Board of Directors
Roger Wedel
Roger was raised on a horse farm in Central Kansas by Christian parents, and attended a church in which the Gospel was preached. In 1975 it was through the witness and faithful prayers of some friends that he came to see his own need of the Lord Jesus and brought him back to the faith he learned of at an early age.
Roger married his wife Susan in 1976, and they attended college together. He subsequently worked in insurance and business management for years before becoming a remodeling contractor. After moving to Denton, Texas, God changed his life’s direction and he and his wife both gave themselves to full-time Gospel ministry. Having been trained in biblical counseling, they worked together as marriage counselors, and Roger taught Bible classes in the prison, as well as in a men’s Bible-based recovery center. Roger went on to found and direct Mercy Heart of Denton, a ministry to the families of prisoners.
Roger and Susan both felt called to go back to school and in 2012 they moved to Omaha, Nebraska where together they earned degrees in Christian Ministry from Grace University. They have a passion for the growth of Christ’s Kingdom through the spread of the Gospel, particularly through the planting and building up of Gospel-centered churches. They were excited to find that Emmaus Bible Church in Omaha has this same vision, where Roger served as an elder.
Roger and Susan have been married for forty-two years. They have a tight-knit family, including four married children: Galadriel, Elrond, Arwen, and Théoden, and eighteen grandchildren. Recently, they moved to the Des Moines, Iowa area to be near ten of their grandchildren.
Susan Wedel
Susan was raised in Central Kansas by quiet, hard-working parents who taught her the value of discipline and order. In 1976 she met her husband Roger who subsequently led her to Christ. After raising four children, she worked for a financial planning firm in Lincoln Nebraska. She then worked for eleven years for Stonebriar Community Church, a 7,000 member congregation in Frisco, Texas. Susan is highly trained in administration, communication, human resources, bookkeeping, and logistics management.
During those years, she served as a marriage counselor alongside her husband, mentored women, and was the administrator of Mercy Heart of Denton, a ministry to the families of prisoners. She is by training a percussionist and also served in the church orchestra.
In 2012, while serving as the Assistant Director of Finance for Stonebriar, she and her husband felt called to continue their education, and moved from Denton, Texas to Omaha, Nebraska to attend Grace University where they earned a degree in Christian Ministry. Susan is passionate about finance and administration, and loves working in an office doing the Lord’s work, especially alongside her husband.
Susan and Roger have been married for forty-two years. They have a tight-knit family, including four married children: Galadriel, Elrond, Arwen, and Théoden, and eighteen grandchildren. Recently, they moved to the Des Moines, Iowa area to be near ten of their grandchildren.
Tom Starkjohn
Tom was raised by Christian parents in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, working and hunting on his family’s farm. He and his two younger sisters were homeschooled, where Tom grew to be self-motivated and developed a love for reading and learning, which led him to study the Bible and accept Christ as his Savior and Lord.
In 2000, he graduated from Grace University in Omaha, Nebraska with a degree in biblical studies. It was there he met and married his wife, Elaine. In 2002, he earned a graduate degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. After graduating, he planted Harvest Community Church in Winsted, Minnesota where he pastored from 2003-2014. While there, he participated in Transforming Ministries, a church-based pastoral-skills training program. He went on to develop a district ordination preparation group for the ordination process of the Evangelical Free Church of America.
From 2004-2010 Tom served as a board member of a non-profit ministry called Vernacular Video Mission, International, which has a ministry philosophy very similar to Makers and Means International. As an active board member, he learned much about board governance, supporting indigenous ministries, and the transitions of a non-profit ministry as it grows.
In 2014 Tom moved his family back to Nebraska to run his family farm, where the Lord led him to plant the Louisville Evangelical Free Church. They began public worship in January of 2016. Tom is intentionally bi-vocational, both farming and pastoring. He assists his wife, Elaine, in educating their seven children at home: Ella, Emmeline, Ezra, Elise, Eliza, Enoch, and Eden. Books, ethnic food, and exploring the outdoors are all high on his and his family’s list of favorite activities.
Advisory Team
Dave Cain
David was born in Livingston, Montana and graduated high school out of Bozeman, Montana. He then went on to serve 24 years in the Air Force as an aircraft maintainer finally retiring as a Senior Master Sergeant and Lead Production Superintendent of flightline maintenance. He spent the next five years working with electronic surveillance equipment on Air Force aircraft with L3 Communications. He is currently the Director of Operations for Grato Holdings, a manufacturing facility of homeopathic and natural herbal supplements. Dave serves as a deacon at Emmaus Bible Church. He married his lovely wife, Stephanie, in 1988 and they have 3 beautiful children.