When Ds Jac van Belkum retired, he stayed in Heidelberg and did some Sermons in the church.  On 2 November, 1931, on his 80th birthday, a large celebration was arranged by Ds and Mrs Oosthuizen.Ds Van Belkum died on the 4th of November 1933 and his wife died on the 11th of January 1935.  They are both buried in the Heidelberg Kloof Cemetery.  When the new church was completed in 1933, the hall was named “The Van Belkum Hall”, after DS Jac Van Belkum, who served as minister from 1903 to 1927.  

​The Nederduitsche Hervormde Church shares its history with the Nederduitsche Gereformeerde Church, with Ds Van Warmelo being the first minister. He tried to unite the two congregations. 
In January 1888, Ds Goddefroy, on the farm of Gabriel Jacobs, reorganised the Hervormde congregation.  The problem was that their church ground was now in the possession of the united church.

In January 1889, the Hervormdes decided to build a “hulpkerk”.  Jacob Van Der Westhuizen, a son of NJG Van Der Westhuizen, one of the first members of the congregation, and his partner, donated a piece of ground for the building of a church.  Interestingly, one of the conditions was that the church does not change its name, but was not registered on the title deed.  Building of the church started straight away and was consecrated on 20 July 1889. This ground is still used by other Nederduitsche Hervormde Church. The Rectory was built in 1897. (Picture credit to the Bloemfontein Museum)

After the Death of Van Warmelo, they called Ds. Lagerwey as their minister in January 1885.  With his presence, calmness was brought to the conflict of the two churches. Unluckily his health deteriorated, which forced him to relocate to the Netherlands.  He died on the operating table on the 17th of August 1898.  With the outbreak of the Anglo Boer war in 1899, the congregation had not yet called a new minister.
 

Ds. A Lagerway 
Ds A Lagerwey became a minister in the Netherlands in 1881.  He was a great friend of Ds. Goddefroy and accepted the position for minister of the combination churches of Heidelberg-Volksrust-Klerksdorp.
He became minister for the combination  in January 1895.  With him residing in Heidelberg. Under his leadership the congregation recovered from the damage done from the attempted uniting of the two churches.
He would visit congregational members by horse and cart at their homes in town and on the farms.
The travelling took its toll, as he was not physically strong and had to go to the Netherlands for treatment.  On 17 July 1898, he did his final sermon and baptised 13 children.  On the 17 August 1898, in Den Haag, he died on the operating table, 42 years old.

The Church after the 3 year war:
The first church celebration after the Anglo Boer war, was held on the third of August 1902.  The consulting minister, Ds MJ Goddefroy, was still in the prisoner of war camp in Brits, India and only returned to South Africa in 1903. For this church celebration, Ds van Belkum from Rustenburg, who was released from the Merewent Concentration camp, was invited. 

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On 7 March 1903, the Church Board was elected with the following members:-
JH Jacobs – an old member who was around during the uniting of the two churches. He served until 1909, when he moved to Morgenzon, where he died in 1923.
CJ Jacobs – JH Jacob’s nephew, from the farm Rietpoort.  Served from 1895, till his death in 1914.  During the war, he was a prisoner of war in Ceylon.
SJ Bronkhorst – served from 1898 to 1914.  He died in 1928, 85 years old.
WJ Basson – was a Deacon from 1899 to 1903 and served as an elder from 1903, until he died in 1921.
FC Rosslee – Deacon in 1893 and elder from 1898.
JH Pretorius, W. Nel and WJ Botha.
 

Deacons:-
PF Strydom – Deacon from 1889 to 1909.  An elder from 1928.
BJ Jacobs – son of Gabriel Jacobs of Houtpoort. 
DJC Martins – Deacon from 1903 to 19O4.  From 19O8 as an elder.
SPM Mulder, W Gouws, CF van der Westhuizen, J Janse van Rensberg and JA Venter.
Other members who played a role: Brits, Bekker, Strydom, Gouws, Bierman, Botha and others....
At the meeting that was held on 24 April 19O4, all was in favour of calling Ds van Belkum as their minister. Ds van Belkum accepted this position and was confirmed by Ds CW du Toit on the 1st of August 19O4.  He served the congregation until 1927, when he received his “emeritus status”.
 

Ds Jac van Belkum
Ds Jac van Belkum was born in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, on the 2nd of November 1851.  While still young his parents died.  He and his brother were admitted to the “Old Burger Weeshuis”.  It was noticed by the house father of his intellect at an early age.  He was sent to the University of Utrecht in 1871, to study theology.  His studies went so well that he wrote the doctoral exam in theology.  Although he did the preparatory work for a thesis on the New Testament, he never completed it.

In 1877, he became minister to the Varik congregation and to other churches in the Netherlands.
On the 12 April, 1891, he left the Zierikzee congregation in the Netherlands, to accept a calling to Rustenberg.  He went to the efforts of publishing a magazine called “De Hervormer” in 1899, but stopped because of the Anglo Boer war.  In 1907 he published the “Almanak” and in 1909 he brought back the “De Hervormer”, which is still published to this day.
After the war, on the 1st of August 19O4, Ds Jac van Belkum, became the minister.  He served until 1927.  Under his leadership he built up the church and recovered from the debt that was owed when the Rectory was built in 1897.

Ds van Belkum was the minister during the problem years of the 1914 to 1915 rebellion, the 1918 flu pandemic and the 1914 to 1919 First World War.  He managed to overcome all obstacles.
By 1927, the church had close to 900 members.  With his strong evangelistic preaching, a good reliable servant, everything revolved around Jesus Christ and God and not about himself. He was of an incorruptible character, peace loving, sincere, friendly, valued and sacrificial to the church. Although he was from the Netherlands, the congregation accepted him as an Afrikaner.
The church celebrated in February 1927, his 55 official anniversary and on 16 October he except his “emeritus”. 

When Ds Jac van Belkum retired, he stayed in Heidelberg and did some Sermons in the church.  On 2 November, 1931, on his 80th birthday, a large celebration was arranged by Ds and Mrs Oosthuizen.
Ds Van Belkum died on the 4th of November 1933 and his wife died on the 11th of January 1935.  They are both buried in the Heidelberg Kloof Cemetery.  
When the new church was completed in 1933, the hall was named “The Van Belkum Hall”, after DS Jac Van Belkum, who served as minister from 1903 to 1927.  

References: 50 Jarige Gedenkalbum 1933 - 1983