OUR STORY
The Van Der Merwe family
Known by our friends, as the “Henty’s” - God put it on our hearts in 2019 to be part of starting something new in the Netherlands. We (Henty & Sophia) have been married for 6 years and we are blessed to be the parents of two boys.
Over the last 10 years Henty has served as a pastor in few churches and recently has been training as a Church Planter with the Risen Collective. Henty holds a Masters of Divinity from Southern Seminary and a Bachelors in Applied Theology from CBU. Born in the UK, South Africa for 10 years, but has spent most of his adult life in America.
Sophia has served with students, counseling and hospitality ministry through our shared ministry journey. She has a Bachelors in Hospitality and Business Management. Sophia is at home with our boys, playing the vital role of home-maker in our family. Sophia is from the Netherlands, but has lived abroad in Japan, Australia and the United States.
When not chasing our boys around, we are love to enjoy our time enjoying great coffee and great food, hopefully with some dear people.
Seeds planted in a garden
Our story began in a Garden in Hilversum in 2019. Henty was invited to preach at a local church gathering. Even at this time, God was stirring our hearts for the Netherlands. A friend after the sermon prayed that we would return to do ministry in the Netherlands. Looking back, it was the first seed planted in prayer for what God would do in us over the coming years.
In 2023, God began to move in our hearts and lives in undeniable ways to bring alignment, clarity and open doors of moving forward toward church planting in the Netherlands.
One of the steps of this journey was moving to Houston, TX to join Risen Church & the Risen Collective for a church planting residency. God used this season to heal, confirm and launch us to the Netherlands. In June of 2025, 7 years to the day of first meeting, we arrived in the Netherlands.
After a few months of settling in God led us to the place where we were to start a new church.
EINDHOVEN, the City of Light
As early as May of 2024, God had put Eindhoven on our hearts. While on a prayer and vision trip in Eindhoven in 2025, we asked God to confirm to us whether Eindhoven was were he was calling us. One of those confirmations came as we drove home one evening. We came across the seasonal display pictured above. It reminded us of Luke 10:2, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few…” We were asking “ God, is this where we should go?”
And we answered “yes” to his call.