Brother Andrew

“That’s the excitement in obedience, finding out later what God had in mind.” So said the Dutchman Andrew van der Bijl–better known to the world as “Brother Andrew”–who spent his life faithfully obeying God and delighting in the way the Lord paved the way for him to strengthen the persecuted church. 

Early Life 

Brother Andrew was born one of six children on May 11, 1928 to a deaf father and an invalid mother. Though his parents followed the Lord, Andrew spurned religion as a child, often wreaking mischief on family and neighbors and frequently playing truant from church. As a young man, he joined the Dutch army and served in Indonesia, where he engaged in a wild lifestyle but also experienced deep guilt for his actions as a soldier. A crippling leg wound eventually forced him to quit his service. As he recovered, he read a Bible from his mother, and over the next months he attended a revival meeting and began to seriously attend church and read Scripture. On a cold night in 1950, Andrew finally surrendered his pride and simply prayed, “Lord, if you will show me the way, I will follow you.” Soon after, he devoted his life to mission work. 

Andrew’s first mission field was his job as a factory worker. After enduring the insults and crude joking of fellow workers, his faithful obedience to the Holy Spirit’s prompting resulted in the conversion of one of the leaders of those who taunted him. Yet, he did not think the factory was ultimately his life’s work. 

Missionary Training College

Andrew desired to become ordained as a pastor, but because WWII had prevented him from finishing grade school, he was told he would need twelve years of additional learning to finish seminary. So instead of seminary, he attended the WEC Missionary Training College in Scotland for two years. While there, his faith was strengthened as he recognized his need for a close relationship with God and also the need to absolutely trust Him to provide for his every need. 

In 1955, Andrew traveled to Warsaw, Poland to attend a Communist youth festival and distribute Christian literature. That trip opened his eyes to the desperate need for Bibles and fellowship that Christians living behind the Iron Curtain possessed. Revelation 3:2 further confirmed the call of the Holy Spirit regarding his life’s work: “Awaken and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death.” 

God’s Smuggler 

Over the next years, Andrew threw himself wholeheartedly into preaching, teaching, and distributing Bibles across Eastern Europe, including the countries of Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, and Romania. As in his days at the missionary training college, he witnessed the abundantly providing hand of God wherever he went. Over and over, the unexpected occurred just in time to further his ministry–money sent, an unusual prayer answered, the provision of an automobile for his travels, the seeming ignorance of guards, the granting of a visa to a closed country. Many times as he crossed borders with an automobile stuffed with illegal Bibles, he prayed that the eyes of those around him who sought evil would be blind to the spiritual food he carried. Time and again, God blessed his faithfulness by allowing him to bring greetings and Bibles to churches languishing for lack of access to Scripture. 

In 1958, Andrew married Corry van Dam, and together they had five children. However, Andrew’s mission work did not come without a price to his family. He traveled for months out of the year, often missing milestones in his children’s lives as well as the companionship of his supportive wife. In 1961, Andrew asked a friend to join the work; by 1966, the workers numbered seven. 

Legacy

Andrew and his fellow workers continued to visit new countries and revisit beloved churches, always seeking to strengthen the remnant that remained. Desiring to keep the ministry from becoming a full-fledged organization, Andrew chose to apprentice others for shorter periods of time, intending to equip them with the tools to start similar ministries of their own. 

On September 27, 2022, Brother Andrew died at his home in the Netherlands at the age of 94. He is remembered as a man of deep faith, bold prayer, and humble reliance on the Holy Spirit. Today, Andrew’s work is known as Open Doors, a ministry that continues strengthening the persecuted church through prayer, practical support, and Bibles.