A Zeal for Christian Education: The Memoirs of B.J. Haan

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Rev. B.J. Haan (1917-1994) was the man most widely credited as the founder of Dordt College (Sioux Center, IA). He served as Dordt's first president until 1982. Born in 1917 in Sully, Iowa, Haan spent part of his childhood in Orange City, Iowa, before his family moved to Grand Rapids. He was ordained in the Christian Reformed denomination in 1942 after graduating from Calvin Seminary. He accepted a call to the First CRC in Sioux Center in 1945. In the early 1950's, Haan became convinced of the need for a teachers' junior college in the Midwest in response to a growing shortage of qualified teachers in the Christian school movement. There were skeptics, though. Haan would often repeat the story about the man who once told him "Bernie, you'll be dead and buried before a single student is enrolled." In spite of these cynics Dordt College was established in 1955. The first year's enrollment consisted of 35 students, but the number would balloon during his presidency. By 1978, four years before his retirement, enrollment was more than 1200 students. These memoirs tell the story of Rev. Han's lifelong commitment to Christian education, especially his years as president of Dordt College.