TRANSCRIPT

NATHAN JONES

I was privileged to spend time this month with Romeo Yemeli Nkongnou in Cameroon, Africa to hear how he is stewarding an opportunity to raise up and train local missionaries for work in their own country. He has some incredible thoughts to share about stewardship and I know you will be encouraged to hear them.

My name is Nathan Jones and it is my privilege to serve as your host on today's episode of the Inspiring Stewards podcast. 

Romeo, thank you for your time this morning. Give us a little bit of your background, where you're from.

ROMEO NKONGNOU

I’m from Cameroon, Central Africa, in the Western region of Cameroon in a place called Nso. I was born in Western region. I did my primary studies in the Littoral region and I went my second year schools in the Southwest region of Cameroon, the higher education university in the Central region, so where I literally based now.

NATHAN

Wonderful. Give us an overview. How did you come to know Jesus Christ and what impact did that then have on your life?

ROMEO

I would say, it happened in two folds. I came to know Jesus Christ in 2008, but I began a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in 2010. It means after I went to a conference in the university and I was invited by a friend.

I witnessed young people speaking about their walk with Jesus Christ. It was so concrete. It was beyond church activities and it was so real. So, I came to realize, “Wow, I was missing out something!” You know, going to church in those days, but still having maybe girlfriends and party and stuff like that.

So, in this encounter puts me to rededicate myself to Christ and that was the beginning of everything. It changed my whole perspective. It gave another direction to my destiny and it was after that, the passion or the desire to become a missionary arose. And years later, I will respond to the call to serve as a missionary.

NATHAN

Wonderful. Yes, sometimes that happens where it is in two different parts and it's fun to see how Jesus breaks through into the deeper parts of our life. So, thank you for sharing.

Let's jump ahead to today. Tell us about the kind of ministry and work that the Lord has you in.

ROMEO

I work like in church planting, church consolidation. You know, after my experience with Christ, I came to realize that the word “missionary” was a bit confused in our mindset as Africans. What does it mean? And what is all about?

So, I do church planting and also help churches and denominations build tools that are response to the people they aim to reach, that also by planting training schools for churches and especially with a focus on youth. So, I do church planting, church growth, and then theological education.

NATHAN

What are some of the things that you help missionaries understand about doing work in that particular culture?

ROMEO

The part I really focus on is denominational missionaries like the missionaries who work within a denomination. Because in Africa, most often, we have missionaries who belong to organizations. And in one city, they may work with different churches making the work not really fruitful.

But when one is raised within a church and with the passion for missionary work, he is able to focus on that particular place. So, we help the people understand that a missionary is not always a white man from a white country coming with the white message to reach the black people.

A missionary is everybody, especially in our context. God can raise a missionary within His people as He said to Paul, “I am sending you back to the people from which I took you from.” So, that's the pattern of it.

So, we pray for God to raise somebody within a particular church or denomination and work with this particular person to be able to detect the needs of people around, and then build tools, and then help this church be able to have and raise their support within them and to do this missionary work. That is where GTP is so so a blessing to me and also to the work I do.

NATHAN

Wow! Praise the Lord. So, this, Romeo, being called the Inspiring Stewards podcast, how does the concept of stewardship and the principle of stewardship inform and lead you today?

ROMEO

Wow, Nathan, do you realize that it goes beyond just money? It touches talent, family, ministry. You know, we used to think that the church is ours. We used to think that we own things, but with this stewardship knowledge, we realize that we are just stewards of our time, of the resources, of the gifts, of the talents. 

So, it shapes everything and it brings to mind the consciousness of the habit of accountability. Knowing that the time I have is not mine, the gifts are not mine, the money not mine, even the family not mine, the sheep not mine, changes everything.

So, the concept of stewardship informs my life and ministry a huge way today. And it has shaped many of my actions now ever since I came across this concept and across GTP with this. You know, in GTP, there is this generosity, Journey of Empowerment, and this generosity is key.

NATHAN

So, this is great. Help us understand, Romeo, how do you steward time? So, like you said a lot of times we associate stewardship with money. But you mentioned there are lots of other things that we can be stewards of. So, give us examples of how do we steward our time.

ROMEO

You know, there is this training with GTP, The Choice. The Choice has helped me a lot to work onto that. Because you take a discernment retreat, there, you are able to plan. You are able to come out with a clear part of which portion of your time will be allocated where and how. And after that retreat, you have a long view of what the days ahead looks like.

So, for me this – The Choice – is a training everyone needs to take to really be able to steward your time and also to know where to give your time and where not to.

So, I used that the tool of the discernment retreat to be able to well manage my time, do the stewardship of my time

NATHAN

That’s great. Thank you for sharing, Romeo. So, as you look around your part of the world, how do you see God at work whether it's in your part of the world or even beyond that? How are you seeing God at work in the world today?

ROMEO

Wow. Thanks, Nathan. He is working in the right way. It may be a bit different from how it was in the old decades. You know, of recent when people thought of serving God, it was just like serving God going maybe to a seminary or theological school.

Now, but today what I do and what I see is taking people's profession and then, put it at work in the church, like an accountant, using his accountability skills to be able to help spread the gospel. 

You know, it's very important in my context where sometimes, you will see pastors, they got married and then, their wives at times will become a reverend. You know, it's as if because someone got married to a pastor and this one automatically become one. Or she has maybe a background. For instance, my wife is a nurse. She uses her nurse's skills to be able to spread the gospel.

So, I'm seeing God using our professions, no matter the domain and area for the advancement of the gospel. And I think it's a way that God is working locally and in the world now. Because when we look even at Gary (Hoag), God is using all of him to advance.

And I also see in GTP, Prakash. Prakash, that God is using in this domain of curriculum development to be able to take a book and put it to a course, you see! So, today God is using all of our competencies, all of every field to be able to advance His call.

So, it's not just about theology alone. But accounting, the medicines, the law – God uses all of those things to advance His call. And I think if we all have this global vision we will best achieve and advance the calls of Christ in our time and in our generation.

NATHAN

That's beautiful. So, Romeo, as we're wrapping up our time, there's lots that you've shared, but what are the thoughts you would want to leave our listeners with today?

ROMEO

I would say, GTP has been a blessing to me and I wish everyone listening to this podcast may just go in out of curiosity. It has changed my life. You know, When Money Goes on Mission, it has been a great and a powerful tool for me.

I just want to say we are stewards of everything, but to know that we need to be informed. We also need to be trained to be able to have the knowledge and the right tools as we embark on our stewardship journey.

NATHAN

Wonderful. Romeo, thank you so much. Thank you for your time this morning.

ROMEO

Thank you, Nathan. Thank you so much.