Most people find a church and then get baptised. Anne den Hollander did things the other way around. Her faith only really started growing after her baptism – only then did she find a church. ‘Baptism wasn’t the end for me. It was the beginning.’
Text by Lydia Lijkendijk
Anne den Hollander (22) is a third-year hotel management student, graduating next year. Alongside her studies she works at a restaurant in Breda, the city she calls home. She is confident in her studies and happy with her work. ‘I really enjoy working with people. I love working in a café – things are always happening there.’
Pastor’s Kid
Anne den Hollander comes from an Adventist background. Her father is a pastor in the Adventist church. ‘It was OK growing up in a pastor’s family,’ she says. ‘Of course, I have no idea what it would be like to grow up differently. We celebrated the Sabbath and always went to church. God was key. Aside from that my life was pretty average. I went to school and played with my friends. I did get all the church “background theory”, though. There’s more to Adventism than Sabbath-morning services. It’s a whole organisation.’
Baptised in the Sea
Anne always knew she believed, deep down. ‘When I was about twelve I stopped enjoying it all. I had had enough church. It was difficult for me to deal with the restrictive way some people practiced their faith, that they wanted to force onto other people. It was a bit of a struggle, because I knew that I believed, but I didn’t know how. I had the feeling that my faith strengthened me in everything I did. I’ve thought long and hard about what and how I believe, which is why I decided to be baptised last year. Not in a church – I didn’t have any link to a church – but in the sea. By my father.’
Anne’s father had to travel halfway across the world to conduct the ceremony, because his daughter let him know she wanted to be baptised while she was on an internship in Thailand. ‘I had heard stories from people who were baptised in the sea, and I wanted the same thing,’ she says. ‘It just seemed like a good idea. I was ready, and Thailand was so beautiful. So I took the plunge. In moments like these it’s handy to have a pastor for a father!’
Prayer on the Beach
Ps. Jurriën den Hollander and his wife Renée were already planning to visit Anne in Thailand, and they added some baptismal robes to their luggage. ‘We made a day of it,’ says Anne. ‘We went on scooters to a pretty place. We prayed on the beach, we walked into the sea, and papa baptised me. That was emotional and it felt right… but otherwise it was just water. No angels cried out from the heavens and there was nothing magical about it. It was all very normal.’
Her baptism was a wonderful experience, as she reflects. ‘It was pretty strange that there was no church built around my baptismal font, but I only realised that later. At a certain point I started to miss having a church. I prayed that I wanted one to go to.’ And then something magical did happen. An answer from heaven? ‘More or less,’ she says.
Going to Church
One Friday night Anne was out late on the town. ‘I was in bed around four in the morning. Then at around seven I was suddenly awake. I had this strong feeling: “I’m going to church.”
That was completely unusual. Normally I would go back to sleep for a few more hours, but I was wide awake. So I went online to see whether there was a church in the neighbourhood, and there was: in Breda-Prinsenbeek. I looked up the directions and I went. I’ve been going there ever since. It’s a good church, full of kind people: a small, warm community. I’m always welcome, and I feel comfortable there.’
The Sabbath as Rest
Suddenly Anne den Hollander wasn’t just a baptised Adventist: she became a regular churchgoer. ‘No, I hadn’t really planned on it, but it suits me. I enjoy it. Now I understand the added value of having a church family. It shows you that you are a part of something. Now that I’m older, my background as a pastor’s kid helps me to more easily relativise the things I come up against. The church just isn’t perfect.’
Her job at the café means that she often works weekends. ‘Timing-wise it wasn’t actually handy at all to start going to church, but I am calmer and more at home with myself when I go than I am when I skip a week. Sabbath morning is a real moment of rest for me.’
Door-to-Door Ministry
As a young person who is happy with her choices – of faith and church alike – Anne understands that a church can never force these choices on its youth. ‘That whole proclamation of the gospel thing… it doesn’t work. It makes no sense to say to young people: “Do you know Jesus?” Of course they know who Jesus is, and they don’t see him in a good light. It’s extremely important to love people, throughout your life. Personally, I keep my faith to myself. I don’t insist on anything and I don’t walk around with flyers, but recently, on a night out, I came across someone who was having a rough time. I went outside with her to talk. She asked me why I did it, and I said: “I’m an Adventist, and this is part of it.” Later she got in touch to talk more over a cup of coffee. She asked if she could come with me to church sometime. That’s proof to me that the Holy Spirit is working in special ways, and can use the smallest of gestures to go to work in people’s hearts. I think that’s how you can interest young people in faith. Don’t shut yourself up in a church. Be a part of the normal world, and mingle with the people.’
It All Starts with Baptism
Anne den Hollander: ‘You don’t have to be a perfect Adventist to be baptised – and I believe very strongly that there are no perfect Adventists. You can just be yourself and still be accepted. No one else needs to tell me that I’m an Adventist, or what the right way to be an Adventist is. I know what it means. I don’t doubt my God or my faith. Baptism wasn’t the end for me. It was the beginning. Only afterwards did I really start to grow in my faith, and what’s been set in motion in my heart and soul will keep on going.’
This article was published in Advent 3, 2016 (page 24) and is also available in Papiamento.
