80 years of independent, faith-based Canadian journalism is something to celebrate! We have a long legacy yet remain nimble and resilient. “Roughly three generations have inhabited CCโs pages, exhorting one another, seeking a faithful intersection of Christian testimony and cultural engagement,” writes former Features Editor Cathy Smith. “Each decade birthed new emphases โ the struggles of immigrants acclimating to Canadian culture, sharp theological conflicts, the theory and praxis of Christian schools and other Christian organizations, Sunday observance and movie attendance, the place of women in the church and the current focus on social justice issues.”
In the words of our readers, Christian Courier is “refreshingly Reformed” and covers tough issues with grace, insight and integrity. โRedemptive journalism matters to me,” says one subscriber. “CC is a standout, a ‘food for thought’ Christian community in print. Of all the hard copy and online news one can readily access these days, CC weaves its distinctively Christian thread through present day printed cultural fare, enriching and challenging both its writers and its readers.”
A Canadian paper for Dutch immigrants
The first issue of Canadian Calvinist is published with founding father Rev. Paul De Koekkoek of Alberta as editor. The paper is initially a kind of glue, holding the Dutch immigrant community together. But the Reformed perspective encourages integration, not an enclave. In one of his first editorials, De Koekkoek urges Calvinists to apply for Canadian citizenship once the war is over, โto enable them to take active part in the public life of the nation.โ
Introducing: Contact
The first issue of the Ontario-based, Dutch-language Contact was published by the Christian Reformed Immigration Societies in Eastern Canada. It was intended for the post-World-War-II Christian Reformed immigrants from the Netherlands and was run by John Vander Vliet and John Vellinga.
Calvinist CONTACT
Contact merges with the original CC to become Calvinist CONTACT. (Its first issue uses a bigger font for โContact,โ correctly indicating which paperโs vision had won out). In the 1950s, using a mix of Dutch and English, the new paper serves the post-war influx of immigrants from Holland well.
Dutch translations of English news
Under the leadership of journalist Ad Otten, CC increases publication from a bi-monthly to a weekly paper. Its news coverage is often a Dutch rewrite of the national English papers.
A growing community
CC reports that from 1946 to 1957 the CRC grew from 500 families and 14 congregations to 9,000 families and 130 congregations, all due to immigration and a high fertility rate. โThose farmers didnโt spend all their time out in the fields,โ comments Editor Harry der Nederlanden in a retrospective issue in 2005.
Rigorous reporting
Dick Farenhorst takes over as editor. CC is well-positioned to report and reflect on issues facing the Reformed community in Canada, such as second worship services, trade unions, Christian education and women in office.
The first Christian Courier
An English insert called Christian Courier was introduced as a supplement to Calvinist Contact. The purpose of this insert was to attract younger readers and to recognize the fact that the English language was becoming the primary language in the immigrant home, school and church. This insert was dropped five years later, when English became the dominant language of Calvinist Contact.
Efforts to maintain unity
Farenhorstโs editorial skills at peacemaking are evident after the publication of Out of Concern for the Church, a book published by ICS that recommends, among other things, shutting down Calvin Seminary. He organizes a unity conference to give CRC leaders a chance to discuss the controversy.
Language changes
Dutch is limited to four pages of the paper.
Loss and transition
Farenhorst is mourned as a โgood Christian leader, a trusted counsellor [and] a wise man with a God-fearing heartโ when he passes away from cancer.
Under Keith Knightโs editorship (โ76-โ82), CC develops an emphasis on news, both within the CRC church and beyond.
Facing challenges
When Rev. Andrew Kuyvenhoven becomes the first Canadian editor of The Banner, CC loses a significant number of subscribers to the older, U.S.-based church magazine (also a weekly publication at that time).
CC wins fight to remain on Canadian soil
CC is imperiled when its mortgage holder, George VerKaik, dies and a daughter from Michigan inherits the mortgage. Hoping to move and then run the paper herself, she calls up the mortgage. The takeover attempt, however, falls through when eight Niagara businessmen guarantee a bank loan for $80,000 to save CC and keep it on Canadian soil.
Witvoet at the helm
Bert Witvoet becomes editor. Well-known for wittiness and a love of puns, Witvoet writes an estimated 2,500 editorials during his tenure (1982-1999). He expands CCโs scope to include perspective on other denominations. A reader describes CC at this time as a mandatory window into the current Christian Reformed life and witness in Canada.
Cultural shifts
The long-running language question is finally settled with a fully English paper. โThe challenge of our time,โ Witvoet summarizes in 1985, โdoes not lie in whether we hold on to the historic Christian faith, but in whether we put it to work!โ
No longer an immigrant paper
The paper slowly graduates in name and vision from Calvinist Contact to Christian Courier. โLook upon the name change as a way of recognizing that our paper is no longer an immigrant paper and no longer focuses on being a Christian Reformed paper,โ writes Witvoet on the occasion of the name change. โWe are taking our position among other Christian periodicals as a Christian weekly with a Reformed perspective.โ
A hardworking team
After a brief editorship by Marian VanTil, Harry der Nederlanden takes over the editorial pen. Der Nederlanden is a prolific reader and writer, and manages to write profound and funny editorials as well as challenging articles that boost a vital Reformed witness. One of his most popular editorials, โFrom wooden shoes to cowboy boots,โ shows his love for the CRCโs Dutch roots and its contemporary Canadian identity. Although assisted in the department of lay-out, mailing, subscriptions and advertising by his faithful wife, Rose, and an equally dedicated Ineke Medcalf, der Nederlanden is up against tremendous odds when it comes to filling the pages of CC with fresh Reformational content. The budget does not allow for more professional help.
Perseverance amidst loss
Harryโs beloved voice is silenced by cancer. Bert Witvoet comes out of retirement when Harry is too weak to maintain the paper, and assumes the role of interim editor. The Board of Reformed Faith Witness, in the meantime, is faced with an agonizing decision: to continue with 2,500 subscribers or to fold. From the reading constituency comes a clear cry: โDonโt give up! Keep CC going.โ The Board listens and takes strong action.
A trio of editors
The board appoints three co-editors: Angela Reitsma Bick, Brett Alan Dewing and Bert Witvoet. With the appointment of two youthful editors, Angela and Brett, the paper sees a great influx of other young writers. A renewed energy and sense of hope begins to emerge, and donations start to flow in to bolster the work. Subscription numbers also start to slowly climb up again.
Responsible biblical journalism
Editor-in-chief Angela Reitsma Bick, features editor Cathy Smith, and numerous columnists, writers, and contributing editors carry on the work of responsible biblical journalism at a time when secular humanism sets the tone in public debate and discourse.
Award-winning
Christian Courier staff and writers win a number of awards from the Canadian Church Press including first place for General Excellence in a National Newspaper, a category that evaluates the overall quality of content, design and graphics. โChristian Courier is fresh, relevant and thought-provoking,โ remark the judges, who also applaud the โopen-heartedness of the writers, who strive to be non-judgemental and . . . consistently look for hope in bleak places.โ
Dena Nicolai wins top award for excellence in socially conscious religious journalism (A.C. Forrest Memorial Award) for her article โCanadian Doctors and Nurses Fight for Refugeesโ Right to Health Care.โ
Storymakers’ Symposium
CC writers, editors, designers, staff, board members and supporters gather for workshops, key note addresses and good conversation over meals to celebrate 70 years of redemptive journalism ministry.
Growth and going digital
Christian Courier hires a Development Manager, Jennifer Neutel, dedicated to CCโs sustainability through increased advertising and donation revenue. The staff expands to include Review Editor Brian Bork and a growing stable of columnists. In the Features section, Monica DeRegt is followed by Amy MacLachlan.
Under Reitsma Bickโs leadership, CC rises to the challenges of our fast-paced digital world with the addition of online publishing, sharp new graphics, more colour and shorter columns. Younger and more diverse writers from all across Canada populate the pages bringing fresh perspectives on a wide range of topics including social justice, gender identity, environmentalism, human rights, theology and popular culture.
Socially conscious religious journalism
Angela Reitsma Bick wins top award for excellence in socially conscious religious journalism (A.C. Forrest Memorial Award) for her article โThe Stained-Glass Ceiling: 100 ordained women in CRC ministry todayโ
Fresh perspectives
Jim Dekker takes over as Chair of the Reformed Faith Witness board and moves meetings online, allowing new board members outside of Ontario to participate. Thanks to this change and Jimโs recruitment efforts, our board welcomed three new members: two in Nova Scotia and one in British Columbia.
Three new staff members are also hired, Sarah Smith as Circulation Manager, Meghan Kort as Assistant Editor and Heather Snippe as Bookkeeper.
Move to monthly
Christian Courier moves to a monthly publishing pattern (12 issues per year rather than 20). Each issue is in full colour and available for free online. These changes correspond with the launch of a beautiful new website designed to display on all devices and equipped with thoughtful navigation and accessible transaction tools.
Occasional CC writer Maaike VanderMeer joins as staff. Her original watercolour art becomes a cornerstone of CCโs branding. Also her keen eye for up-and-coming artists and poets builds on CCโs long-standing tradition of speaking to current events through the arts.
Thank God for archivists!
Three university libraries host a set of Christian Courier archives โ 3317 issues to date! โ Kingโs, Redeemer and Calvin. These are accessible to the public in hard-copy and digital format.
Digital Growth
Canada Summer Jobs student Jennifer Boone, stays on after her internship to become CC‘s first official Digital Editor. Website traffic continues to grow steadily, with about 13K website visitors each month, two lively social media accounts and a weekly email newsletter.
Gathering in Guelph
After cancelling CC‘s 75th anniversary celebrations due to the pandemic, it was a distinct joy to finally gather again. Several of CC‘s staff, columnists, readers and board members made the trip to Guelph for the occasion. For many, it was the first time meeting in-person after years (or even decades!) of exchanging our emails and printed words. What a blessed reunion!
In 2023, CC also welcomed Features Editor Marlene Bergsma and Reviews Editor Adele Gallogly, who bring in new and diverse voices toย CC‘s well-loved centre pages
Milestone Year
Celebratingย 80 years of God’s faithfulness to our independentย journalistic ministryย with anniversary-specific content, a ground-breaking survey andย (D.V.)ย a joint conference with the ICS in October entitled “Re-Enchanting the World.”
In October, CC staff and supporters meet in Toronto to celebrate our 80th anniversary. The day is an eclectic mix of speakers, stories, Dutch treats, laughter, and reflections on CC‘s past and future, including a goodbye to beloved editor Angela Reitsma Bick.
At the end of 2025, Meghan Kort and Maaike VaderMeer become co-editors of CC. Expanding our editorial hub beyond Ontario to the coast of B.C., they continue to encourage hard discussions and nurture belonging in the pages of CC.
As we look ahead, Christian Courier continues to be a home for writers and readers who are committed to challenging and transforming dominant Canadian culture. In these post-Christian times, we seek to nurture a faithful, creative subculture. Not as an enclave, but as a band of storymakers seeking to sustain life-giving Christian institutions in a decidedly pluralistic culture for the sake of the common good.
