Transcription:

00:10

Emily: Welcome to the 4:18 Podcast. God is moving through partners, pastors, and entrepreneurs in African countries. This podcast shares the untold stories of what God is doing through the ministry of Possibilities Africa and testifies to the power of Jesus as described in Luke 4:18, which reads, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” 

I’m Emily, and today, it is my great joy to sit down for a conversation in Lincoln, Nebraska with Tom Rempel, who is a beloved friend and supporter of Possibilities Africa. Tom, welcome to the show. 

Tom: Thank you, honored to be here, Emily.

Emily: Yeah, we’re so glad to have you. So some of our listeners probably know you pretty well and others have yet to have the gift of knowing you. So would you start by introducing yourself?

01:06

Tom: Well, I’m Nebraska born and raised and a pastor for the last 50 years in four different churches. But today I’m a coach to young pastors. I get to pastor pastors and let them do the initiation and execution of ministry plans. And I’m their cheerleader. So that’s my current role. 

Emily: I’m sure that’s pretty full circle to be in that position in this phase of your life. 

Tom: It’s a lot of fun. Yeah, it’s the best season of my life so far. 

Emily: Yeah, that’s awesome. Gosh, that’s so fun. So thinking about Possibilities Africa, I’d like to go back to your first days encountering the ministry. So how did you first become introduced to Possibilities Africa? 

Tom: Well, a couple of my friends were on the board of directors, and Martin was traveling through, and I was invited out to meet him for coffee at Scooters. And in that conversation, he kind of shared his vision and heart and a little bit of the journey. But when I left that, I thought, that’s an incredible sacrifice he’s making because he’s clearly gifted as a leader. And my first thought after meeting him was, he could be making six figures at any corporation in America, and yet he chose to go home.

02:23

And that kind of a call and commitment was definitely so that was our initial. We stayed in touch each time he came here. But the next time he came, I had him take the pulpit at Faith Bible Church so that the rest of the congregation could be introduced to him. And our church became an active supporter of the ministry at that point. 

Emily: That’s awesome. When you think about the first time you met Martin, do you remember your first impression of him?

02:49

Tom: For somebody that was having that kind of impact, I was anticipating a little bit more aggressive driver, and he was such a quiet and gentle soul. So that was a little bit of a surprise and disarming, but he was extremely, what do I always put it… likable. His heart was evident and he was humble. That was probably the word you’d kind of leave with for somebody that was having that kind of an impact to carry that kind of a humility. And it wasn’t faked. It was real. That was my impression. 

Emily: Yeah, that’s so powerful. I remember the first time I heard an interview with Martin, the interviewer made the connection that Martin’s story is a powerful story of the pain of his life becoming his life purpose and growing up in poverty and now he’s in a position where he’s addressing multi-dimensional poverty in multiple countries in Africa. And the host of this show said that that’s often the story of many of our lives. So I’m curious for you, Tom, if anything comes to mind with this question, but how is the story of your own life woven into the story of what God’s doing through Possibilities Africa?

04:10

Tom: I’m third third-generation believer and minister. My grandparents and my parents lived sacrificially to bring the gospel to other people. And my aunt and uncle were missionaries in Cuba and were sent out of the country when Castro took over, gave them 24 hours to get out or go to prison. So a little of that… The family’s history was one of living in meager circumstances in order to minister to others. So that idea of sacrifice and all what I see Martin has done was kind of typical to the exposure I had all the time I was growing up. My life was–I’ve not had to compromise or sacrifice that much.

04:59

But to be around somebody that did, I understood that. My grandparents were American missionaries for the Sandhills in Nebraska for 25 years, and then left that ministry, went to Wisconsin, and established a mission to Indian reservations in the North primarily because those people had desperate need and no hope. And so my grandparents spent 15 years focusing on that and handed that ministry off to one of my uncles who continued it for another season. It still goes today but it was it was going to those who desperately needed hope and bringing it in and so Martin’s done the same. 

Emily: Yeah that’s so powerful. Man. What words come to mind when you think of this ministry? 

Tom: The holistic aspect of it. It breeds a sense of hope and that you’re not locked in your current situation of despair. I would say when I was there, I was like, these people don’t know any difference. I mean, I love Martin’s story when he used to tell me about when he went to elementary school that his mother sacrificed to get him there. And he thought, wow, the world is really big. And then he got to go to secondary school and his world got bigger.

06:20

And then he got to go to college in Nairobi. And it was like, wow, the world’s really big. And then his church challenged him to go to America, to a Bible college, and he had no idea what Chicago or America was, you know, that kind of expanding worldview. So when I’m there, I’m thinking, this is the only world they know, and they’re not gonna come to our world to learn these things.

06:47

And so Martin in grace and sacrificially has brought those messages of hope and the life lessons necessary for them to move beyond where they are. He’s brought it to them rather than have to leave like he did to learn it here. He’s able to take what he’s learned here and bring it back to his own people. 

Emily: Yeah. Gosh, that’s so good. So, so cool. When we talk about the despair that is happening there, there are four dimensions of poverty that Possibilities Africa talks about. So that includes spiritual, mental, material, and environmental. Spiritual poverty in these countries, especially in rural areas, stems from the lack of access to theological training for pastors, which has a domino effect on the church members. And church members often cannot tithe, leaving many pastors without the ability to live off of what they would do to make a living as a pastor. When you go to mental poverty, people are not only unable to live the life they desire, but they can’t imagine a life outside of poverty. So it’s this mental stuckness. Material poverty is the inability to afford basic needs like clothing, food, housing, healthcare; and then environmental poverty is the lack of a healthy environment for basic survival and development. So in light of this information and kind of what you just shared, how is the person of Jesus the answer to every dimension of poverty?

08:20

Tom: Well, the first thing that a relationship with Jesus does is it gives you hope that goes beyond where you are. I mean, it’s an eternal hope that makes some sense of the current struggles and disappointment. Mentally, it gives a renewing of the mind so that the indwelling Spirit helps us to see life and what its value and what its purpose is, and even why we’re here. I think in the material area, it creates a spirit because God gave his own son, he was rich, became poor. It motivates people to a level of gracious generosity that what they have, they want to share with others. But it also, in their…

09:13

…in their culture as well as in ours, you know, Ecclesiastes, you know, it says, what you do, do with all your heart. And so it gives a sense of motivation for the labor of the day, as difficult as it is in that. So, it starts with a transformed heart, which flows outward then into a transformation of all aspects of life. So home life, you know, family commitment, values.

09:42

Rather than children just being one more helping hand on the farm, they actually become eternal souls into which we invest ourselves and molding and shaping. So I think it radically changes everything about them, but it has to start there. 

Emily: Yeah, that’s so good. Have you read the book called When Helping Hurts? 

Tom: Yeah

Emily: And it talks about how everything is based on these relationships with God, with self, and with others, and I think what you shared about Jesus at the beginning is so powerful in that. 

10:10

Tom: Yeah, so being in their churches, you know, we’re so worried about, you know, the benches that people sit on and how many bucks are they going to throw in the bucket? And you know, do I like the music today? And did the service go too long? It was amazing. I mean, they came, they have nothing and they were filled with joy. There was a great sense of purpose and meaning. And they just sang and danced with all their heart.

10:40

And the service went on and on and on till we had to dismiss ourselves to go to our next appointment. And they were going to stay because in that fellowship with the saints, they found the encouragement they needed to get through the rest of the week. And that was so different than here. It’s pretty much like you go three minutes over here and people are looking at their watches and probably getting up and pretending they’re going out to the bathroom or something so they can leave. It’s not like that there. They embrace their relationship with the Lord and therefore, with other believers at a whole different level. Our first gathering was the tree church, you know, just sitting out under it. Everybody brought their own plastic chair to sit on and we did church and it was one–that was their church gathering and it was delightful. The other one was a sheet metal building that was just hotter than blazes and nobody seemed to notice, you know? So that’s, it’s… because their hearts have been changed, they assessed their circumstances differently. 

Emily: Yeah, that’s so powerful. Did they have instruments, just using their voices and singing and worship? What was it like? 

Tom: Well, the one place had electricity, so they had a keyboard. The tree church, they just somebody had a drum set, and so they just sang acappella and somebody beat out a rhythm on that.

12:03

I don’t remember anybody using a guitar in either of the services I was in. Yeah, just very simple. They used what they had, but mostly they used their voices and their hands. So they were very demonstrative in their worship, which was always fun. It’s totally uninhibited. 

Emily: Yeah. There’s a verse I’ve been clinging to recently, and it talks about how God can’t be contained by the heavens or the earth. And it’s just so cool thinking about… the power of the Holy Spirit in these people, in these places, and not being contained, and that God can’t be put in a box of what it looks like to worship Him. 

Tom: The other thing that, when we gathered, that stayed with me is often you would see three and four-year-old children with infants on their back. And it’s not because the parents don’t care. It is because it took both parents working in order to provide food just for the day.

13:02

And so we’re at tree church, and they had taken their hard-earned money and purchased soda or pop for us, and went around and gave it to us. We were like, you know, we should buy it for them, but because the Lord had transformed their hearts, they were a generous people and a great sacrifice to order–to encourage us. That was really a kind of mind-blowing gathering, that they would do that.

13:31

And when you took it, they were so delighted that you would actually receive a gift from them. It was like, wow. Only a changed heart can do that to somebody. 

Emily: Yeah. And so generous. The culture is so hospitable. That’s amazing. Would you share the story you shared before we hit record? I think that summarizes the question of “How is Jesus the answer to everything?” really well about the woman that you visited with four children. 

Tom: Yeah. We went in and it was an unusual mud hut with a sheet metal roof. She had three goats in the front yard, which is quite unusual, usually, they had one. And then when they would have an infant, they would sell it off for income. So she had three, four children. She was a widow. And they had gotten some benches and that so that we could actually sit inside. And so there was a curtain, so she had the sleeping side of the room, and then she had the living side.

14:29

And there were chickens continued to make their way in and out and through as we met and as we gathered. And so they shared their story and we sang and all. And then I looked to my left and there was a crude poster on the wall that basically the theme of the poster was–and it had like a mansion and a sports car kind of picture on it. But the words on it, when you have Jesus, you have everything you need.

14:58

And I was just like, it was such a contrast because I was thinking these people have so many needs, but her testimony when she had Jesus, that’s good enough. And that was day one of my experience in Kenya. So that kind of set the tone for everything else we were going to see. 

Emily: Yeah, that’s so powerful. Gosh, that’s wild. 

Tom: Yeah, I’m not nearly that content. 

Emily: Yeah, yeah, that’s really challenging. So you’ve had a lot of exposure to churches, pastors, ministries, what makes this one unique?

15:36

Tom: First of all, this ministry is unique because it is, as we say, a native and indigenous-led ministry that is dependent upon reproducing leadership among his own people, as opposed to… Well, we’ll send…

15:54

…Americans or Europeans over and will send lots of money over and will try to get to know the culture and will try to adapt to their language and on some day they’ll trust us enough to accept the Gospel. But this one’s unique in that a man who came here by God’s grace was provided an opportunity to be educated here, got two master’s degrees, has demonstrated leadership skills, abilities, and gifting that would make him a multi-six figure income executive here.

16:23

And he put it all aside to go there. And he’s built a team of people that are uniquely gifted to him there to compliment his strengths and weaknesses. And so as a team, they do ministry. And he’s not only content to minister within the boundaries of his own nation, Kenya, but he’s now expanding to one nation after the other.

16:48

And so that kind of movement of the spirit, making certain that the Gospel is clear, making certain that biblical principles are being applied, but making certain that people know how it is that the church is the heart of the village. It’s the place where hope is received, but the church gives of itself in order to minister to those around. And so it’s an unusual…it’s kind of…

17:15

…what I have been exposed to seeing that God is doing in jaw-dropping ways around the world today. So the whole paradigm of missions has changed, but Martin and Possibilities Africa was on the front edge of that, and they are demonstrating that that is how God is working, and He’s doing it in a marvelous way. Yeah.

17:34

Emily: That’s so powerful. Yeah, gosh, that’s so good. Well, Tom, this has been a pleasure. And my last question for you is to ask if you would so kindly close us in prayer and just lead us in prayer for a moment for our brothers and sisters in Africa. 

Tom: Wow, yes, Lord. I thank you so much for years ago introducing me to Martin and I had a chance to hear his heart and to see how you have continued to provide and bless them. I’m also acutely aware of the challenges, of the danger in fact, of the posture that they are taking in order to…

18:12

…make your name more famous in their nation. So I’d pray for them that you would give them, number one, give them protection, give them courage, give them grace to face the challenges of the day, and that you would continue to throw open before them doors of opportunity so their ministry could continue to grow and to flourish, that you would continue to add to their team those players that are essential to make this ministry more and more impactful and effective. But it would be easy with…

18:44

…Martin’s abilities and talents and the talents of his team to forget that it is you and you alone that is accomplishing this great thing. So continue to remind them that it is the Spirit that gives life and that the flesh accomplishes nothing so that they become and continue to be radically dependent on you. You have proven yourself to be faithful in their past. We’re asking you to continue to prove yourself faithful in the days ahead. We pray in Jesus.’ name. Amen. 

19:12

Emily: Amen. Thanks, Tom. 

Tom: Thank you.

19:17

Emily: Thank you so much for listening. Be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend so we can grow this podcast and share this good news. Thank you for being here! We appreciate your partnership in prayer and in giving. If you’re interested in partnering financially, be sure to head to usa.possibilitiesafrica.org and hit the donate button. Thank you so much for being here. God bless you.