The Bemenderfers

  • Serving beneath the Cross

    Serving beneath the Cross

    Still "reaping and training reapers" wherever the Lord takes us

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  • Tim on Guitar

    Tim on Guitar

    July of 2023, just before Tim left for the Dominican Republic.  He's also great on the piano!

  • George on Drums

    George on Drums

    George, with a fan. He's also become quite the guitar player, taking over leading worship once Tim left.

Our Mission

To develop leaders in ministry (missionary or church, national or international) through foundational discipleship tools and sound Biblical teaching

With our years of experience in evangelism, discipleship, teaching and training, we plan to spend significant periods of time (1 to 3 months—or more!) with the many contacts we have made across the globe. We offer discipleship training both to enhance the ministry of those pastors, missionaries and students we have met, and to build into the lives of those they are serving. We have opportunities to serve as campus pastor at Christian schools and invitations to provide staff- and pastor-development training. We also have a burden to encourage the Church in the US and abroad to get more missional in life and purpose. We want to serve wherever there is both need and hunger—and an open door!

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Mark's Testimony

A little about us

After 27 years serving the Lord in east Asia, we moved to the Dominican Republic to help disciple disciplers of teens in crisis. That door closed, so we returned to Iowa.  We now serve Lafayette Salem Evangelical Church, a small rural church north of Cedar Rapids, and the Hawkeye Chapter of Child Evangelism Fellowship.

Over the years, our ministry has focused on evangelism, establishing new believers, and discipling them as leaders in ministry.  It has expanded to preaching and pastoring.  We have always been about "reaping and training reapers."  We desire to serve a broader base, offering further training to friends and contacts in all parts of the world, including Europe, East Asia, South Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.

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Rachel's Testimony

Featured Posts

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Jesus is King
People sometimes ask, “What does it mean to ‘believe’?” And that is a very good question. So often we think it is just…
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Bosnian Excursion
Two of our Chinese "daughters" are now working at an international school for Chinese students in Bosnia, of all places!…
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Valentine's Greetings 2025
Long time, no word! Rachel gives a run down on what's been happening in our family in 2024.

Random Posts

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Sound Doctrine on Display
Elders had two tasks: encourage the believers by sound doctrine and refute those who opposed sound doctrine (Titus…
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March 17, 2024
Passage Read: Nehemiah 12 - Esther 2 Meditation Verses: Nehemiah 13:10-12 Thought There is a natural bent in people…
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February 8, 2024
Passage Read: 2 Samuel 22 - 1 Kings 1 Meditation Verses: 2 Samuel 22:17-20 Thought It's interesting how David sees…

Latest Personal Devotions

 

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April 25, 2025
Passage Read: Psalm 75-78 Meditation Verses: 78:34-38 Thought "Whenever God slew them, they would seek Him." That alone is a sad statement. After all the power He had shown on their behalf, not against them, after all the good He did for them, they didn't really seek Him. It was when He killed some among them that they would fear and seek Him, but even then, not in truth. They would perform some of His assigned duties, but they didn't really honor Him. They told Him what He wanted to hear, but they had no love for Him, no loyalty.
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April 24, 2025
Passage Read: Psalm 71-74 Meditation Verses: 73:16-17 Thought It is so easy to be distracted and deceived by the prosperity and comfort of the wicked. When all I do is look at men, it is clear that to be wicked and live for my own pleasure is profitable, possible and desirable. If this is all there is, then why not? There would be no eternal judgment, so anything you can get away with among men, go for it! Why bother with righteousness or restraint?
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April 23, 2025
Passage Read: Psalm 67-70 Meditation Verses: 68:21-23 Thought This is brutal! The psalm begins with a cry to the Lord to destroy all His enemies, so that the righteous may rejoice and be glad. Then it comes to this point, where God is promising not just to kill all His enemies, all those who refuse to repent, but to bring them up from their graves and lay them at the feet of the righteous, so that the righteous can bathe their feet in the blood of their enemies--and the dogs of the righteous lick up the blood of the wicked!
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April 22, 2025
Passage Read: Psalm 63-66 Meditation Verses: 66:10-13 Thought It is God who tests us or allows us to be tested. He is responsible. He doesn't deny that in Job's case. He won't deny that in my case either. He designs the tests and whether He executes them Himself or through another, He watches for the results. He has His plans to bless those who prove faithful and righteous, or to rebuke those who prove faithless.
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April 21, 2025
Passage Read: Psalm 59-62 Meditation Verses: 62:9-12 Thought Men are nothing. They're just men! There is no difference between noble and common, between highborn and lowborn, they're all just men. The poor should not be ignored and the rich should not be idolized. Though the latter have much power over the lives of the former, they are still just men. Knowing God should put all men into perspective. More than that, since what sets them apart is money, wealth, riches, these things are easily idolized, especially in a society where fortunes can change and raise a man's status from low to high.

Latest Messages

 

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Jesus is King
Apr 13, 2025, 10:30 AM
People sometimes ask, “What does it mean to ‘believe’?” And that is a very good question. So often we think it is just this internal thing, a heart thing, a mind thing. And it certainly includes that. True belief comes in through the ears or eyes, is processed in the mind, then settles in the heart. From there it flows outward, changing the true believer from the inside out. False belief stays in the head and never really reaches the heart, so nothing changes. There are many illustrations of true belief, and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem—what we remember on Palm Sunday—provides a powerful one. But like every illustration, the real meaning can be missed or abused. From Luke 19:37-44 and 11-27.
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Share
Apr 6, 2025, 10:30 AM
Sharing. Do you know how hard a lesson that is for us to get? We watch our kids—without training from us—naturally battle and fight for the things they want. It starts so young! And when we get older, we’re supposed to have mastered the art of sharing. But have we? Have we learned to share as God desires us to share? Let’s see what God has to say to us through Paul today. From Ephesians 4:28.
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A Lesson in Anger
Mar 30, 2025, 10:30 AM
Last week we talked about the importance of being honest, transparent, and speaking even painful truths to those around us. Yet do so out of love and humility, for our own benefit and for the benefit of those with whom we speak. Paul’s next command is not necessarily directly related, though really all these commands are connected. They are all expressions of love for one another and for Jesus Christ. Today we’re going to learn about anger, both as an aid to honesty and as a danger to ourselves and others. From Ephesians 4:26-27.