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Cobie Langerak With Bill Dewandeler
In my role as a senior vice president for Philips International, my job is to equip executives and top business leaders. I want to help maximize their business success and influence them and their employees toward peak performance.
I continually ask God for unique ways to blend my lifestyle and service by translating my experience and skills into something useful to Him. I have seen God honor that request in multiple ways.
When I first moved here several years ago, I began my quest by researching where God was at work in Holland.
After a few calls, I was put in contact with Hans Pruis, then Campus Crusade for Christ's national director for Holland. That led to a pre-evangelistic speaking engagement with high-school students and young adults, where I spoke on the relationship between career and spiritual life.
On another occasion, I was at a conference hosted by The Wall Street Journal -- Europe for 200 top European women leaders. Until then, I had not yet met any other Christian female executives in Europe.
So one morning at the conference, I prayed that God would cross my path with other Christian women there. That very afternoon I met Elaine Petty, an American representative of Campus Crusade. It was very touching; I had tears in my eyes when we met.
Over time, I was asked to speak on leadership to European Campus Crusade staff members at a conference in the United Kingdom. This was another answer to prayer: using my skills for spiritual things. Since then, ministry opportunities have multiplied for me.
But in the end, these opportunities have been less about my involvement in ministry and more about God using them as a catalyst for my own growth. I am always amazed at how He honors my "needle in a haystack" requests to meet other Christian leaders.
Additionally, I am grateful for all the lovely people I've met; I have learned to care about them, and they care about me in a way that builds community.
And most of all, God has enriched my understanding of His Word through preparing and providing these initiatives. I walk out of each experience profoundly changed and blessed -- genuinely joyful. God uses my leadership experience to work for eternity.
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URL: http://www.ccci.org/ministries/executives/senior-vice-president-holland.aspx