from a top athlete to entrepreneurship with God

Henri Cooiman was raised religiously, but his life used to be mainly devoted to top sports. ‘I went to church, but the faith was never that alive for me. Top sport was my life’. However, when Henri was in his early 20s he became ill. He even ends up in a closed institution. ‘It was a desert period, but I really met God in this and I learned to discover Who He really is.’ After his period of illness, Henri increasingly attends events where he meets God and grows more and more in his relationship with Him. On a Firenight he meets his (then future) wife. Henri was baptized in 2008 and married Roelofke in 2009.

Text: Gerlinde Holster

Because Henri himself had to deal with serious obesity, he started helping others lose weight. “This was an opportunity for me to talk to clients about God and pray for healing when the Holy Spirit prompted me to do so.” There is a desire to do more with this. This desire also exists in his wife. After getting married, they went on a year-long sabbatical together and would like to go on an adventure again. 5 children later, God confirms that it is time for this adventure. Their youngest child is then 1 year old. Henri says: ‘During a walk I told God that I was willing to let go of everything, but that I found it exciting. God responded that we should trust Him and He would provide.” Henri Cooiman and Roelofke give away their entire belongings to the church and leave for Norway during the corona period. At least, that’s what they thought. Due to the corona measures, they cannot cross the border into Norway. It was immediately clear to Roelofke that the Holy Spirit had a different plan for them. Then they come into contact with Dutch people in Sweden through friends. Sweden will be their new home base.

Peace and nature
In Sweden, Henri seeks peace and nature. ‘In the Netherlands we are so used to living a performance-oriented life and we quickly become agitated in our thinking. I really had to learn to let this go. I also had to let go of my religious thinking.’ Henri’s desire to do business together with God continues to grow. He often visits God in an abandoned hut a 10-minute walk from his house. ‘The best ideas come in nature and in the peace at His feet. I said to God, “I long for the best wine You have for me.” And God spoke to me: “I want people to apply their spiritual gifts in their business.”

Henri started working on this. His work now consists of helping to build companies from the ‘Creation place’ as he so beautifully called it. Creation stands for creating. And you do this together with the Creator: God. The Creation Place is the place where you do business together with God. It is seeking His will for your business. ‘The Creation place can be any place where you feel close to God, where you can sit at His feet and be silent.’ Henri explains how this looks very practical for him. ‘I often seek peace in nature, for example in the forest, and become silent before God. I often ask Him 3 questions:

• What do you want me to do?
• Who can I bless?
• How can I bless my clients right now?

It is truly trusting Him and being obedient. You have to relinquish control and trust the Holy Spirit.”

Learning environments
Henri Cooiman coaches entrepreneurs through online meetings and also has learning environments with videos. He also organizes a workshop once a month. These are very practical in nature and help entrepreneurs, for example, to move from vocation to business and make their prophetic voice heard. Customers can also visit Sweden to experience a period of peace and quiet.

Every Tuesday morning, Henri Cooiman is part of an online prayer meeting where religious entrepreneurs come together, pray for each other and speak prophetic words about each other and each other’s business. ‘The number of people participating in these sessions continues to increase, it is so wonderful to see how the hunger for doing business with God is increasing!’

In addition to online coaching, Henri also organizes events for Dutch entrepreneurs. For this he returns to the Netherlands 2 to 3 times a year.

Roelofke certainly doesn’t sit still either. She gives prophetic name sessions, where she looks at the deeper meaning of someone’s name and what plans God has ready for that person.

More about Henri’s company can be found at: https://businessinoneday.com/

But also keep an eye on his Instagram: henri_cooiman

Want to know more about the prophetic sessions that Roelofke gives? https://roelofke.com/

If you want to find more spirit-filled entrepreneurs like Henri, you can also check out our new business platform: business.revive.nl