Cornelis Van Der Laan

Margaretha Adriana Alt Cornelis Van Der Laan

In this monograph, Pentecostal historian Cornelis van der Laan makes available to an English audience the remarkable story of Margaretha Adriana Alt, the mother of the Indonesian Pentecostal Mission. Beginning with her origins in the Netherlands, her conversion experience, her early training in music and nursing, and her romantic relationship, van der Laan traces her journey to Indonesia to serve as a nanny, where she will eventually serve as a nurse. Surrendering fully to the call of God upon her life, she cancels her engagement to be married and devotes her life to caring for those on the margins of society. Experiencing Spirit baptism, Alt becomes an early and very influential leader in the burgeoning Pentecostal movement, where she would encounter obstacles to and prejudices against women in ministry. Her ministry would include the establishment of orphanages, Christian communities, schools, imprisonment, publishing, poetry and hymnody, as well as considerable evangelistic work. Woven throughout and focused in a later chapter, Alt's understanding of theology as life is lifted up with careful attention devoted to her theological convictions. Her ministry during the end of her life, after her eventual return to the Netherlands, offers a fitting conclusion and foreground to this remarkable narrative. The use of period photography helps to tell this compelling story of this most extraordinary person. Originally published in Dutch by Uitgeverij Van Wijnen, Franeker, The Netherlands under the title: Moesje Alt: 50 jaar zendelinge in Nederlands-Indië by Cornelis van der Laan, Copyright (c) 2016, and in Indonesian by Penerbit Gandum Mas, Malang, Indonesia, under the title: Moesje Alt: Pelopor Gerakan Pentakosta di Indonesia by Cornelis van der Laan, Copyright (c) 2016.