Her belief was that she was chosen by God to restore true Christianity on earth and became the central figure of a spiritual network that extended beyond the borders of the Dutch Republic, including Holstein and Scotland.

[1] She was born with a severe cleft lip and palate, and initially "it was debated whether her life was worth preserving", although a subsequent surgery completely removed the birth defect.

Bourignon disliked the lavish splendour of the Catholic Church and wanted to establish a community of what she saw as true Christians.

There she met Jean de Labadie, Comenius and Anna Maria van Schurman and began publishing her writings.

They included merchants, craftsmen, doctors (such as Steven Blankaart), painters, rentiers, clerics and scholars (such as Robert Boyle, who had her work translated into English)[citation needed], and Comenius, who invited her to his deathbed.

Subsequently, she gained the support of Jan Swammerdam, who was in a spiritual crisis and did not fully trust her[citation needed], and the owner of Nyenrode Castle, Johan Ortt.

In 1671, she inherited a portion of the island of Nordstrand, not far from Husum, from De Cort, who left large debts after his death.

Finally a large part of her manuscripts ended up at the Aalmoezeniersweeshuis (Orphanage) and the Remonstrant Congregation of Amsterdam through Volckert van de Velde.

In the early 18th century, her influence was revived in Scotland (see Andrew Michael Ramsay), sufficiently to call forth several denunciations of her doctrines in the various Presbyterian general assemblies of 1701, 1709 and 1710.