Around 1,000 Baptists are in Amsterdam this weekend to celebrate 400 years since Thomas Helwys and John Smith fled persecution in England and started what was to become the Baptist movement in the back room of an Amsterdam bakery.
Speaking last night, Teun van der Leer paid tribute to Helwys, Smith and other pioneers of the Baptist movement for their courage to start a new church and "to really change their thinking and their doing in obedience to their new insights into the Word of God".
Religious freedom remains one of the Baptist movement's proudest legacies thanks to the persecution of the early years and the writings of the founding fathers of the faith. It was Helwys who, in 1612, wrote that the king was not God but a mere mortal man, and therefore could have no power over the immortal souls of his subjects. He was imprisoned for his beliefs and died a few years later still behind bars.
"The price was high but the fruits are still being harvested today. It is a heritage to be proud of," said Mr van der Leer.
He said it was the "human right" of every man and woman on earth to have the Gospel presented to them at least once in their lifetime and to have the right to choose or reject it.
"It should be possible today that a Christian becomes a Muslim and a Muslim becomes a Christian without problems, let alone persecution or death," he continued.
"That is what we have stood for for 400 years – freedom to preach, freedom to choose, freedom to change."
Mr van der Leer urged Baptists to inherit the "pilgrim spirituality" of their forefathers as he preached from 2 Kings 2 where Elisha picks up the mantle of Elijah.
"What will we do with this mantle of our history? God made his history with us and the question is do we only look at it or do we want to be part of it?" he said.
"I think if there ever was a call to change to new circumstances, to new missionary challenges and opportunities, it is now.
"Let's take the mantle of these 400 years and call upon the Lord, the God of our history, so we will be free to pray, free to preach, free to choose, and free to change, and in that way remain faithful to our tradition."