The recent COVID-19 period was tough for many churches, with some seeing their membership halved. Daniël and Clementine Koper have been the pastors of the Church of the Nazarene in Haarlem for five years and still possess a deep passion and love for the church, along with a strong belief that God is especially present in the church. “The church is only going to become more relevant in the future,” argue Daniël and Clementine.

Sitting on the couch in their home in Castricum, I spoke with them about their ministry, their faith, and their vision for the future of the church.

How It Began

Daniël and Clementine met in 2006 and married shortly after. Although faith played a significant role in their relationship, there wasn’t an immediate desire to pursue a ministry. Daniël worked in the police force, and Clementine in a care institution of The Salvation Army. “We wanted to work where God wanted us to be, keeping all options open,” says Clementine.

To deepen their spiritual lives, they decided to study theology together. Daniël was interested in leadership and church formation and chose the pastoral track, while Clementine opted for the missionary diaconal work track. “At the time, I was convinced that I wasn’t suited to be a pastor and that such a level of responsibility didn’t suit me,” she says. “Additionally, this study focus was a great complement to my job.”

Despite a challenging time during which they had two sons, worked, and studied, the couple persevered and both earned their degrees. Their desire to serve actively in God’s kingdom grew stronger, though there was still no concrete plan.

Becoming a Pastoral Couple

After their studies, the couple deliberately chose only to consider ministries they could undertake together, as equals, with each focusing on their own talents. “We saw many pastors around us burn out because the workload was too heavy, and they felt they had to be good at everything. One of our pastors taught me that it’s important to focus on the ministry you’re called to and not just do everything because it’s expected,” says Daniël. Eventually, they were appointed as the pastoral couple for the Haarlem congregation in 2018.

“Even though we were active in this congregation, it wasn’t immediately clear to us that we would serve here as pastors,” Clementine notes. “We held on to our desire to be guided by God’s will in our prayers and conversations with each other.”

Renovation

Serving in a familiar congregation brings unique relationships. The pastor who ordained Clementine in their ordination service was the same one who officiated their wedding and also served as her mentor during her studies. Clementine still regularly seeks his counsel.

As pastors of a congregation, they’ve faced many complex issues over the past years, but also have much to be thankful for. “Take the renovation of our church building, for example,” says Daniël. “The plan had been on the table for years, constantly reappearing on the agenda, but it never moved forward. It was threatening to distract us from what we wanted to focus on as a church. So, we decided to push through. We wanted the church to be open, accessible, and relevant, and this was necessary to achieve that.”

“It became a prayerful and blessed process, and it did our congregation good. During the COVID-19 period that followed after the renovation, our church building was fully equipped, allowing us to serve in special ways. For example, we became a COVID-19 vaccination site, hosted an open living room, and were able to effectively implement the one-and-a-half-meter social distancing rule. I’m grateful for that!”

Hope for the Church

“I always find people’s personal victories to be true highlights,” adds Clementine. “To me, they clearly express the hope that God doesn’t give up on us, even when we turn away from Him. He teaches us to persevere and hold on, so there is always hope for the church. That energizes me! It motivates me to remain open to people seeking a church or those who’ve never been to one before. There’s a song by Sela, a Dutch worship group, that says, ‘You give a future full of hope,’ and I find that very encouraging in our secularized society.”

Last year, the Church of the Nazarene in Haarlem won the award for the most welcoming congregation in the Netherlands, but according to Daniël and Clementine, that’s not where it stops. Daniël says, “Our next step is to become the most inviting church in the Netherlands. We pray that members will invite their neighbors, acquaintances, and friends to come and see us, so people can hear in a very accessible way who Jesus is, who the Holy Spirit is, and who God is, and how He can change lives. We want to be an open church where people are welcome, and we can reach a group of people we’re not yet reaching.”

“What Does God Want from Us?”

“We’re not doing this to chase numbers,” Clementine says. “But a healthy congregation is also a growing one. What we see in our ‘open living room’ on Tuesdays is that we can show love and attention to new people, and we’re very open there. This naturally develops further. And that really has to come from the Holy Spirit. If it only came from us, we’d exhaust ourselves in no time, and it wouldn’t bear fruit. We’re not going to do this on our own.”

“Yes, many pastors struggle with this,” Daniël adds. “Becoming an even more prayerful congregation is the foundation for an open church. We want to ask ourselves: what does God want from us? And then move forward. Movement from the Spirit, in other words. If we have to make choices, the choice goes to prayer.”

Confidence in the Future

In a secularizing society, it’s easy to become discouraged and criticize the church’s relevance in the future, but Daniël and Clementine speak with full confidence about the future. Clementine: “God dwells in Christians who come together, so it’s inevitable that people will encounter God when they come to church. That’s where the relevance lies! Seeing, experiencing, tasting, and smelling God. The more people come together, the more facets of God are illuminated. Different people have different experiences and testimonies. You need each other to look at God together and think: ‘oh, that’s God too!’ That brings great joy.”

Daniël: “A community is relevant because you can encourage each other, pray for each other, stoke each other’s fire, and hold each other accountable. That keeps the fire alive. We see this reflected in the testimonies people give. These are very encouraging and inspire others. We want to create even more space for that.”

Clementine: “The church is only going to become more relevant in the future, because God is increasingly disappearing from society. So, it’s up to the church to say that we’re always open. With Him, there is hope, there is light, and you find comfort. Now and in the future.”

Interview with Daniël and Clementine Koper, by Renske Peeters

Published in Zout Magazine, no. 23 – March 2023 (zout-magazine.nl) Original in Dutch, translated by Erik Hendriks