Working and living in dependence on Him

For this edition, we asked Frans de Lange to share his story with us his experiences of how God spoke to him during key turning points in his life. He shares an honest account, because although living in dependence on the Lord has brought much blessing, it certainly hasn’t always been easy.

Frans: "My first turning point was a tough one. While I was in the process of taking over my father’s duck farming business, I was approached to become a candidate for alderman in Harderwijk. The confirmation of this step came through a very strong election result. But it also meant the end of the business deeply disappointing my father. My wife Harmke and I literally said, 'Our lives are in Your hands, Lord. You may take it from here.'"

The next turning point came five and a half years later. At age 26, I had already become a city council member. When I turned 41, having served fifteen years in local politics, Harmke and I spent a lot of time in prayer. There was a desire to serve a Christian organization. I also enjoyed being an entrepreneur, but I had a love–hate relationship with politics. It always fascinated me, yet the political maneuvering could be quite draining.

One day, three people approached me, asking if I would consider applying for the mayor’s position in Elburg. From that moment, I had a strong sense that the city council would choose me, even though my CV didn’t make me the obvious candidate. And that’s exactly what happened the role of mayor became my new challenge.

Through each step of my life, I deeply sensed that it fit within God’s plan for us and that the Lord provided the strength and wisdom to carry out the task.

“Through each step of my life, I deeply sensed that it fit within God’s plan for us.”

After nine years, I once again felt that something needed to change. I had a strong desire to serve the Lord in a Christian setting, and an opportunity came along that deeply interested me. One of my side roles was as chairman of GlobalRize Foundation, a young (startup) missionary organization that aimed to share the Gospel via the internet. Marten Visser had started it in Thailand as a missionary, and the future looked very promising.

More and more people would come online, and the Gospel could be shared in a simple way everywhere—even in places where traditional missions are impossible. This way, the whole world could hear the Good News.

Marten had enthusiastically launched the project and envisioned rapid growth. But who would manage it? Marten is primarily a pioneer, missionary, and theologian, so I said to him: “Just create a vacancy for a Head of Operations.” He showed me the vacancy text, and I was struck as if by lightning—it aligned incredibly well with my profile.

“I was struck as if by lightning—it aligned incredibly well with my profile.”

I said to Harmke, “I think I’ve found it.” Her immediate response was, “Oh no!” She saw that the position suited me, but sensed the cost of taking this step could be high. Despite our many doubts, I soon felt confident in the decision. But I felt it was important that we make this step together.

A long summer followed, in which the Lord didn’t seem to speak to Harmke. Until one early morning walk with our dog, she sighed, “Pfff, Lord…” At that moment, her eyes landed on a pedestrian sign (a round blue sign showing a large figure holding the hand of a small one). It was as though the Lord said to her, “Come, I’ll take you by the hand.” A deep peace settled over her, and from that moment, she stood with me without further hesitation.

Just like my years as an administrator, the years that followed weren’t always easy. But it is incredibly encouraging to see how GlobalRize has grown. Financially, it remains a challenging journey, but we have the privilege of sharing the Gospel with many. There are now 400 active volunteers in the Netherlands and just as many abroad.

A beautiful affirmation of our decision only came to me about a year ago. You continue to wrestle with doubts. People still say things like, “When will you become a mayor again?” But I realized that all my previous roles have equipped me to fulfill this one properly. “The Lord has led it beautifully,” we often say to each other. Through prayer, we get to live in dependence on Him.

“The Lord has led it beautifully,” we often say to each other.