terhorne in Humsterland). Under his ministry 1818-1871 the congregation prospered, the membership rising from 40 to 90; and in 1838 he managed to get a new church for the congregation, paying a visit to King William I for this purpose.
He was a man of warm, genial piety, an adherent of the so-called Groningen school of theology, which was influenced by Schleiermacher. In the field of social service he was also active; for benefit of the public he founded a department of the Maatschappij tot Nut van ‘t Algemeen (Association for the Promotion of the Common Welfare) in three places. His name lives on especially for his effective part in organizing the Sociëteit van Doopsgezinde Gemeenten in Groningen (22 May 1826), which the congregations in East Friesland also joined in 1878. It was at his instigation that the project was undertaken; he drew up the constitution, and was from the first preliminary meeting chosen as secretary of the organization, holding this important office for 40 years. The Groninger Sociëteit and the Weduwenfonds (fund for the support of the widows of ministers) founded by the Sociëteit were also among his chief concerns.
Bibliography
Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1872): 1-10; (1877): 99 f.
Hoop Scheffer, Jacob Gijsbert de. Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente to Amsterdam, 2 vols. Amsterdam: Uitgegeven en ten geschenke aangeboden door den Kerkeraad dier Gemeente, 1883-1884: v. I, No. 964.
Vos, Karel. Het honderdjarig bestaan der Sociëteit van Doopsgezinde Gemeenten in Groningen en Oost-Friesland. Groningen: H. Schut Azn. (D. Rooda), 1926: 16.
| Author(s) | Nanne van der Zijpp |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1955 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Bakker, Gerrit (1789-1871)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1955. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bakker,_Gerrit_(1789-1871)&oldid=110321.
APA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. (1955). Bakker, Gerrit (1789-1871). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bakker,_Gerrit_(1789-1871)&oldid=110321.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 215. All rights reserved.
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