In Memoriam: Wim Janse

Last Monday (March 4), I received the news that Wim Janse (1947), the man behind the website Het Beste Nieuws (The Best News), passed away that morning. Since the turn of the millennium, I had been in regular contact with him via Skype (until a few years ago). Wim had lived in Middelburg since 1974, where my wife and I met him once. Over the past year, he had been residing in a care home in Zaamslag (Zeeuws-Vlaanderen). Throughout most of his life, he struggled with health issues and was unable to work for decades. A few years ago, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which in a relatively short time reduced him to a shadow of the man he once was. His eloquence and sharp mind faded, and it was initially very difficult for him to give up working on the websites he maintained.

Wim remained single throughout his life and lived a solitary existence. He was a sociable and fluent speaker, but his uncompromising nature sometimes made him difficult to get along with. His roots lay in Vlaardingen, where he grew up in a Reformed environment (“Article 31”). He did not have fond memories of this background, and during the 1960s and 1970s, he developed a strong aversion to anything related to “the church.”

A major turning point in his life occurred in the 1980s when he came into contact with Bible studies by Cor van Hoeven (Eben Haëzer, Rotterdam). The Bible came alive for him, and he came to understand the unique message that the apostle Paul once proclaimed among the nations. He himself wrote about this in August 2020:

And then, suddenly, a few audio cassettes landed in my mailbox, and I listened to them. Oh well, just another bunch of fools. But still… after a while, the message started to sink in, even though I didn’t like it at first. These people claimed that God will save all people!! Wow! And gradually, even though everything was physically against me (things had already gone wrong for me in the seventies), something began to work. God loves us, each one of us. And yes, He loved and still loves those elders in Article 31 too. That was a tough pill to swallow, but over time, that message did get through. It simply couldn’t be any other way. God saves, and not man saving himself.

The fire in Wim was ignited, and early on, he recognized the great potential of the internet to spread the message that had become so dear to him. He started the website Het Beste Nieuws, which he also programmed himself, being technically skilled. Later, he launched the website Schriftwoord, where he translated the Concordant Version into Dutch. That was a bold initiative, as he was not proficient in Hebrew or Greek. But armed with a reliable interlinear translation, concordances, lexicons, and a solid knowledge of English and German concordant translations, he set to work. Within a few years, he brought an entire Dutch Bible translation to light! That is a remarkable achievement, despite the flaws that the project had. He was aware of those shortcomings, but Wim firmly believed that a translation without fatal ecclesiastical errors was a necessity. And if it couldn’t be done as it should, then it had to be done as best as possible.

In addition to the two aforementioned websites, he also launched The Herald of Gods Grace, where he published articles from a wide variety of writers who were all (biblically) convinced of God’s all-encompassing grace. A similar initiative was the website Salvation of All, where he shared lectures and studies from like-minded individuals from the Dutch, English, and German-speaking regions. As a reader, it was difficult to discover who was behind all these websites. Wim never sought to promote himself—on the contrary. The message that had captivated him, that was to be spread, and he dedicated the last decades of his life to that mission with all that was in him. Time and again, I encounter people across the country who have come into contact with the message of the Savior of all through Wim Janse’s work. In this way, God was able to use him!

Wim also lived with a strong expectation of meeting the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4). Here on earth, he often found the wait far too long. But now, he no longer has to wait, for the very next conscious moment he will experience, his expectation will become reality. I would like to conclude with Wim’s own words (from the same email I quoted earlier):

We have a great future, dear friends, though humanity must first go through a very difficult time.

That is why we work as long as our Father wills us to work, and we spread His glorious message as far as we are able.

No, it was not the church that brought me to where I am now—it is our heavenly Father. Or perhaps the church was the instrument the Father used to turn me around. Who can say? In any case, I have come to love Him deeply and thank Him with all my being.

I hope our Lord comes soon so that we may always be with Him. That must be the ultimate happiness, must it not? I look forward to seeing you (and those who belong to you) there. Together, praising and glorifying Him. Wonderful.

Warm regards!
United in Christ our Lord!

The funeral service took place on Friday, March 8, at 1:30 PM in Zorginstelling De Molenhof, Molenstraat 14, 4543 CM Zaamslag, followed by the burial in Zaamslag. The venue for the funeral service has limited space for thirty people.

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