When I left my last church as pastor to enter another form of ministry, whoever thought there was a little boy somewhere … probably in the first grade … who would graduate from a high school (McClure North in North St. Louis County) within a mile of the location of the church I last served! Who would then graduate from a high tech university in Rolla, Mo, meet his wife Carla there … and, with Carla, would now be effective missionaries in Mozambique, Africa!
But that is the summary story of Jon and Carla Reinagel.
In this brief radio conversation, they discuss their romantic and – humanly speaking – very unlikely meeting on the state school campus! And, of course, ministry aims and purposes in their work.
Also a delightful addition in our St. Louis Bott Radio recording studios is “Barnado.” A native of Mozambique, he is a member of the Equip Mozambique ministry board who speaks five languages and serves as administrator of the ministry.
In their ministry in Mozambique, they discuss a major feature of their work there … preparing and maintaining a website that pastors and other Christians there have never had – so commonly available in the USA and elsewhere – study and discipleship resources to strengthen the believers and take them deeper into the word of God!
From their website, www.equipmoz.org, they summarize their mission:
“Breaking the Cycle of Poverty through Discovery, Partnership, and Empowerment of godly Mozambican leaders”
And…
“One tool we discovered for discipleship and evangelism is already widely prevalent—cell phones. We created a website specifically coded for mobile devices that offers free downloads of audio Bibles, sermons, and discipleship materials in the local languages. Because Mozambique’s communicative culture is far more oral than written, audio resources offer a much more effective means of disseminating information than written communication. Many other ministries have started advertising the site to the people they work with, taking advantage of the free resources to help the Mozambicans grow in their Christian faith.”
A radio conversation on www.haroldhendrick.com with Ryan Wagner of “Cru” and Dr. Solomon Kendagor, native of Kenya, hopefully will be additionally helpful. Together they provide a radio “tutorial” – available for anytime listening, on how to place the “Jesus Film” (www.jesusfilm.org) on cell phones, with the option of choosing from more than 1,200 languages!
A vital part of Jon Reinagel’s heritage and enriching background is his parents, Karl and Carla Reinagel. Karl ministers as both a pastor and worker in Child Evangelism Fellowship (www.cefonline.com). Mom Carla is strategic in many ways, including that of being a very sweet spirited “prayer warrior!”
(Many “CEF” radio segments can be found on www.haroldhendrick.com.)