Anne-Marie Kool passed away on June 4^th, 2026. From 1993 to 2024, she served as a missionary for the GZB in Hungary and Croatia. She was able to serve in God’s mission with such drive and dedication for over thirty years and, as a passionate professor, she made a significant contribution to missionary work in Central and Eastern Europe.

In 1987, Anne-Marie travelled to Hungary to undertake her PhD research. She also helped establish Christian student ministry in association with IFES. Anne-Marie subsequently spent the rest of her working life living and working abroad. In 1993, in collaboration with the GZB and with the support of the congregation of Oud-Alblas, she was sent to Hungary as a ‘missionary training worker’ for the Reformed Church of Hungary.

From 1995, she was affiliated with the Protestant Missionary Institute in Budapest, which was later incorporated into Károli University. In 1999, she was appointed professor of missiology.

Missiological education

After working in Hungary for many years, Anne-Marie was sent out again in 2015 on behalf of the GZB and with the support of the Reformed Churches of Houten and Oud-Alblas, this time to Osijek in Croatia.

Under the auspices of the Evangelical Theological Seminary (ETS), she served as professor of missiology. From the Osijek Institute for Mission Studies (OSIMS), in collaboration with other regional networks and organisations, she strengthened missiological education and research in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

All this was done to help the churches give shape to their missionary calling in post-communist Europe.

Over the years, Anne-Marie has delivered many lectures, supervised students, organised conferences and led programmes, together with a team of colleagues and staff. Her work steadily expanded from Hungary to Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and in recent years also to Central Asia. At the end of 2024, she formally retired during a farewell service that was held at the Reformed Church in Houten.

Gratitude and wonder

When she stepped down in 2024, Anne-Marie handed out small bags of seeds. That was how she saw her work: sowing seeds. In the Kingdom of God, it is the small things that count. She often quoted a saying she had seen on the Berlin Wall: “Many small people, doing many small things in many small places, can change the face of the world.”

We look back with gratitude and wonder at the many seeds Anne-Marie Kool was able to sow. We remember her as a passionate woman who – supported by a compassionate community and God’s love and faithfulness – persevered despite the resistance, disappointment and loneliness she sometimes experienced. With conviction, love and unwavering faith, she was able to give shape to God’s mission, in which He calls upon people to serve.

Obituary sent to Evangelical Focus by the GZB mission agency in The Netherlands.