Edwin van der Sar, goalkeeper for the Manchester United soccer team, had a “safe” pair of hands. He kept the ball from entering his team’s goal for 1,302 minutes, a world record in one season! That means that for almost 15 games of 90 minutes each, no one was able to score even one goal against his team while he was guarding the goalposts. But one goal by an opposing team in March 2009 ended his record.
From the moment Dr. De Haan founded RBC Ministries, he believed he could trust God to set the pace of growth. Though he occasionally made financial needs known in newsletters, he vowed not to let "needs" get in the way of "message" or to use proceeds to develop an elaborate superstructure. And he said that if enough support didn't come in, he'd take it as the Lord's signal to close up shop. When Richard De Haan became the leader of RBC, he accepted the principles developed by his father. To avoid overspending, he directed the ministry to "live within its means." To avoid waste, he emphasized the sacrifice each gift represents. And to make RBC accessible to all, he chose to distribute booklets without charge to anyone who requested them. Today, under the leadership of Mart De Haan, those original principles still hold true.