Ministers of the church include Laurens Johannes Jacobus van Oosterzee, Abraham Hellenbroek, Jan Scharp and J.R. Callenbach, who wrote a book about the history of the church a few years before the Rotterdam Blitz.

In the Rotterdam Blitz on May 14, 1940, the Laurenskerk was heavily damaged, with only the tower and walls surviving.

This alternative plan was rejected, particularly because restoration of the Laurenskerk was viewed as a symbol of the resilience of Rotterdam's community.

In 1952, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands laid the foundation stone for the restoration, which was completed in 1968.

The community received a Cross of Nails replica from Coventry Cathedral in order to become a local center for peace and reconciliation.