Ark Mission

Ark Mission (Stichting Ark Mission) is a Dutch Christian organisation rooted in the early twentieth-century Bible-distribution movement. It traces its origins to 1913, when Amsterdam businessman Marinus Heule founded the Genootschap voor Bijbelverspreiding, inspired by the Scripture Gift Mission in England. That society distributed free Bibles and tracts, and in its first year alone circulated six hundred thousand Bible portions, largely through existing churches and evangelism committees. In 1924, after conflict with the Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap over the similarity of names, it adopted the name Vereeniging tot Verspreiding der Heilige Schrift (VVHS). A separate strand, the Bijbel Kiosk Vereniging (BKV), was founded in 1933 by Hendrik Heule after he began organising services and beach evangelism at Wijk aan Zee. The BKV was liquidated by the German occupier in 1942 but made a post-war restart, sending material to Dutch soldiers in the Dutch East Indies and later to churches and mission organisations in Indonesia, South Africa, Australia, Eastern Europe and Africa. Ark Mission as such emerged from a merger of the VVHS and the BKV. Until 2018 the foundation consisted of two parts: a publishing house, Ark Media, and a missionary branch, Ark Mission. On 1 January 2018 the publishing house was taken over by Royal Jongbloed, after which Ark Mission consisted exclusively of idealistic activities for people in vulnerable positions. The organisation continued as a Christian foundation with a charitable and missionary profile. In 2024 all activities of Ark Mission were transferred to the Nederlands-Vlaams Bijbelgenootschap (NBG). From 1 January 2024, Ark Mission's figures are fully included in the NBG's annual accounts. The Ark Mission website continues to host annual accounts and annual reports for the seven preceding years, from 2017 through 2023, and is published under the NBG copyright. Ark Mission therefore now operates as part of the NBG rather than as an independent publisher or missionary society, while its historical identity remains that of a Dutch Bible-distribution and mission foundation.

Ark Mission's history begins with the Genootschap voor Bijbelverspreiding, founded in 1913 by the Amsterdammer Marinus Heule. Inspired by the Scripture Gift Mission in England, which distributed free Bibles and tracts at the beginning of the twentieth century, Heule used wealth earned from real-estate trading to start a similar organisation in the Netherlands. In its first year the society distributed six hundred thousand Bible portions, largely through existing churches and evangelism committees. It also developed special material for Sunday schools and evangelism committees, such as small tracts and wall texts. In the 1920s the society came into conflict with the Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap. The NBG argued that the two organisations were regularly confused by the public because of the strong similarity in name. Heule's organisation purchased much material from the NBG and ultimately yielded to the pressure. In 1924 the name Vereeniging tot Verspreiding der Heilige Schrift (VVHS) was adopted. Two other events caused tension in the 1920s. Besides gifts, the VVHS obtained income through house-to-house collections, which had to be applied for separately in each municipality and were organised with local ministers who supplied volunteers and received a share of the proceeds. Poor communication often led to misunderstandings about the exact division, which caused distrust among authorities, who wondered whether the full proceeds benefited evangelism. Mayors regularly inquired with the Amsterdam police about the association, leading the police to keep a file on the organisation. The Centraal Archief en Inlichtingenbureau voor Maatschappelijk Hulpbetoon, predecessor of the Centraal Bureau Fondsenwerving, conducted an investigation. No irregularities were ultimately found, but the affair gave the VVHS a bad name in some circles. The second event concerned the minister Johannes Geelkerken, who had been chairman of the VVHS for years. Geelkerken had become controversial within the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland over the question of how literally the Bible should be taken everywhere. In a sermon he was said to have denied that the serpent in the Genesis creation story had literally spoken. This grew into a national conflict that ended with Geelkerken and a number of supporters leaving the GKN and forming a new church body that in time rejoined the Nederlands Hervormde Kerk. Within the VVHS there was much concern that the negative publicity around Geelkerken would also reflect on the association. Besides Marinus, his brother Hendrik Heule was also part of the board. From 1928 he began organising services in Wijk aan Zee. Bible stories were also told to children on the beach and evangelistic literature was distributed. To support this project a Bible kiosk was placed on the beach. Marinus saw nothing in these new working methods, whereupon Hendrik disappointedly decided to start a separate organisation. In 1933 the Bijbel Kiosk Vereniging (BKV) was born. During the Second World War the BKV was liquidated by the German occupier in 1942. The Germans had taken offence at a Christmas tract that spoke of "very dark times indeed". According to historian Katinka Fikse-Omon, the BKV must have "completely underestimated" the German reaction to the text. According to her, the association "completely underestimated what the Germans were capable of, despite the liquidation of the Salvation Army a few months earlier". She calls it "incomprehensible" that the real name of the writer appeared on the tract and that no attempt was made to protect him by disguising his name. The VVHS remained on its guard for the rest of the war. It nevertheless faced increasing paper scarcity, so that in time almost nothing could be published. After the war the BKV made a restart. During the second half of the 1940s both it and the VVHS were hindered in their work by continuing paper scarcity, forcing priorities about what had to be published. The BKV began sending much material to Dutch soldiers in the Dutch East Indies. After the transfer of power the organisation remained involved by sending material to Indonesian churches and mission organisations, initially in Dutch but later mainly in local languages. There was also much contact with countries with which the Netherlands had historical or other ties, such as South Africa and Australia, where many Dutch people had emigrated after the war. From the 1960s the distribution of material to, for example, Eastern Europe and other parts of Africa also grew. After the war both organisations began to notice that their evangelism methods were less successful than in the past. The BKV's kiosks attracted fewer visitors, and according to the board a greater... [source text truncated] Ark Mission as a foundation emerged from a merger between the VVHS and the BKV. Until 2018 it consisted of a publishing house, Ark Media, and a missionary branch, Ark Mission. On 1 January 2018 the publishing house was taken over by Royal Jongbloed. From that date Ark Mission consisted exclusively of idealistic activities for people in vulnerable positions. In 2024 all activities of Ark Mission were transferred to the Nederlands-Vlaams Bijbelgenootschap (NBG), and from 1 January 2024 Ark Mission's figures are fully included in the NBG's annual accounts.

• 2024

  All activities of Ark Mission are transferred to the Nederlands-Vlaams Bijbelgenootschap (NBG), effective 1 January.

• 2018

  On 1 January the publishing house Ark Media is taken over by Royal Jongbloed; Ark Mission continues with idealistic activities only.

• 1942

  The BKV is liquidated by the German occupier during the Second World War.

• 1933

  Hendrik Heule founds the Bijbel Kiosk Vereniging (BKV) after starting beach evangelism at Wijk aan Zee.

• 1924

  The organisation adopts the name Vereeniging tot Verspreiding der Heilige Schrift (VVHS) after conflict with the Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap over name similarity.

• 1913

  Marinus Heule founds the Genootschap voor Bijbelverspreiding in the Netherlands, inspired by the Scripture Gift Mission in England.

Christian Bible-distribution and mission foundation; formerly a publisher and missionary organisation, now part of the Nederlands-Vlaams Bijbelgenootschap.

• Bible portions and tracts

  Free Bibles and tracts distributed by the Genootschap voor Bijbelverspreiding and its successors.

• Sunday-school and evangelism material

  Small tracts and wall texts developed for Sunday schools and evangelism committees.

• Ark Media publications

  Christian books published by Ark Media until the publishing house was taken over by Royal Jongbloed in 2018.

• 1920s collection controversy

• Geelkerken controversy

Read more

1. 1Ark Mission official websitearkmission.nl
2. 2Ark Mission - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Ark Mission - Wikipedia (Dutch)nl.wikipedia.org