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intended to prohibit church services by the separatists. Social, legal, and
economic pressures were put upon the separatists. Fortunately, when
Willem II became king in 1840, he revoked these laws and released many
religious prisoners. The national church however, did not change its
practices. This first separation led to the emigration of Dutch separatists
to America in the period 1844-57 where they founded Pella, Iowa and
started several settlements in Michigan. Their major leaders were Van
Raalte and Scholte.

Years passed and religious conservatives felt the Dutch were too passive
in their religious beliefs, a result of the liberal, impersonal, and
centralized control of the church. Many believed a religious revival was
needed, and such a revival required the democratization of the church,
by giving more control to the lay people and to the local congregations.
During the 1860's and again in the 1880's occurred periods of Christian
Evangelism in Europe and America. There were many issues, but some
important principles were that salvation came from a personal
relationship with God, the importance of baptism and the sacraments,
and the need for local congregations to have greater self-control. The
evangelical movement appeared strongest in Friesland, Groningen
(between Friesland and Germany), and Deventer. Friesland had been
exposed to German missionaries and evangelists and seemed eager for a
more powerful and personal form of religious expression. The rural
population was more conservative than the urban cities to the south.
There were even a few German churches in Friesland out of the desire for
another choice in prayer. The religious activity in Deventer and
Groningen sprang from the efforts of local evangelical leaders and the
similar views of the older separatists. The Christian Reformed Church
operated a theological seminary in Kampen, west of Deventer, in the
Overijssel province. There was also major reform activity in Utrecht.

The evangelical movement flowed in two sympathetic streams - those
who wanted to stay in the Reformed Church but return it to its Calvinist
roots, and others who desired a complete break and often formed a
separatist church, or adopted the Baptist or, occasionally, Congregational
faiths. The reformers sought a return to the practice of baptizing
children accompanied by the parents' profession of faith. The separatists
generally believed in the need for adult baptism. Both believed strongly
in the historic creeds of the Reformed faith, which had been abandoned
by the national church.

Similar evangelical movements were occurring in England and America.
In America, Dwight Moody was one of the major leaders in the evangelic
movement. During the years 1881-1884 Moody and his close associate
Ira Sandkey toured Europe to help spread the word. They held meetings
of encouragement for preachers and also hoped that an aggressive
evangelism would bring more sinners to God.

- Religious Turmoil - page 3 -