Media ‘Voice of the CRC’ Passes Away

For over 30 years, people turned on their radios every Sunday morning to hear the voice of Dr. Joel Nederhood proclaiming the gospel on The Back to God Hour, a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). The program closed each week with the hymn “By the Sea of Crystal.”

On Dec. 2, 2025, God called Nederhood, at the age of 94, to join with the saints in heaven. 

“Our team at ReFrame Ministries [formerly named The Back to God Hour] stands on the shoulders of giants, including those of Dr. Joel Nederhood,” shared Rev. Kurt Selles, director of ReFrame Ministries. “Using radio and television, Dr. Nederhood embraced his relentless passion and dedication, along with his considerable gifts and talents, to share the love of Jesus Christ around North America. Dr. Nederhood's ministry also inspired and encouraged others to establish media ministries around the world. Although most of our current staff never had the opportunity to work with Dr. Nederhood, his name is remembered today with awe and gratitude to God for the service of this faithful minister.”

Nederhood, a 1952 Calvin College graduate, joined The Back to God Hour team in 1960, following a variety of experiences that shaped him for ministry. Although after college he had his sights set on a career in missions, he first served in the U.S. Army for two years, including service in the Far East. 

Five years later, he graduated from Calvin Theological Seminary and received a scholarship to study at the Free University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He earned his doctorate in the field of missions in 1959. On returning to the United States, Nederhood served with CRC Home Missions in Melbourne, Fla. 

One year later, First CRC of Lansing, Ill., called Nederhood to be the associate radio minister of The Back to God Hour. He served alongside Dr. Peter Eldersveld, the ministry's first radio pastor, and was tasked with following up with listeners, producing discipleship literature, providing office administration, and stepping in to deliver the radio messages whenever Dr. Eldersveld was absent. He also assisted Dr. Juan Boonstra in preparing for outreach in Spanish.

Following Eldersveld's death from a heart attack in 1965, Nederhood was the logical choice to succeed him as the primary minister of the beloved radio program. He went on to serve in this capacity from 1965 to 1996. 

During Nederhood's tenure at The Back to God Hour, he facilitated the expansion of its ministry worldwide in six additional major languages: French, Indonesian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. 

In 1977, Nederhood helped to launch Faith 20, a television program aired in the top 40 viewing areas in North America. In many ways, the format was a visual version of the weekly thirty-minute Back to God Hour audio program, and it later included documentaries on topics such as the life of Christ, education, death, social problems, the Bible, abortion, and more. The program was so well received that the ministry recruited teams of Faith 20 volunteers in several key cities to answer phone calls from viewers during the program. 

Nederhood had a special love for outreach in Russia. One month before the end of the Soviet Union in Dec. 1991, Nederhood was invited to join a group of 19 Christian leaders for the first-ever prayer meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s last general secretary. Later Nederhood served as chancellor of the Eastern Ukraine Theological Seminary, giving spiritual and educational direction for church leadership training in Ukraine and Russia.  

One of Nederhood’s favorite memories, he said some years ago, came from the time he was asked to participate in the baptism of African immigrant Bernard Major’s son in New York City in the 1970s. The family told him they had come to faith by listening to The Back to God Hour radio program.

In the book written to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ministry, Worlds Beyond: The Story of The Back to God Hour (1979), Nederhood reflected on a question often posed to him: What's the explanation for the success of this media ministry? “Prayer, vision, generosity,” he stated. “There have been remarkable events that could only have occurred because of the prayers of the people. It is also the vision of proclaiming salvation. The gospel has been spoken thousands and thousands of times on Back to God Hour programs over the years, and someday we will meet persons in heaven who will be there because they heard the gospel through this ministry. Finally, the praying and vision have been accompanied throughout the years by the great generosity of the people of God.” 

Nederhood’s distinctive voice was a familiar sound in many households across North America for decades. After his retirement, he continued preaching and speaking on behalf of the ministry for several years.

More about Dr. Nederhood's life of ministry, along with information about his family and legacy, can be viewed here.