My life and ministry, testimony of Teun J. de Ruiter

I give a short review of my life. I was born on the 1st of July 1938. I received a traditional Dutch Reformed upbringing but did not know the Lord personally. In February 1959 I got converted at the age of 21 while serving in the Dutch Royal Airforce at an evangelical conference, where amongst other speakers also Anne van der Bijl spoke.

Shortly after my conversion I was filled with the Holy Spirit and began in the weekends preaching in open air meetings in and around The Hague, Holland. In the Spring of 1959, while sill serving in the Royal Dutch Airforce I received the call for ministry, which was confirmed with 2 Timothy 2:1-4. This had as a result that I applied for ministerial training at the Bible College of Wales in Swansea, Great Britain. After finishing my Military Service in December 1959 I went in January 1960 for study to South Wales. Soon I met there Reinhard Bonnke in the College and we became friends. This friendship continues till this day. After a few months of study I received the first invitation to minister in one of the many churches in the vicinity of Swansea. More invitations followed with the result that on Sundays I made often, as other students, an early journey to preach in one of the many chapels in a village or town. As students in Christian ministry we were often asked to preach as there was already in those days a shortage of preachers and pastors.

In 1962 I received the Diploma of the Bible College of Wales and became officially a Christian Minister. I started first to preach in Wales and England and later in Holland and Germany. In September 1963 I married in Brynmawr with Theresa Thomas and started to travel together. Tessa was already active in her church and had also ministered for some years in the Sunday service of churches. She always ministered the Word of God with great dedication and was greatly appreciated by her pastor, Rev. Jim Webber and the members of the Church, the Baptist Chapel Tabor in Brynmawr.

In the Spring of 1967 we moved with our few belongings and our first child, Andrew, who was born in January, definitely to Holland and made our home in the town of Rijswijk, near The Hague. In Holland another three chilrden were born, Elisabeth, Grace and Deborah. Grace died in 1976, which was a very heartbreaking experience. The reason for our move to Holland was the invitation to become a teacher in the 'Centrale Pinkster Bijbelschool,' (Central Pentecostal Bible School), which was to open in The Hague in September 1967 to receive her first students. Reverend Roscoe Leach and his wife, both ministers of the Assemblies of God in the U.S.A., were the first directors. They were truly inspiring leaders for staff and students. With great personal sacrifice they led the school in those first years of her existence. The school started with more students than was expected. We celebrated in 1992 twenty-five years of teaching and leadership, but remained a teacher in that school till 1994. In 1990 I accepted the call to become the pastor of the 'Pinkstergemeente Elim,' (Pentecostal Church Elim) in the city of Hilversum, where I ministered till June 2012.

In 1963 I had received a prophecy in the AoG Pentecostal Tabernacle of Brynmawr – the village where Tessa lived and where I always found a place to stay – that the Lord would give me a teaching ministry. I had at first difficulty to believe this word. But after prayer I received from the Lord a word of confirmation that I would indeed become a teacher of many nations. First of all I taught students in the Bible College, equipping them also for ministry abroad. But the prophetic word given in 1963 received in 1997 a new, exciting potential. When I left the College as a teacher I was presented a personal computer. In a speech the remark was made that I could enjoy myself with playing with it at home. But soon after I left the college I began to realize the enormous, worldwide potential of this electronic medium for preaching and teaching on the internet and by e-mail. Our internet sites are bilingual reaching people all over the world. Now, in 2010, many people are blessed and inspired by our ministry.

Tessa and I have now retired, she became in 2010 a minister-emeritus and I in June 2011 at the age of 73. Since then I felt led to intensify and concentrate on my calling worldwide as a teacher under the name 'Teach All Nations,' and am still available for speaking and teaching in churches. It is our desire to work for the Lord as long as we live and as He continues to give us the strength for it. To Jesus Christ, our Lord, who sacrificed His life for us, be all the glory!

1 May 2010, Holland, revised 2 December 2011

Contact? E-mail.... Teun J. de Ruiter

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For the future support of the ministry of Teun & Tessa de Ruiter you can make a donation to the Foundation Support Christian Ministries' in Holland. The account is 44.71.11.973 at the ABN-Amro Bank in Leusden IBAN Code NL70ABNA0447111973