Dr. J. Faber was born on May 12, 19243 in Drogeham, the Netherlands. After finishing his studies at the theological University of the Reformed churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) in Kampen he was a minister in Deventer (1952-1958) and in Schiebroek-Hillegersberg-Centrum (1958-1969). He recieved his doctorate in in 1969 for a dissertation entitled Vestigium ecclesiae: De doop als 'spoor der kerk'.