Johanna Veenstra

Johanna Veenstra (1894–1933) was the first missionary of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) to go to Nigeria.

Biography She was born on Thursday, April 19, 1894, on Hopper Street in Paterson, New Jersey. Her parents were William Veenstra, later a Christian Reformed pastor, and Cornelia Anna De Hoop. In 1915 she was working as a secretary in New York when she was challenged by Karl Kumm of the Sudan United Mission (SUM) to be a missionary in Africa and joined the Union Missionary Training Institute. She also studied at Calvin University and took on a midwifery course in New York.

On October 2, 1919, she left New York City on the Mauretania for England. On December 31, 1919, she took another ship to Africa, arriving in Lagos in January 1920. and was buried in Vom.

In addition to her missionary work in Nigeria, Veenstra is significant for presenting the mission needs of Nigeria to the Christian Reformed Church. In 1940, this church adopted Nigeria as a mission field. Today, the Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria is a strong independent African church. Veenstra Hall at Calvin University is named after her, as is the seminary of the CRCN, Veenstra Seminary located in Donga. Smith, Edgar. Nigerian Harvest. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1972. Veenstra, Johanna. Pioneering for Christ in the Sudan. Grand Rapids: Smitter Book Co., 1926.