Dutch Christian Music Pioneer Wim Pols Dies

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – Dutch singer, guitarist, and radio presenter Wim Pols, who pioneered Christian country music in the Netherlands, has died, following a series of health scares including heart failure, his band confirmed. He passed away “peacefully” on Saturday, October 25, 2025, surrounded by loved ones, the Country Trail Band explained.

“Dear friends, on Saturday evening, October 25, our brother and friend Wim Pols passed away,” the group added on the social media site Facebook. “In his final days, he slept peacefully and quietly passed away. We are thankful for the fruitful life he lived and grateful to have walked with him for so long. Wim is Home with his heavenly Father.”

Pols rose to prominence in the 1980s through the Dutch Evangelical Broadcasting (EO) network, where he presented “Country Trail” on station Hilversum III, introducing Gospel-inspired country music to a vast Dutch audience.

As one of the first Christian broadcasters in the Netherlands to feature American artists, he brought singers like Johnny Cash, Don Francisco, Larry Norman, and the Oak Ridge Boys to Dutch listeners, “translating their messages of faith and redemption” for a local audience.

Between 1983 and 2000, he produced and hosted EO radio programs, including Het Country-uur ”(“The Country Hour”), which helped shape the Christian music landscape in the Netherlands.

FOUNDING THE COUNTRY TRAIL BAND

In 1985, Pols co-founded the Country Trail Band with Ruud van de Meeberg, Hans Steeds, and Mijndert van der Beek. What began as a radio project evolved into “a full-time music ministry” that released more than 25 albums in English and Dutch, the band explained.

Among their best-known works are “Don’t Play for Nothing!”(1992) and “Dwars door de storm” (“Through the Storm,” 2015).

The band’s signature style blended country, folk, and Gospel, with lyrics reflecting Biblical faith and daily life. They performed across Europe in churches, theaters, and festivals, earning a loyal following in both evangelical and mainstream circles.

Beyond music, Pols and his group supported aid and evangelistic projects, donating proceeds from concerts and album sales to causes such as an orphanage in Nigeria.

Despite health challenges, Pols remained active in recent years. In 2024, the Country Trail Band marked its 40th anniversary with a jubilee concert celebrating four decades of faith-based music.

LAST CONCERT IN DRACHTEN

The group’s last concert took place on October 5, 2025, at Bethel Church in the Dutch town of Drachten, drawing some 600 people.

The band called it “an overwhelming farewell celebration,” adding, “Apparently, in the past forty years, we have managed to leave something good behind.”

Wim Pols is remembered as “a pioneer of Christian country” and gospel music in the Netherlands, Christians said.

Through his EO radio work and decades of performances with the Country Trail Band, he helped connect Dutch believers with the broader world of American Christian music and gave the genre a lasting home in Dutch culture.

The band said further information about a memorial service will be shared later.

(With additional reporting by Worthy News’ Johan Th. Bos in the Netherlands.)

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