Skip to main content

Collection 390 Papers of Janet Kuhns

 Collection
Identifier: CN 390

Scope and Contents

Oral history interviews and manuscript, relating to the ministry of Janet Kuhns, missionary among the Dayak people in West Kalimantan, Indonesia under the auspices of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CM&A).

[NOTE: In the Scope and Content description, the notation "Folder 1-1" means box 1, Folder 1.]

Series: Audio Tapes

Three oral history interviews with Janet Kuhns in which she describes her growing up in the C&MA in which her father was a pastor/administrator; her conversion as a child and spiritual growth, decision to be a missionary, education at Nyack Missionary Training Institute, language training, work as a missionary in Indonesia with Christian and Missionary Alliance, Christian education and Theological Education by Extension (TEE), culture of the Dayak people, the church among the Dayaks, working relationship with other missionaries, theological training in Indonesia, Indonesian culture and politics, family life as missionaries, and other mission-related subjects.  The time period covered by the interviews is 1938 to 1986.

Janet Kuhns was interviewed by Paul A. Ericksen on April 26 and May 9 and 17, 1988 at the Billy Graham Center Archives at Wheaton College.

Series: Paper Records (Box List)

Manuscript entitled Redemptive Analogies in the Contextualization of the Gospel to the Dayak of West Kalimantan (Folder 1-1) written by Kuhns in 1987. The paper gives a short history of the Dyak people (also spelled Dayak) of Indonesia, with particular emphasis placed on their religious traditions, practices, and legends, and how those compare to and intersect with the Christian theology of redemption.

Dates

  • Created: 1987-1988

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

Biographical Information

Janet Ann King was born November 6, 1938 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while her parents, Bernard and Dorothy King, were attending St. Paul Bible School. Kuhns' father was a pastor with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and so the family lived in several locations during her childhood: Lisle and St. Paul, Minnesota, and finally in Nyack, New York, where her father worked as treasurer of the denomination.

Janet had a conversion experience at the age of four. During her high school years she wrestled over what to do with her life, and eventually decided to serve as a missionary. To prepare herself for that, she attended Nyack College. There she met her future husband, William K. Kuhns, and they were married in June of 1960, following her graduation. In the fall of that year, they were accepted as missionary candidates with the C & MA. In preparation for that work, they served an internship in a small Free Methodist Church in the Detroit area for nine months.

In May 1961 their first child, Rebecca, was born. In the following November, they sailed for Indonesia. They spent a year of language study in Bandung, Java, before being appointed to West Kalimantan to help construct a new Bible school building there. When the building was completed, the Kuhns began ministry among the Dyak people of that area, especially through teaching at Immanuel Theological School in Kelansam, and through a Theological Education by Extension program. During their fifth term (1982-1986) the Kuhns were asked to teach at Jaffray Theological Seminary in Ujung Pandang for a year, after which they returned to Kelansam.

In the fall of 1987, the Kuhns attended Wheaton College Graduate School to hone their skills in adult theological education. Following their return to Indonesia in the late spring of 1988, they were again assigned to Jaffray Theological Seminary. They eventually retired to Florida. Bill died August 9, 2002. Janet remarried to David M. Howard on August 27, 2005.

Extent

1 Folder

5 Audio Tapes

Language of Materials

English

Accruals and Additions

The materials in this collection were given to the Billy Graham Center Archives from Janet Kuhns in April and May 1988.

Accession 88-43; 88-45; 88-46; 88-54

25 October 1989

Lannae Graham

P. Ericksen

S. Feeck

J. Nasgowitz

17 January 1990, revised

L. Beloz

Title
Collection 390 Papers of Janet Kuhns
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Roman Script

Repository Details

Part of the Evangelism & Missions Archives Repository

Contact:
501 College Avenue
Wheaton IL 60187 US
630-752-5910