In 1955 a young Dutch missionary discovered that Christians behind the Iron Curtain desperately needed the word of God.
Brother Andrew (as he would later be known) distributed a suitcase full of Christian literature behind the Iron Curtain, marking the humble beginnings of OpenDoors with Brother Andrew.
In the late 1960s Brother Andrew became known as 'God's Smuggler' after the title of his best-selling biography.
This book had a tremendous impact on many Christians in the West who, for the first time, read about the pain and deprivation of their brothers and sisters living in restricted countries.
Now available in 27 languages, God's Smuggler has helped to redefine the boundaries of modern missionary endeavour and has aroused millions to an awareness of the suffering church in areas of limited access
Brother Andrew's one-man operation quickly grew into a worldwide ministry.
The work of Open Doors broadened to taking Bibles into China, Vietnam and later Africa and the Muslim World, and organising training seminars and practical aid for suffering Christians.
Under Brother Andrew's leadership Open Doors has gone where most Western Christians dare not go.
His underground network of indigenous Christians has aided in the secret distribution of millions of Bibles each year worldwide.
Open Doors has trained thousands of pastors and church leaders and provided spiritual and legal support for Christian prisoners.
We have also provided economic relief for their families and the families of martyrs.We have conducted Bible-based literacy classes and established discipleship training and vocational training in some of the most dangerous countries in the world.
The challenge of Islam
Still travelling extensively, Brother Andrew feels passionately that the rapid spread of Islam could be by far the greatest challenge that he and Open Doors have yet faced.
His ministry has taken him into regular meetings with Yasser Arafat and with leaders of the Hamas and Hezbollah, and also with various armed groups in Latin America.
He has also broken down denominational barriers by preaching in Catholic and Coptic Orthodox churches.
Currently in his 80s, Brother Andrew and his wife, Corrie, live in Holland and have 5 children and 4 grandchildren.
Today Open Doors has many co-workers in over 45 high-risk countries.
As persecution increases, Open Doors will continue to go where faith costs the most, to equip and encourage Christians who are suffering for their faith.
| 1955 | Brother Andrew's first missionary trip to Eastern Europe while smuggling Christian literature. |
| 1957 | Brother Andrew's first trip smuggling Bibles to the Soviet Union in his blue Volkswagen. Over the next decade, Open Doors expands its network throughout Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. |
| 1965 | The first Open Doors team travels to China. However, they are unable to make contact with any Christians. |
| 1967 | God's Smuggler is first published as Brother Andrew's biography. |
| 1975 | Open Doors sponsors "Love China" conference in Southeast Asia to encourage ministry to China. |
| 1978 | Open Doors sponsors "Love Africa" congress in Malawi. Dozens of mission agencies and churches gather to promote a vision for reaching Africa with the Gospel. Contact with churches in the Middle East begins. |
| 1981 | Project Pearl: one million Bibles are delivered to China in a single night to thousands of waiting believers. |
| 1983 | Seven-year campaign for the Soviet Union begins |
| 1985 | Project Cross Fire: five million pieces of Christian literature are distributed in Latin America to help evangelize and disciple Christian youth. |
| 1986 | Project Timothy: training program begins for Christian leaders in southern Africa, which ultimately has trained many thousands (this project continues today). |
| 1989 | Target One Million: delivery of one million New Testaments to Russia in cooperation with the Russian Orthodox Church begins. |
| 1990 | Ten-year prayer campaign for the church in the Muslim world begins. |
| 1991 | Operation ABC: delivery of one million Children's Bibles to the former Soviet Union (completed in 1994). First feature film is released about the life of a Chinese evangelist, called Bamboo In Winter. |
| 1992 | In cooperation with New Life Literature and The Bible League, Open Doors develops and delivers the first Chinese Study Bible in simplified Chinese script. |
| 1993 | 50,000 copies of the first printing of the full Bible in the Albanian language is presented to the President of Albania, a country which had up to that point declared itself as totally atheist. |
| 1994 | Five-day evangelistic campaign is held at Qaddafi Stadium in Pakistan at which thousands attend. |
| 1995 | The second feature film, Behind the Sun, is released worldwide to demonstrate the hardships faced by a Muslim convert in his homeland; it is honoured with two Crown awards. |
| 1996 | Brother Andrew publishes his tenth book, The Calling, which documents his life story from "God's Smuggler" forward. |
| 1997 | The 1996 Religious Liberty Award is presented to Brother Andrew during a ceremony hosted by the World Evangelical Fellowship. |
| 1998 | In order to continue training and delivering Bibles to believers collapsing from starvation, Open Doors launches its first-ever economic relief project to fly in food and supplies to southern Sudan. |
| 1999 | Ministry to North Korea begins with the delivery of 10,000 Bibles. |
| 2000 | One million Bibles and one million pieces of Christian literature are delivered inside China, the largest annual delivery since Project Pearl. |
| 2001 | Over 30,000 Bibles, New Testaments, and other Christian materials are delivered to the former Soviet Union, now known as the Turkic Field. Brother Andrew's youth version of God's Smuggler - called The Narrow Road - wins the 2001 Gold Medallion award |
| 2002 | Open Doors launches a new seven-year prayer campaign - this time for China, leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games |
