Death of Pastor Marc Cools (1942-2025)

Pastor Marc Cools passed away on January 29 at the age of 82 after a long illness.

Paul Junker, one of his close friends and a former elder of the Mersch church, recounts his journey:

Marc was born during the war and grew up in an Adventist family in Antwerp. His mother regularly told him Bible stories. After primary school, Marc studied accounting. His father, who was self-employed, hoped that his two sons would join his business.

On June 21, 1958, he was baptized by Pastor De Ligne. Marc loved listening to the stories told by Adventist missionaries, which likely sparked his desire to become a missionary himself. Before leaving for the seminary, he found a job in Germany in 1960 with a friend of his father, a devoted Adventist. There, he had the chance to meet a young blonde woman, Adelheid, a nursing student, who would become his wife five years later.

His desire to become a missionary led Marc to study theology at the Oud Zandbergen seminary in the Netherlands and later at Newbold. One of his fellow students from the USA convinced Marc to continue his studies at Southern Adventist College in Tennessee.

Adelheid followed him to the United States, where she worked near the college. After earning his degree, Marc had several job opportunities, but he did not wish to stay in the USA. He wrote to Georges Vandenvelde, then president of the Belgian Federation. Receiving no response, he contacted the General Conference to see if a missionary couple would be welcome. Two weeks later, the decision was made to go to Cameroon.

It was in this country that Marc and Adelheid welcomed their two children, Heidi and Ben.

Since Marc had requested to return to Europe, he was called by the Belgian-Luxembourg Federation to settle in another missionary field: the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. On April 4, 1971, he organized the group. For several months, he pursued his work in this country with determination.

In 1973, he left for Africa again. But seven years later, Marc requested to return to Europe to provide a better education for his children. He was once again assigned to Luxembourg.

On October 12, 1980, Marc conducted his first “Five-Day Plan” and specialized in this field. Over the years, around 5,600 people attended these sessions, and 68% of them quit smoking.

In evangelism, Marc held many conferences. He was also driven by the idea that Luxembourg should have its own chapel. On May 11, 1985, he was finally able to attend the inauguration of the building.

But Africa continued to call him, and in mid-1989, Marc received an invitation to Bangui. For health reasons, his wife had to return to Europe, and Marc remained alone in Africa. Later, he too returned permanently.

In July 2013, following the resignation of the local pastor, Marc resumed service while waiting for a new pastor to be appointed for the churches of Mersch and Esch. After his retirement, he continued to preach the gospel.

Despite his illness, he remained optimistic about the future and relied on the hope of eternal life that the Gospel offers us.

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