Life Prior To Secession
Born in Hilversum, Noord-Holland, Netherlands on January 3, 1801, Gijsbert grew up as a member of the Reformed Church in Hilversum. He was married to Marritje Pos (September 28, 1800 - August 26, 1876) after he learned that she was pregnant due to an affair several months before. Over the course of their marriage, they had at least 13 children, 10 of whom survived into adulthood. On July 26, 1847, due to social and religious persecution as well as severe famine, Haan and his family emigrated from the Netherlands on the passenger ship Centurion. Under the guidance of Albertus van Raalte they established a colony in Holland, Michigan. In 1850, they aligned themselves with the Reformed Church in America (RCA). At that point, they were considered to be a classis (a "governing body of a group of churches in the Reformed system, made up of clergymen ruling elders...") within the RCA.
Although most churches within the classis were content with their affiliation to the RCA, one church under the leadership of Haan found that the RCA was inadequate. Haan warned that the RCA "was not sound". This was reminiscent of a former schism in the Netherlands] when the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands separated from the Dutch Reformed Church because of its supposed "theological laxity." Over time, dissension began to grow, largely due to Haan's preaching against the RCA.
Read more about this topic: Gijsbert Haan
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