Ordering Guide
Introducing Some of Our Friends
Newly available on CD or tape: Outstanding messages by friends who have especially blessed us over the years, brought to you with their permission. Get acquainted by ordering from the Selected Speakers or Especially for Women sections of our Expanded Catalog: Meet Our Friends

To order a CD, cassette tape and/or printed transcript, 1) Enter your mailing address, email, and daytime phone number.  2) Click on one or more of the check-boxes next to each message denoting the media: CD,tape and/or transcripts. Once you have completed selecting the message(s), click on the order button.

Please enter your mailing address exactly as it needs to appear on the mailing envelope. 

 Name:
Address:
City, State, Zip:
Country:
Country Number:
Email: 
 

Provide a daytime phone number in case there is a question regarding your order. Include your area code and country code if applicable.
 

To submit your order, press this button:

Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery. We reserve the right to limit quantities.
  Selected Speakers
Dr. Lowe Alberts
This South African dignitary could lay claim to fame in many arenas, yet his humility was his most apparent characteristic. Friend of Albert Einstein; Secretary of Energy, Republic of South Africa; President, Youth for Christ all of Southern Africa – all positions he held were grounds for pride. Yet Russell's great respect for him was based on two unlikely events. First of all, he came to teach Russell's class before he'd ever met him – not to a large church, but to an adult Bible class. Secondly, he and his wife later entertained l7 guests including the Kelfers and their friends in their small apartment in Capetown. His wife cooked and served all native African dishes from Springbok and yellow rice to Bobotie, and he and his dear wife ended the afternoon by washing all the dishes by hand, refusing all offers of help.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Science and the Bible
Jim Barker
A quiet man of few words but a close walk with the Lord, Jim was one of those whom Russell had the utmost confidence in to teach the Koinonia Classes on Sundays when he was away. They also worked closely on church matters, each developing a keen interest in oversight of the counseling ministry.

Jim was a pro-golfer for several years. He was also an extremely faithful friend, and Russell was excited when Jim began to teach regularly an adult class of his own. Hard life experiences met with complete trust in His Lord have made Him an unassuming and extremely wise counselor. We are honored to include him in our "list of friends!"
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a The New Commandment
Bill Busshaus
Through connecting while teaching at the Torchbearer Bible School in Comfort, Texas, Bill and Russell became good friends. In addition to recognizing in Bill an exceptional grasp of the Word, Russell came to appreciate the amazing contentment with his difficult life circumstances that emanated effortlessly from this man in a wheel chair.

As an 18 year old football player who had plans to attend the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, Bill stopped beside the road to change a flat tire for a stranger. It was then he was struck by a car and lost the use of his legs. One day over lunch he remarked to Russell that it had recently come to him in the shower that this circumstance in his life was not merely okay, it was good.

He and his wife, Ellen, have been foster parents to a rainbow of troubled children and have also adopted. In recent years they have been involved in assisting families with foreign adoptions.

This workshop from 1992 brings light to a question perplexing to many who suffer what appear to be tragic circumstances in their lives: Where's God in all this?
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a A Grain of Wheat
  n/a Prayer, Obedience & the Headship of Christ
  n/a The God Who Is Deaf, Dumb and Blind, Pt 1&2
Rander Draper
The radio broadcast of "Into His Likeness" first brought Russell and Pastor Rander Draper together. Through listening regularly to the program, Pastor Draper decided to invite Russell to be the featured speaker for a Harvest Banquet planned for his relatively new and thriving Maranatha Church. Although the two men had never previously met, it was the beginning of a treasured friendship and co-laboring relationship.

Through a Ugandan student at the Torchbearer Bible School in Comfort, Texas, both Maranatha and Discipleship Tape Ministries became involved in ministry in Africa. For Maranatha, the involvement focused on the establishment of a Christian school as well as the creation of a sponsorship program for needy children, enabling them to attend the school and to have food, uniforms, and medical treatment. For DTM it took the form of assisting with the Resource Center where today Russell's lessons are distributed in several African languages as well as English. "Into His Likeness" is also heard on three area radio stations in both English and Luganda, and Rander's messages are available to the students at a new bible institute.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a How to Have Victory Over Depression
  n/a Living On the Edge
  n/a Running the Race with Endurance
  n/a Spending Time With the Lord
  n/a The Glorious Resurrection
W.E. 'Billy' Graham
The nickname "Billy" is perfectly suited to this blind, wheelchair bound Graham whose passion in life has always been evangelism. No "handicap" has ever slowed him down.

As a younger man who was a traveling musician and then a traveling evangelist, his wife, Kathy, was his designated driver as well as his greatest cheerleader. When Kathy was dying in her early thirties of a brain tumor, Billy reversed their roles and became her caregiver. When she was gone, the Fort Worth native moved to Arizona to become an interim pastor where he met the church secretary who years later was to become his second wife after her husband died. Billy had been called as the pastor of evangelism in a large church in Alabama, and he still teaches and trains trainers for Evangelism Explosion, takes door-to-door teams out every week, travels on mission trips, and preaches when needed.

The nickname "Billy" is perfectly suited to this blind, wheelchair bound Graham whose passion in life has always been evangelism. No "handicap" has ever slowed him down.Billy's recent wife, Teresa, has, through her daughter, given Billy the joy of having a little granddaughter. Never one to say "I can't," he has moved on from scuba diving to horse back riding.

And Billy, who was like a son to Russell, preached his "dad's" graveside service for the Kelfer family.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Conquering Loneliness
  n/a Helping the Handicapped
  n/a My Personal Pilgrimage
  n/a The Transformed Life
Don Guthrie
Don Guthrie never knew Russell, but Russell knew Don Guthrie and followed with great interest God's working through him as senior pastor at First Baptist Church, San Antonio, Texas. On the rare Sundays that Russell was not teaching his classes, he would be found in front of the TV at 11:00 a.m. absorbing the message from First Baptist.

As happens many times, Don Guthrie came into a less than perfect church situation when he knew that God was calling him there. God brings along His man to lead in healing and nourishing a flock in pain. It was of special interest to the Kelfers to observe the progress, for that was the church where Russell was baptized when he found the Lord as a college student, and that's where he and Martha were married. We rejoice that we have received permission to share with you the messages from a much admired man of God.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a A Powerful Peace
  n/a Growth Pain
  n/a Powers of Prayer
  n/a Samson's Song
  n/a Surviving the Storm
  n/a The 4th Cross
  n/a Two Natures…Two Laws
  n/a Unashamed
  n/a What Kind of World? What Kind of Man?
Don Hollis (1933-1991)
Don's testimony is one of the most gentle but clear you will ever hear for directing others to Christ. Shot down over Viet Nam, this husband and father of two has much wisdom to share honestly about the struggles life poses. Don retired from the Air Force as a colonel, and he and his wife Nancy became teaching leaders for Bible Study Fellowship's Young Adult age group. He and Russell served together on the Elder Board of Wayside Chapel in San Antonio. As chairman of the Elders he led the church through great growth and was one of Russell's most highly respected friends.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Personal Testimony
Peter Kasirivu
If anyone could speak from experience to the subject listed below, it would be Peter. He first came into the lives of the Kelfers because he was Gerald Sseruwagi's pastor and intimate friend in Uganda (see Gerald's story this section). As the connection developed, Discipleship Tape Ministries was instrumental in developing a Resource Center on the outskirts of Kampala, similar to a free lending library. Designed for the public but especially for pastors and students with little or no access to Christian literature or study helps, the workers there still carefully dispense some free tapes, as many transcripts as they can keep printed or we can supply them, and translate Russell's messages into local African dialects, such as Swahili, that are useful in other African countries. And one-on-one counseling occurs there, too.

Peter started with a tent church on a dirt floor on ground by Lake Victoria, added a school and program to get orphans sponsored, then some homes for the orphans, etc.

In the center of this compound lived a local witch doctor!

Local laws do not permit owners to move a squatter off the property. Peter prayed. Eventually, the witch doctor left, and when he did, the Christians burned down his dwelling.

Today the ministry has mushroomed into several villages out in the Bush, each with homes, a school, and sponsored children by the hundreds. The very large church now has a building; there is a medical clinic; and after having sponsored huge conferences for over a thousand pastors at a time to come and be taught for a week, an actual Bible Institute has been inaugurated. The message listed below was preached in the U.S.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Prayer and Spiritual Warfare
Charlie McCall
As Director of His Hill, the Torchbearer International Bible School in Comfort, Texas, only a 45 minute drive from San Antonio, Charlie invests his life in young people from all over who come to spend a school year of their lives. They are there to focus on knowing, as founder Major Ian Thomas called it, The Saving Life of Christ. In depth, practical application study of the Bible coupled with mission outreaches, service in area churches and the one-on-one investment by Charlie and staff make "The Hill" a place producing committed disciples of Jesus Christ. Often students stay on for the summer to staff the camping program for kids, which includes special weeks for the underprivileged.

Guest speakers round out the staff, and for a long time, Charlie invited Russell to teach and interact with the students twice a year for a week at a time.

But most important of all, Charlie and Russell became deep friends. They met as often as schedules allowed to talk about the things of the Lord over lunch. The sermon listed here was actually preached in the church where Russell was an elder, but Charlie has also been pastoring a church in Boerne, Texas, for a number of years.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Peace With God
Roger Poupart
DTM today includes a long history and partnership with Wayside Chapel in San Antonio. The ministry was actually in existence quite awhile before Russell became a member, and shortly thereafter, an elder at Wayside. As the church began its own tape ministry, it seemed obvious that DTM could save duplication of machinery and effort by handling the reproduction and distribution for the church. Today the arrangement is still pretty much the same: Wayside produces; DTM reproduces.

Now a new senior pastor whom Russell never knew fills the pulpit, and he fills it with a rare gift for presenting truth in a manner both deep and simple at the same time. Russell would appreciate that. And because he always felt that it was a good idea for pastors to have had at least some secular work experience before assuming the full time pastorate, he would also have greatly appreciated the fact that Dr. Poupart was a Dallas, Texas, police officer for 8 years while he obtained his seminary education!
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Miscellaneous Messages - "Memorial" Day
  n/a Miscellaneous Messages - A Happy Meal in His Hands
  (Order others by visiting Wayside Chapel site at www.waysidechapel.org)
Charles Price
Russell Kelfer's life message really boils down to one of the "Exchanged Life." There are many terms for the reality of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" or "being transformed into His likeness," but one of its best expositors, no matter your chosen term, is Charles Price. He is the Senior Pastor of The Peoples Church in Toronto, Canada.

We are blessed to include this series brought to the congregation of Wayside Chapel in San Antonio, Texas, where Russell was an elder.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a The Exchanged Life - Session 1
  n/a The Exchanged Life - Session 2
  n/a The Exchanged Life - Session 3
Gerald Sseruwagi
Many years ago now, a young boy in Uganda, East Africa, grew up under the horrors brought on his country by the fiendish dictator, Idi Amin. A fatherless street boy, Gerald just tried to stay under the radar. Dead bodies lying about on his way to school were a common fact of life.When he was about 20 years old with a longing to come to the U.S., he came across and old Campus Life magazine. In it was the only advertisement ever placed there by His Hill Bible School in Comfort, Texas. Gerald wrote a letter.

Charlie McCall, whose name you see among the speakers we are introducing here, wrote back saying Gerald could come as a student, but he must pay his own air fare. It took a year and a friend selling a cow the day Gerald went to the airport for him to get enough money.

At His Hill, Russell and Gerald met. Friendship blossomed. Ten years later with a Bible College degree Cum Laude and two Masters Degrees, Gerald did the unthinkable – he returned to the poverty of his own country. Ten years after that his dream of having a ministry with which to change his culture through developing men of integrity has become a reality.

Gerald, who was himself once a "street boy," established a home in the slums of Kampala for 10 to 12 selected youngsters of promise. Then he set out to mentor them by spending time with them in Bible study, prayer, Scripture memory, and scrubbing floors in office buildings alongside them, teaching them to have a good work ethic. These former "street boys" who were homeless are now fulfilling that dream as they move into the community and business as men known for their unusual integrity.

At the same time Gerald was pastoring a large church that draws the more highly educated and affluent people of Kampala. His ministry is called appropriately, "Impact."

"How do you change a culture?" Gerald once asked. "One man at a time," his mentor replied.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a A Broken Heart
  n/a Love for Christ: the Greatest Witness
  n/a Personal Testimony
Ray Stedman
Threads from many great Bible expositors were woven together into the tapestry of Russell Kelfer's life and life message – the poems of Charles Cowman; thoughts on the Seeking Heart by Fenelon; the writings of Howard Hendricks; Watchman Nee; Calvin Miller; Jim Cymbala; and Major Ian Thomas to name only a few.

But one contemporary who expressed clearly the deep nuggets of truth to be found in Scripture concerning the exchanged life was Ray Stedman, longtime pastor of Peninsula Bible Church (CA). In Authentic Christianity Stedman wrote, " . . . we also are useless until we are 'utterly bankrupt before some demand of life, and then discover it to be a blessing,' because it forces us to 'depend wholly on the Lord at work in you.' "

Russell found that truth in personal reality through life-long pain which God, as He did with the Apostle Paul, chose to leave with him as a thorn in the flesh. Ray Stedman also wrote, "If we will admit our inadequacy, we can have God's adequacy." It was key to both Stedman's life and Russell's life . . . "everything from God, nothing from me." Only one message appears here because the two men met on only one occasion, when Stedman filled the pulpit at Wayside Chapel.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Visiting Speakers - End of the Age
Steve Troxel
As senior pastor of Wayside Chapel in San Antonio for 35 years, Steve knew Russell for most of his pastoral career, and he gave Russell a gift few other men would be inclined to give – a platform for teaching large numbers of adults and families without any hint of jealousy over numbers or ministries. As the church grew greatly in numbers over the years, their paths sometimes crossed less often, but always they were there for each other when needs arose.

These days Steve Troxel is a "retired" pastor emeritus, but that's really a misleading statement. When he's in town, he's usually at Wayside. But when he's out of town, normally at least four times a year, he and his wife Connie are way out of town – in far away places like Africa, ministering to crowds of pastors and church leaders and their wives, encouraging them and counseling them and bringing to bear their own years of experience in ministry. Their new excitement and energy is channeled through their fledgling "Shepherds' Support."
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Abiding in Him
  n/a Past, Present, and Future
  Especially for Women - Conferences and Retreats
Cynthia Heald
From her early days as the wife of San Antonio veterinarian Jack Heald, Cynthia was closely associated with the Navigators, and they were friends of Russell's in his "younger" days. Shortly after Jack and Cynthia went on staff with the Navigators, they moved to Arizona. Cynthia reports that her preparation for her now widely-known ministry of writing and speaking was 27 years of washing, cooking, cleaning, and car pooling for their four children.

Since Russell's homegoing, Cynthia has ministered graciously to Martha; written portions of the gift book of Russell's poem, Wait, which was illustrated and produced by Marianne Richmond; and introduced the book to a large Women's Night of Hope meeting in Minneapolis. She was also the featured speaker at the 2004 Wayside's ladies retreat. Her best selling book, "A Woman's Journey to the Heart of God," became the theme for the retreat.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a A Woman's Journey to the Heart of God - Session 1
  n/a A Woman's Journey to the Heart of God - Session 2
  n/a A Woman's Journey to the Heart of God - Session 3
Margaret Jensen
Renowned author and speaker from North Carolina, Margaret traveled to Wayside Chapel to be the feature speaker for the women of the church on at least three occasions, and she and the Kelfers became fast friends. Down home storytelling from her Norwegian heritage has always been her forte. On one occasion she and her daughter Jan accomplished the unprecedented by repeating their stories on a Sunday morning to Russell's class so the men could hear what their wives had been enjoying for years.

Margaret, who astonished everyone with her vim and vigor and traveling about to speak well into her eighties, is now finally winding down a bit, but her many books and CDs such as those below will bless generations to come. True tales of numerous squash casseroles from the garden in hard times; a wandering son come home at last; a marriage not always easy; hurricanes which gather family, dogs, and cats together for a great emptying of the freezer of all ice cream and goodies to eat with card games by candle light; and always, always, the cup of coffee – these will give courage for the everyday trials of life for many years and many generations to come.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Reunion Norwegian Brunch (1996) - Courage for the Road Ahead
  n/a A Nail In A Sure Place (Retreat, 1994) - Sessions 1
  n/a A Nail In A Sure Place (Retreat, 1994) - Sessions 2
  n/a A Nail In A Sure Place (Retreat, 1994) - Sessions 3
Margaret Jensen with Jan Jensen Carlberg
Margaret's daughter Jan joins her in this series of talks on bridging the generations with a grasp rather than a gap. Wife of the president of Gordon College, Jan brings the same delightful ability as her mother to tell heart warming true stories which unlock God's secrets through observing Him at work in family and friends around her.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a (Presented to the Bible classes Russell taught.) - Bonus Session
  n/a Generation Grasp (Conference, 1999) - Sessions 1
  n/a Generation Grasp (Conference, 1999) - Sessions 2
  n/a Generation Grasp (Conference, 1999) - Sessions 3
Gail MacDonald
Wife of pastor and best-selling author Gordon MacDonald, Gail is an author in her own right as well as being a speaker heard at women's events throughout the country.

She was the first women's retreat speaker for Wayside Chapel, and she returned three years later to be the featured speaker at a city-wide conference hosted by Wayside that dealt with the many areas in which "life hurts." A group of Wayside women had attended an event in Dallas where some of the world's most well-known women spoke, and Gail's message was the most clearly remembered and appreciated. Even after the passing of two years, the women felt the power of Gail's message and asked her to speak to all the women of San Antonio.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a When Life Hurts Conference (1989) - Session 1
  n/a When Life Hurts Conference (1989) - Session 2
  n/a When Life Hurts Conference (1989) - Session 3
  n/a Tending Your Inner Fire Retreat (1986) - The Pause That Rekindles
  n/a Tending Your Inner Fire Retreat (1986) - The Pen That Reflects
  n/a Tending Your Inner Fire Retreat (1986) - The Response That Releases
Ruth Myers
Prolific author of Bible studies and books and widely experienced discipler of women, Ruth spent many years on staff with the Navigators. Her first husband, Gene Denler, died quite young of cancer, and she was left a widow with 2 young children. About that time the Navigators bought the castle in Colorado Springs built by the city's founder for his English wife who wasn't thrilled with the "Wild West", and Ruth was brought from the field to live with her children in the castle for a time. Since the Navigators did not have the money to purchase all the furnishings for the gigantic place, Ruth found herself making drapes all day and wondering about missing time with the Lord for such a mundane chore, when one day the Lord spoke quite clearly to her, saying, "Ruth, I am right here by the sewing machine!" and she knew that she was where she was supposed to be for a time.

And during that time one summer, as she led the Bible study for a small group of women at a conference at the Glen, she began to influence the Kelfers.

Ruth married again, a man who had never been married, who had told the Lord 20 years or so before that he wouldn't look for candidates for a bride, that he would let the Lord lead him to the right one at the right time. Warren Myers and Ruth made an awesome team and ministered a long time in Singapore, also writing books together.

In 1992 Wayside Chapel invited Ruth to speak to the Women's Conference on the subject of "The Satisfied Heart" from Psalm 63:5, and from that conference came her book by that name.

Ruth still lives in the shadow of Glen Eyrie, the Navigator headquarters, where in 2007 she formally retired. Her book, 31 Days of Praise, continues to be a favorite of men as well as women.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a The Satisfied Heart Conference (1992) - Alive and Liberated
  n/a The Satisfied Heart Conference (1992) - Honored and Significant
  n/a The Satisfied Heart Conference (1992) - Loved and Secure
Bonnie Thomas
These two messages are actually only one-half of a series taught on Ephesians in 2005 at a ladies' retreat at His Hill in Comfort, Texas, the Torchbearer Bible School and camp where Russell was a guest lecturer for two weeks each year,

Russell was not privileged to know Bonnie well personally, but he certainly would recognize and delight in her message which reflects his love and conviction regarding the exchanged life, especially as it applies to women. She is the daughter-in-law of his beloved Major Ian Thomas.

Bonnie is married to Chris Thomas who now, with his dad's retirement and subsequent home-going, directs the Torchbearer ministry world-wide. Her father is Cliff Barrows of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, beloved soloist familiar to America from the many Billy Graham crusades. The Thomases, along with Major's widow, Joan, reside at Raven Crest, the international headquarters of Torchbearers in Estes Park, Colorado.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a His Hill Ladies Conference (2005) - Here Comes the Groom
  n/a His Hill Ladies Conference (2005) - Rags to Riches
Joan Thomas
In her lovely British accent, Joan brought these messages to a retreat in the Texas Hill Country, recounting the story of how Torchbearers came into existence. As the wife of Major W. Ian Thomas, when World War II came to an end, it fell to her to go out and locate a "suitable" castle in England in which to establish the first Torchbearers Bible School where young men leaving the service could come to learn the Bible without regard to their formal educational backgrounds. And so Joan set out to fulfill her husband's charge, and the result was the first Torchbearer Bible school, still known today as Capernwray.

Presently the Torchbearer schools ring the globe, and Joan is still active in the ministry headquarters in Estes Park, Colorado.. At the age of 90 + years, Major's years of traveling and speaking slowed to only occasionally, but he continued to "preach" to the many friends both old and new who passed through Raven Crest in Estes Park. The influence of his teaching on the life of Russell Kelfer is incalculable. Now that he has been called home to Glory, Joan is left to keep telling the story.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  His Hill Ladies' Retreat, 2008 - "Basic Christianity" - A 4 session set including true life stories experienced over Joan's 90+ years
  n/a Matters of the Heart (Retreat, 1990) - The Heart Deceived
  n/a Matters of the Heart (Retreat, 1990) - The Heart Devoted
  n/a Matters of the Heart (Retreat, 1990) - The Heart Divided
  Especially for Women - Miscellaneous Women's Speakers
Monica McGann
When Russell preached his first sermon ever, it was in rural Jamaica where he met Monica and her husband, Aubrey, who at the time were involved with a Christian school. Monica's dad was the pastor Russell was sent to preach for by the light of a Coleman lantern, and after the very first sermon, Pastor Knight informed Russell on the way back down the mountain that his sermon was far too short. When the people walked for two hours to come to church, they expected to stay awhile.

A deep and lasting friendship was formed,, and it was not long before Russell signed sponsorship papers so that the McGanns could immigrate to the United States. Monica soon became the first Bible Study Fellowship teaching leader in San Antonio as well as attending to her responsibilities as a pastor's wife. Aubrey was one of the early pastors of Wayside Chapel where a few years later Russell taught his Bible classes.

The McGanns now reside in California where Aubrey is pastoring a church. Monica holds a special place in the hearts of the Kelfers because she is their daughter's spiritual mother. Enjoy some of her early teaching in San Antonio
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Conquering the Female Temperament (1983)
  n/a How to Keep on Loving (1982)
  n/a The Basic Needs of a Man (1982)
Molly Veldt
Molly is the daughter of one of Russell's closest friends of many years. She and her husband, Matt, have experienced unspeakable heartache and testing beyond which most can even imagine, yet they have come through very deep waters with faces and lives which radiate the Lord Jesus.

The first message is her testimony delivered in Russell's Bible classes at his request after the death of their first little boy. Since that time Matt and Molly and their oldest girl, Hannah, have seen two more little biological children pass on to heaven, another boy and a little girl. For a few years the family was blessed with their presence, although they were never able to sit or stand or walk. Constant care and attention were necessary, but the smiles of the children warmed and touched many hearts of those with whom they came in contact.

Since that time the Veldts have adopted a son from China and a son from India and seen their Hannah flourishing in college in the United States. Along the way they have ministered in Thailand and in a former nation of the USSR
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Personal Testimony (1992)
  n/a Seasons of Joy and Seasons of Sadness (2006)
  Especially for Women - Workshops for Women's Conferences
Bill Busshaus
Through connecting while teaching at the Torchbearer Bible School in Comfort, Texas, Bill and Russell became good friends. In addition to recognizing in Bill an exceptional grasp of the Word, Russell came to appreciate the amazing contentment with his difficult life circumstances that emanated effortlessly from this man in a wheel chair.

As an 18 year old football player who had plans to attend the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, Bill stopped beside the road to change a flat tire for a stranger. It was then he was struck by a car and lost the use of his legs. One day over lunch he remarked to Russell that it had recently come to him in the shower that this circumstance in his life was not merely okay, it was good.

He and his wife, Ellen, have been foster parents to a rainbow of troubled children and have also adopted. In recent years they have been involved in assisting families with foreign adoptions.

This workshop from 1992 brings light to a question perplexing to many who suffer what appear to be tragic circumstances in their lives: Where's God in all this?
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Can God Be Trusted With My Life? (1992)
Rander Draper
The radio broadcast of "Into His Likeness" first brought Russell and Pastor Rander Draper together. Through listening regularly to the program, Pastor Draper decided to invite Russell to be the featured speaker for a Harvest Banquet planned for his relatively new and thriving Maranatha Church. Although the two men had never previously met, it was the beginning of a treasured friendship and co-laboring relationship.

Through a Ugandan student at the Torchbearer Bible School in Comfort, Texas, both Maranatha and Discipleship Tape Ministries became involved in ministry in Africa. For Maranatha, the involvement focused on the establishment of a Christian school as well as the creation of a sponsorship program for needy children, enabling them to attend the school and to have food, uniforms, and medical treatment. For DTM it took the form of assisting with the Resource Center where today Russell's lessons are distributed in several African languages as well as English. "Into His Likeness" is also heard on three area radio stations in both English and Luganda, and Rander's messages are available to the students at a new bible institute.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Early Will I Seek Thee (1992)
Tricia Helsley Kelly
In the early years of Russell's ministry to adults, Tricia was a key member of a core group of young women who were both actively being discipled and were discipling others. As a school teacher at San Antonio Christian Schools she influenced many young people, and she also spent time as a missionary teacher in Germany.

During her college years especially, Tricia was greatly influenced by the Navigator Bible Studies written by Ruth Myers (see The Satisfied Heart Conference) which were widely circulated among young women. The principles in those mimeographed studies were developed by Ruth over the years and were published in her books. At this conference, Tricia presented a workshop based in large measure on things she had learned through Ruth's writings. Now Tricia is married to Dr. Bill Kelly, and they and their two children reside in South Carolina.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Developing My Full Potential in Christ (1992)
Belinda Dale & Tracy Dale Garcia
This mother-daughter team brought to the Generation Grasp Conference this workshop from their personal experience on a subject close to the heart of many women.

Earlier Belinda and her husband Bob Dale hosted in their home the special small group Bible study which was Russell's "proving ground" so many years ago on the subject of the spiritual gifts.

Today Belinda, who was widowed, is now married to another one of "Russell's men," Dr. Michael McCarthy. She has retired as the administrative assistant to Wayside Chapel pastors to spend time as a busy grandmother and to travel to medical meetings with her husband. Tracy is now the mother of two, and they are still very close.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a My Mother, My Friend/My Daughter, My Friend (1999)
Bill Rehrer
As principal and teacher at Believers Academy in San Antonio, Bill had wide experience with teenagers, including three children of his own. As a visiting speaker for Chapel at Believers Academy, Russell came to know and appreciate him.

Bill was also a minister of Music at Believers Fellowship. In 2004 the Rehrers moved to Amarillo where he became superintendent of San Jacinto Christian Academy. Because he served in various capacities for ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) in Dallas, Bill was widely known and loved throughout the South.

Sadly, he, his wife. and two daughters were killed in an automobile accident in July of 2005 while on their way to help their son and his wife move into a new apartment in Houston.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a Navigating the Teen Years (1999)
Flo Zander
For many years Flo was a widely loved Bible Study Fellowship teaching leader in San Antonio and a family friend of the Kelfers. Her four children went to San Antonio Christian Schools with the Kelfer children, and they spent vacation times and camp experiences together as families. Her husband, Bob, was one of Russell's closest friends.

When cancer claimed her life, believers across the United States felt the great void left from their contact with Flo. Her words from many years ago proclaim the timeless truth that God is indeed Sovereign - especially in the timing of our homegoing.
  CD MP3 Tape  Title
  n/a The Sovereignty of God - It Came to Pass (1989)
DTM Footer

Questions regarding Discipleship Tape Ministries and its pages may be sent to: DTM

Updated: July 14, 2008
© 2001-2008 Discipleship Tape Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. Design by AKAOA Enterprises