Marco Van Raalten, an integral part of Bitrode’s commitment to caring

Some weeks life throws too much your direction and things get too difficult. The management team at Bitrode understands what that feels like and offers the staff a confidant, Marco Van Raalten.

Marco is Missionary in Residence and Network Facilitator at St. Paul’s Evangelical Church in St. Louis. On Thursday mornings, he comes to the Bitrode factory in St. Louis and walks the floor to be there for anyone who needs to talk.

“When I started in December of 2019, I was impressed with how beautiful the community was here,” said Marco. “The company cares about each employee and makes it possible for me to be here to show them how important they are, and to help them feel good about themselves.”

He says the relationships have grown organically, and more people are comfortable talking with him about relationships, issues with raising children, finances, death, and sometimes painful things. He offers prayers and uses his 36 years of experience in ministry to help people see that they don’t have to feel isolated.

“A lot of people carry burdens alone,” says Marco. “I try to give them an opportunity to get it off their chest and be totally open and honest in a confidential setting.”

In additional to these individual conversations, Marco facilitates classes. He is currently finishing a marriage and relationship class and will be starting a creating wealth & budgeting class in the fall. A series on understanding your teenager and family life is next on the program.

“We learn so much from each other and I have seen the corporate culture grow and relationships deepen significantly over the past year,” says Marco. “The conversation in the second session of my most recent class was deeper and more personal than in the last session the first time.”

Originally from Holland, Marco, his wife Kari and their four kids have been in St. Louis since 2018. Besides supporting the team at Bitrode, he works with Evangelical Free Churches of America to accelerate government, civic and business collaboration for the spiritual and social well-being of the whole metropolitan community.

We are thankful to Marco for the time he spends at Bitrode. He is an amazing person. If you haven’t met him yet, introduce yourself to Marco next Thursday.