Carl Boonstra was born on May 26, 1925, in Ringsted, Iowa, to Henry and Rose (Koistra) Boonstra, immigrants from the Netherlands. He passed away on June 7, 2023, in Springfield, Missouri.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, June 13th, at 10:00 a.m., at the Boonstra Chapel in the Mission Office building in Springfield, MO.
The family moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1937. When he was 12, Carl had to drop out of school to help provide for the family.
He was invited to attend the Englewood Baptist Tabernacle and was subsequently saved by placing his trust in Jesus Christ.
As World War II was raging, he was drafted and ended up in Normandy on June 7, 1944. His Medical Evacuation unit followed General Patton through the Battle of the Bulge. When the war was won, Carl had orders to stay in Europe for almost a year.
Upon his return to Colorado, he went back to the Tabernacle. It was there that he met Elsie Herzog. They were married in 1948 and went to study at the Bible Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
Carl Boonstra was a Baptist minister for 75 years. He pastored the Bear Creek Baptist Church in Texas, then became the co-pastor at the Tabernacle upon graduating from Seminary in 1951. In 1955, Carl and Elsie Boonstra founded the East Side Baptist Church in Denver, Colorado. East Side quickly developed a reputation for being a great missionary church.
In 1972, Carl and Elsie moved to Springfield, where he became the Director of Missions for Baptist Bible Fellowship International. He was granted an honorary doctorate of divinity from Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in 1974. He served the BBFI and the Mission Office during very productive years. Missionaries were sent all around the world. Carl and Elsie visited more than 70 countries, preaching, teaching, and encouraging missionaries and local pastors everywhere they traveled.
His passion was preaching the Bible; his pastimes were gardening, raising Angus cattle, and reading and collecting books.
Carl was preceded in death by his parents, his grandson Zachary, his wife Elsie, and his younger sister, Jeanette. Carl Boonstra is survived by his three children, Sharon and James Smith, Carla and James Davis, John and Julie Boonstra: his six grandchildren (Nicole Yates, Michelle Davis, Stacey Myers, David Boonstra, Janelle Herman, and Aimee Boonstra. And 12 great-grandchildren, nephews, many friends, and fellow ministers all over the world.
Thank you so much for your service, love for our Lord and great example your family has been to my wife Rubi and I.
You will be deeply missed, Brother Boonstra was the reason I got saved. He’s been in my life 32 years now. He was just like family, he loved my kids and got to meet my grandbaby. Him and Art Wilson and Bro McGath Bro Strickland, and Miss Elsie are having a great reunion.