Reformed church
Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel, NL
According to the church yearbook, the congregation of Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel was founded on 28 June 1925. But it had already been happening for several years that the church council of Moerkapelle had been holding services in Nieuwerkerk. The reason is that there were a few in Nieuwerkerk and Ouderkerk aan den IJssel who wanted to join the old truth, but for whom the distance was too great to join Gouda, Moerkapelle, Rotterdam or Berkenwoude. There was also no Reformed Congregation in Capelle. The first service was held on Ascension Day 1919. At first, elders from Moerkapelle came to read, while Rev. Overduin catechised. But in 1920, an elder and a deacon were confirmed for the Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel branch. On 28 June 1925, the Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel branch became independent. Initially, church was held in a cleaned-up carriage factory. But in 1927 a piece of land could be bought for f. 250,-. The church was built on it, where the congregation still meets today. The total construction costs amounted to f. 8,000,-. The location was chosen between Nieuwerkerk and Ouderkerk, because in those early days a relatively large number of members came from Ouderkerk. The church still stands in a quiet place outside the village centre. In the thirties the church council was in dire straits. In order to build the church the congregation had had to borrow a lot of money, in the form of bonds. The church council was therefore no longer able to repay, and even saw no chance to pay interest for a year. On the advice of Rev. A. van Stuijvenberg, the consultant at the time, a seat fee was introduced: f. 2.50 per year. Nevertheless, the first 25 years of the congregation's existence were a time of steady growth. In 1925 it started with 28 professing members and 36 baptized members, together 64; in 1949 there were 203. Then a slow decline followed, so that in 1983 the congregation had dropped to 148 professing members and baptized members. Since then the number of members has been rising again, so that the latest yearbook mentions 89 professing members and 101 baptized members.