Biography

On 16 July 1970, Theo Visser was born as the eldest son in a village near Rotterdam. After completing high school, Theo chose to study economics in Arnhem. There, he had a profound encounter with God that prompted him to alter his path and pursue theology in Utrecht.

After the day he married Rieneke, the newlywed couple moved into an old farmhouse in Bodegraven. Since 1995, they have both worked for Gave, an organisation that raises awareness among Christians about their Biblical calling to show hospitality to foreigners and build bridges between churches and refugees. Through this work, Theo has had the opportunity to experience many different cultures up close.

He wished to observe this diversity in churches, and from 2000 onwards, he and his wife served at ICF Rotterdam. Together with a wonderful team, they discovered through trial and error what intercultural church planting entails and how beautiful yet challenging it can be. After five years, questions arose regarding the establishment of new intercultural churches in other locations. Thus, Intercultural Church Plants NL was founded in 2005. Pioneering efforts continued in various ways, and much was learned about which practices are advisable and which are not.

In 2017, ICP NL was handed over to his successor, allowing Theo and Rieneke to move on to Europe. They gained significant insights, also through their mistakes, limitations, and vulnerabilities. Theo is currently the project coordinator at M4 Europe, a European church planting network operating in 16 countries across the continent. He primarily works in the field, collaborating with pioneers, providing coaching, and identifying new church planters. He is based in the M4 Intercultural department.

Over the years, Rieneke has specialised in intercultural worship music. In the practice of being a congregation in the church plants they were part of, she saw the need to intentionally involve people from other cultures in the music in the church. Because it is so important that people can worship God with the music that touches their hearts. And because God desires that the nations magnify him. Since 2014, she has led  Songs2Serve, which currently has a team in the Netherlands and a team in the UK. In addition, people throughout Europe are enthusiastic about growing in intercultural worship.

Calling

"Lord, let me live; I am not ready yet to meet you!" Those are Theo's thoughts, his cry for help, when, as a 12-year-old boy, he experiences a serious car accident. The subsequent years felt like a quest to him: What about God and sin, and how exactly does grace work? During his university years, he had a powerful encounter with God. When Theo discovered the beauty of grace and surrendered his life to Christ, God simultaneously placed a "burden" on Theo's heart. This heart has been beating ever since for those who have yet to meet Jesus and have not been transformed by the power of his Spirit!

When Theo looks at the tension between the New Testament and the church with fresh eyes, a desire begins to grow in his heart to uncover how Jesus wants his church to function today. Through all his mistakes over time, he is increasingly learning how crucial it is for everyone in the church to be involved in the mission and specifically trained for it. He gradually learns more and more—alongside many others—about the dynamics that the church of the future requires.  

God places a deep desire in his heart to see the many cultures that have come into Europe together with the 'indigenous' people in Europe forming communities that bring glory to his Name and impact their city, neighbourhood or village.

By being confronted with his weakness, sin, and shadow sides, this is Theo's guiding principle in his life and work:
‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness... In my weakness, I am strong.’