Grace in Action: Inspiring Story of Recovery and Purpose - Bob Kistemaker

Join me for an inspiring conversation with Bob Kistemaker, who went from being drunk, homeless, and lost to becoming a saved, empowered, and influential leader. Bob shares his remarkable story of transformation, from hitting rock bottom to finding God's love and purpose. Discover how he overcame addiction, started a church, and became a lead pastor, now helping others find their way. Don't miss this powerful testimony of redemption and the impact of God's grace!

Transcript

Israel Caminero: 0:16

Welcome to Living Testimony, Stories of Faith and Redemption. I'm your host, Israel Caminero, and I hope everyone that's listening out there is blessed and doing well. With me today, I have Pastor Bob Kistemaker, who's been a mentor in my life. He really poured into my family when we first went to Lakewood New Life, which is a church that was our home church for a long time. Could you introduce yourself to everyone, Pastor Bob?

Bob Kistemaker: 0:43

I can Israel. I want to thank you for having me on your podcast today. As Israel said, my name is Bob Kistamaker, and uh I'm I'm a senior pastor here in Lakewood, Ohio at a church called New Life Church, which me and my wife pioneered back in October of 2006 uh with about 20 people. We were a church plan out of the House of Praise International Church where I pastored in Lorraine, Ohio. I'm currently married to my wife Yolanda. I have two stepchildren and six grandchildren, and uh just enjoying the journey that Jesus has put me on.

Israel Caminero: 1:14

Amen. Amen, and what a journey it's been. He's here to share his story with everyone today. But before we get started with that story, I'd like to say a prayer before we begin. And I'd like to just say, Father God, thank you for today, Lord, as tomorrow's not promised, Lord. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to have Pastor Bob here with me today to share his testimony so everyone can hear that it might shape and change someone and to just glorify you while he's saying it, that the Holy Spirit would give him the right words to say and just possibly change someone that's listening that might be going through the same thing that he went through in his life. It's all for your glory, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. So Pastor Bob's been a lead pastor here at Lakewood New Life, at he as he said I c I still call it Lakewood New Life. I know it's New Life now. That's fine. But it's located in Lakewood, so it is New Life. It's New Life Church, and it's located in Lakewood, and he's been here a pastor for quite a long time, but his journey hasn't always been as it is today. And that's what he's here to share. So if you would, Pastor, would you mind sharing your past?

Bob Kistemaker: 2:28

Sure. So I'm 63 years young today, and uh if you would have told me uh, you know, 35 years ago I would have been a pastor, I would have busted out laughing at you. Uh I grew up in Lakewood area, Cleveland area when I was a kid in the 60s and 70s, and uh I had a pretty normal childhood until I was about 12 years old, and my parents ended up getting a divorce, and uh I was left to just kind of do whatever I wanted to do. And uh I ended up going out into the streets and getting in trouble. Started drinking and doing drugs when I was about 13 years old, and uh that that just progressed into uh, you know, doing it occasionally to using that on a daily basis. And probably by the time I was 16 years old, I had become a full-fledged hardcore alcoholic and drug addict. And uh that just caused my life so much turmoil. Uh as a result of that, I only went to the eighth grade. I remember going to Lakewood High in ninth grade and getting kicked out and going back in tenth grade. And I remember the principal telling me, Bob, we don't want you here, and you don't want to be here. So get a job, do us all a favor. And so that's just kind of the directory that my life took, and uh just kind of trouble from from then on. Uh, you know, in and out of jail, fighting, drunk driving, wrecking cars, uh just a vicious cycle. And uh whenever I thought it couldn't get worse, it always got a little bit worse.

Israel Caminero: 3:55

You said your parents got divorced, and that kind of led you into the wrong path. Did your mom ever remarry and have another father figure there that you know poured into you, or no? That's why you were doing the things you were doing.

Bob Kistemaker: 4:09

Well, my my mom did remarry, but but it that person wasn't a father figure to me. Right. It wasn't the same. No, I was I was kind of on my own and uh just kind of you know doing whatever I wanted to do. And as a result of that, I I really didn't receive any kind of discipline or correction. And uh it it just made for a crazy life. And uh so, anyways, when I was 16 I quit school and started working in the trades as a laborer, and then I became a journeyman carpenter.

Israel Caminero: 4:39

Okay.

Bob Kistemaker: 4:40

And uh never really liked doing that kind of work, but because I had no education, you know, I could make good money and I and I was good at that. Uh the only problem was is uh I didn't show up on Monday a lot because I would go out partying on the weekend, right? You know, Friday night till uh you know Sunday night, just partying, spending all my money, and uh, you know, ending up hung over or uh uh uh in jail, missing work. And and so that's kind of how my life went. Uh as a result of that, uh you know, I was never married. Uh you know, I lived with a lot of women over the years. Uh back then you would have never convinced me there's anything wrong with with having sex outside of marriage or anything like that.

Israel Caminero: 5:20

Right.

Bob Kistemaker: 5:21

And uh that's just just how we rolled back then.

Israel Caminero: 5:24

Exactly. That's what happens when you know you you don't know Christ back then. You think everything's normal when it's really not. Exactly. But that was our normal, right?

Bob Kistemaker: 5:33

Right. And and just as a result of that selfish, self-centered lifestyle, I I hurt a lot of people. It's kind of like a tornado. Anybody that I came in contact with, I was probably gonna hurt, lie to, steal from. And so I was not a pleasant person, I was a very angry person, and uh I just blame the whole world for my life. And uh should have been killed probably a thousand times. And as I progressed into my twenties, my my alcoholism became so bad to the point where I would go on drunks for days and weeks. And I remember in 1987 going on a six-month drunk and uh uh was just totally messed up. All I did was drink and uh almost died. And uh I remember reaching out to my sister who got called an old friend of ours, and uh, he took me to an AA meeting. And so I went to AA for six months and stayed sober. Uh the problem was is is I never brought God into my life, and and I never worked the steps, and uh, and so after about six months of sobriety, I was working six, seven days a week, making good money, you know, I got an apartment, bought a new truck, uh, you know, was living with this girl, and then you know, the day came when I went and I picked up a drink again.

Israel Caminero: 6:49

Okay. I'm gonna backtrack a little bit. So you weren't ever like in the church or anything during that time. You know, nobody was there to pour or read the Bible to you or even introduce you to it back when you were doing these things, correct?

Bob Kistemaker: 7:03

No, I I had no kind of a Bible background, no kind of church background. Uh yeah.

Israel Caminero: 7:08

Okay.

Bob Kistemaker: 7:08

Uh never went to church, didn't know who Jesus Christ was, uh nothing like that.

Israel Caminero: 7:14

So Okay. I just I didn't catch that at the beginning. So that's why I kind of touched base on that. So after you you said you got a job and things like that, and then you started drinking again at 16, you said? Mm-hmm. So what happened after that?

Bob Kistemaker: 7:28

Just the same lifestyle. You know, I would work, uh do all right for a few months and then end up getting in some kind of trouble or arrested for, you know, stealing or or car wrecks or drunk driving, and just uh just would just pull the rug out from underneath my feet. And I just went through that vicious cycle, then try to get sober and then end up drunk again, and then you know, the alcohol was my drug of choice, but I did any drug known to man as as well.

Israel Caminero: 7:55

Okay.

Bob Kistemaker: 7:56

With that. And so that's just how my life progressed. As a result, I was never really married. I I never did anything positive. Right. Uh my my life was a living hell.

Israel Caminero: 8:06

You were just living this party life though.

Bob Kistemaker: 8:08

Yeah, but it got to the point where I didn't want to even party anymore, but but you know, I was so addicted, you know, I was an alcoholic and uh it controlled my life.

Israel Caminero: 8:17

Okay. So in between that time, you know, what happened when you were 16, you said you had a job, you started drinking again. So what changed in between that time that you finally decided you wanted to change?

Bob Kistemaker: 8:34

Well, from the time I was 16 until I think I was probably 27 years old in 1987, maybe I was 26 years old. Life just got progressively worse, and and I got to the point where I was so beat up uh not only emotionally but physically. Yeah. I I just couldn't go on anymore. And so I was contemplating suicide.

Israel Caminero: 8:55

Okay.

Bob Kistemaker: 8:56

And that that's what I reached out to my sister who reached out to an old friend of mine that had been sober for a few years and going to AA meetings.

Israel Caminero: 9:03

Okay.

Bob Kistemaker: 9:04

And so that's how I ended up going to AA for six months. And uh really I really tried to stay sober, didn't know how to stay sober. Uh I didn't have any kind of relationship with the Lord. Uh I I didn't really do what AA tells you to do by taking the 12 steps to have an encounter with God. And so the day came where that temptation just o overtook me once again, and uh was was picked up a drink and was drunk for three or four days, and next thing I know I ended up being homeless again, which was something that happened to me periodically. I would do all right for a while, end up with nothing, end up living on the streets, begging for money, uh, you know, just just to kind of pull it together again, just to go live like that again.

Israel Caminero: 9:46

Okay.

Bob Kistemaker: 9:46

And so that that was that was my life story until I was 29 years old.

Israel Caminero: 9:51

So what happened when you were 29?

Bob Kistemaker: 9:53

When I was 29 years old, I I was living with a girl, and uh she had gotten a in a car accident and actually killed a Cleveland policeman. Oh wow. And uh and so she was going to prison and and and so we we fought the case and uh uh she went away to prison and uh I I had just hit probably the lowest I ever was with drinking and drugging and uh tried committing suicide and ended up in a psychiatric unit. And uh there some gentlemen came and visited me from AA and and they told me I wasn't crazy and that I had a disease, it was called alcoholism. And there was hope if I was willing to put the effort in and I was willing to surrender and I was willing to uh submit and listen that uh that God could change my life.

Israel Caminero: 10:40

And that was very hard for you, wasn't it?

Bob Kistemaker: 10:42

Well it was it was it was all new to me, you know. I I had never conformed to anything. I I didn't conform to school, I didn't conform to the courts, I didn't conform to the police department. Yeah, and so yeah, it was it was a whole new chapter of life for me.

Israel Caminero: 10:55

So what what made you change? What made you take that step just because you you were in the psychiatric ward?

Bob Kistemaker: 11:02

I was, and I I was just beat up and I had no no fight left in me. I had no hope. I was helpless, I was hopeless, uh yeah, I didn't want to live anymore. Uh I I thought I had tried, you know, everything I could to stay sober, and I I just really thought that, you know, God had dealt me a bad hand and uh, you know, life sucked, and uh that's just you know, it was just meant to be for me.

Israel Caminero: 11:25

Gotcha. So they came in and talked to you about AA and how God could change you, but you didn't do it automatically, or you did do it automatically?

Bob Kistemaker: 11:34

I did. When I when I got out of the hospital, I started going to AA meetings. Uh matter of fact, these guys picked me up and uh I was homeless.

Israel Caminero: 11:41

Okay.

Bob Kistemaker: 11:42

And they found me an apartment. I I'm from Cleveland, Lakewood. They found me an apartment in in North Ridgeville, a furnished apartment out there above a beauty shop. They wanted to get me out of Dodge, yeah, so to speak. And uh so I found myself in this little uh furnished apartment out in North Ridgeville, and on one side was was was was a church, the shepherd of the Ridge Lutheran Church, and on the other side was a nightclub. Okay, and it was almost like the Lord was telling me, like, like, you gotta make a choice, Bob.

Israel Caminero: 12:11

Yeah.

Bob Kistemaker: 12:12

And and it was in that apartment, and during that season of my life, I started going to AA meetings, and these guys would pick me up seven days a week. And uh that's all I did was go to meetings. Uh I would go to meetings at night, I would go to meetings during the day on Saturday, Sunday morning meeting breakfast, Sunday night meetings, and I I just I just threw myself into AA meetings. And uh the one fellow that was sponsoring me at the time, he was like in sober 30 years at the time, and he was a real hard-nosed guy, and that's what I needed at the time.

Israel Caminero: 12:43

Yeah.

Bob Kistemaker: 12:44

Because I was always complaining, why me? Or or when's life gonna get better, or you know, uh, all of those. And my sponsor would say, That's just the way it is. And uh so so, anyways, when I started going to AA about six months into it, I had this quest. I wanted to know who God was. Okay, and why why did he let me live through all the hell I've been through? And and so I started asking these kind of questions in AA meetings, and of course, you know, most of the people there couldn't give me a good answer. Right. But they tried their best, and you know, I I think AA saved my life, and I I I I'm all for you know, Alcoholics Anonymous. But it was in that process that my uncle sent me a Bible, and uh I started reading the Bible and wasn't saved, didn't know who Jesus was. And part of the the the AA, part of the 12 steps is the fourth step is you make a uh searching and fearless moral inventory. Okay. Basically, you just do an inventory of all the bad stuff you've done. And then the fifth step is you confess that to somebody. And so because I didn't go to church or anything, it was suggested that I go to the Jesuit retreat house in Parma, Ohio. So I called up there and I made an appointment with it with a priest named Father Joe Zabrisky. Okay, and it was in the fall of the year, and so if you've ever been to Jesuit Retreat House, it's on State Road, but you can't see it, it sits way back in the woods. And I remember pulling in there and it was raining and dark out and you know, knock on the big door. Anyways, the door opened, and this big man, six foot seven, six foot eight, answered, and he was kind of hunched over and gray looking. And that was Father Joe. And we went into a room and and I confessed my sins to him. And and Father Joe looked at me and he asked me this question he said, Do you know who Jesus Christ is? And I sat there for a minute, and and you know, I didn't want to just give him that generic answer, you know, God's son. And I was honest, and I said, No, I don't know who he is. And he he recommended a book, it was called Jesus the Messiah. And so I remember getting that book and reading it, and uh somewhere in all of that I found out, you know, that Jesus was God's son. And so I went back to see Father Joe, but he had passed away. Here he was dying of cancer, and he had passed away like two weeks after. Oh, okay, after you saw him. Yeah. And I I just I went back looking for some guidance. And so in the meantime, I met my uh my wife today, Yolanda. Okay. And uh and and so, you know, I'm going to AA, I'm trying to seek God, and uh, you know, what you know, why did God let me live? What's his will for me? And so Yolanda was a member of Sacred Heart Chapel in Lorraine, Ohio, which is a charismatic Catholic church.

Israel Caminero: 15:26

Okay.

Bob Kistemaker: 15:27

And uh once a year they do a thing called Life in a Spirit Seminar, where uh they actually preach Christ and repentance and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And so Yolanda was bugging me to go there, and even though I was seeking God, you know, I didn't want to go there.

Israel Caminero: 15:43

Right.

Bob Kistemaker: 15:44

And I remember just cussing all the way in that church, you know, I don't want to meet these people and blah blah blah.

Israel Caminero: 15:50

That sounds familiar.

Bob Kistemaker: 15:52

And I remember that night I went in there and and they they shared the gospel message, and uh they asked me if I wanted prayer, and so I sat down on a chair, and about four or five people got around me, and they started praying for me, and they introduced me to Christ. And and that night I repented of my sins and I asked Jesus Christ to be the Lord and Savior of my life. And uh I had an incredible experience with Jesus that night. I I literally felt like weights were being lifted off of me. Amen. And uh when when I got up, I felt like I was floating on air, and uh, went back to the pew and they had music on. There was other people being prayed for, and I remember just raising my hands for the first time and and praising God, and it was just a beautiful thing. Uh uh and so that was the night I met Jesus, and uh he radically changed my life. I I've never been to same since I met him that night.

Israel Caminero: 16:47

That's so great, you know. It's like it's almost like you were searching and he was always there, but it was just a matter of you surrendering to him for him to bring you out of that pit that you were living, and that's exactly what happened that night. And a in a charismatic church, you know, out of all things, but um that's so great. Now, once you once you gave your life to Christ that night, did you ever uh backslide or you were out just on that narrow path where you kept going straight and diving straight into the Bible and and seeking Him more?

Bob Kistemaker: 17:23

Yeah, I I think for me I had to have that that uh like the Apostle Paul on a road to Damascus. Yeah, I had to have that that smack encounter with Jesus, and uh I've never backslidden. I I've been chasing after Christ for the last 34 years.

Israel Caminero: 17:38

That's good.

Bob Kistemaker: 17:39

And uh yeah, it it's been a it's been an amazing journey.

Israel Caminero: 17:43

That's good. So once you got saved at that charismatic church, you didn't stay there because I know you ended up at House of Praise somehow. Um how did that all take place?

Bob Kistemaker: 17:55

So so for my first two years after I was saved, I actually stayed in the charismatic church. Oh, okay. I enrolled in Moody Bible. First I got my GED, and then I enrolled in Moody Bible Institute. I was taking uh satellite campuses at Church of the Open Door, and uh just you know growing and seeking the Lord, still I was still real active in AA. That was my first ministry. Right. I would go and help guys take guys from treatment centers to meetings, and then on Sunday I had a van because I was a carpenter. I would pick up, I'd go to the treatment center, and whoever wanted to go to church, I would haul these guys to church. And uh so I did that for a couple years, but as I grew in in my uh knowledge and doctrines of the Bible, I I kind of saw where where I didn't agree with all of the Catholicism that that I was being taught. Yeah. And so Yolan and I started, we weren't married yet, but I we started going to different churches for for about a year, and I was driving her crazy, like because I I knew God had a call on my life, I just didn't know what all that meant back then.

Israel Caminero: 18:52

Right.

Bob Kistemaker: 18:52

And so my stepdaughter Monica went to the House of Praise on a Friday night, and that's when the House of Praise was a small church. And uh she came home and she she was telling us that uh, hey, you guys ought to try this church. She goes, It's a little Puerto Rican church, but you I think you're gonna like it. And so Yolana and I went there on on Sunday morning and and Gilbert had just taken over as the senior pastor there, and uh, you know, we felt right away like this is what where God wanted us for this season.

Israel Caminero: 19:20

Yeah. You know when God wants you somewhere, because that's exactly what happened here, you know, when I first came to New Life, and it was just I actually started coming to New Life as a dare. And it was Michelle and Ryan Lopez that at the Encorvia's wedding were trying to get me to come to church because I wasn't going. I was we were going to Cleveland Baptist or something like that, and it was always an argument, like you said, for me to go to church. And they actually said, Hey, why don't you come to church? And I was like, Okay, I'm gonna go. But in my head I was like, I'm just going to shut them up. And the first day I stepped through those doors, I just didn't stop. Showing up. So I get what you're saying. And New Life is such a great church. It it it definitely changed me a lot to the person that I am today. And I want to thank you for that, Pastor Bob, because you had a lot to do with that. You know, your preaching and your word out there. It changed me quite a bit to the person that I am today. Because like you, I wasn't the person I am. I was Mr. Knucklehead and I haven't shared my testimony, but I will one day. And it's kind of similar to yours in a way. Like a lot of people say theirs, and there's a lot of similarities to a lot of people's testimony. So going back to you though, because it's not about me, um, you ended up at House of Praise and you stayed there for a while, and what happened next?

Bob Kistemaker: 20:49

Yeah, so when I went to House of Praise, started attending there. I was still going to Moody. And then it's in that somewhere in that first year at the House of Praise, we were introduced to Portland Bible College, Pastor Dick Iverson and City Bible Church. And and so I I had actually uh transferred to uh Portland Bible College and I did correspondence they didn't have online then.

Israel Caminero: 21:10

Okay.

Bob Kistemaker: 21:10

And that's where I grew in that. And so little by little God started opening doors for me. I started kind of left the the AA meetings and ministering there. I started ministering out of the church and just had a real evangelistic call on me. And so I started doing ministry in the streets and in homeless shelters and uh just just all kinds of outreach. And uh started traveling around the world taking mission teams, you know, different places, preaching and and uh just just doing that. But but at the same time, I could feel God changing my heart and giving me the heart of a shepherd.

Israel Caminero: 21:44

Okay.

Bob Kistemaker: 21:45

And so I became the associate pastor at the House of Praise somewhere in that journey, and uh was on staff with Gilbert there for uh several years. And uh the funny thing was is the first time Yulan and I ever met with Pastor Gilbert Silva, who's the senior pastor of the House of Praises, we met in his little office. That's before we built the bigger church there. And I was like, you know what, dude, God's gonna call me to work with you, and uh, we're gonna do these great things together. And so he didn't know me from Adam. So he went home and told his wife Eileen, I met with the most arrogant guy today, you know. And uh, but but it was actually prophetic because you know I ended up going on staff with Gilbert and we ended up you know building a great ministry out there and uh you know you know touching Lorraine, Lorraine County, touching, touching the nations together. And uh and so I was there on staff as as the associate pastor with Gilbert, but I always felt a call to come to Lakewood and start a church. And and really the way that that started, probably about 22 years ago, me and Gilbert were out in California at Jack Hayford's church at a pastor's conference. And I got up about five in the morning and was praying, and and I heard God say, I'm gonna send you to Lakewood to start a church. And I didn't tell no one, I didn't tell my wife that. I kind of just thought maybe I was, you know, didn't hear God.

Israel Caminero: 23:01

Yeah.

Bob Kistemaker: 23:01

And about six months later, I was praying at home in Lorraine. That's where, you know, Yolanda and I were living in Lorraine, and I felt the Lord say, and he he gave me a vision of Warren Road in Madison, which looks totally different today than it did back then. Yeah. And he said, I'm gonna send you to Lakewood. And so I told Yolanda, and Yolanda said, You're out of your mind, you know, I'm not moving to Lakewood, you know. And so, anyways, we started coming here and praying, like, you know, one day a week. We would just walk around the Warren Road area, Warren and Madison, and little by little. And so, you know, the the calling just started to get a little stronger, and the Lord impregnated me with a vision to come plan a local church here in Lakewood. So I I told my fellow elders at the House of Praise, and so it took about five years to just get everything lined up. And then in October of 2006, Yolan and I were sent out of the House of Praise here to Lakewood to start a Lakewood New Life church. That's so great. Yeah.

Israel Caminero: 23:57

And how did that go? You know, because you're leaving a church that's well established, and I know a little bit about it because I used to go to New Life, but at the beginning I wasn't there. So, but how did that work? You left an established church to come to Lakewood where you grew up in, which obviously is close to your heart, and you were coming to nothing because you didn't have a building, you didn't have anything at that time, did you?

Bob Kistemaker: 24:23

No, we we we just had a vision, we had the word of the Lord, and we had a team of 20, there's 22 of us. And so we started coming to Lakewood prayer walking, and uh we rented out the Masonic Temple on Sunday mornings. I remember that. And uh it was all it was all a step of faith because uh we didn't have any money. I mean, thank God the House of Praise covered my salary for the first year, and then all of us started tithing to the church about eight months before we started, you know, the the core team.

Israel Caminero: 24:52

Okay.

Bob Kistemaker: 24:53

But yeah, we we had metal chairs, and and we matter of fact, the first miracle we experienced was we needed ten thousand dollars for the sound system, and we didn't have it, and we got together on a Thursday night and we prayed together, and I went home that night and checked the mail, and there was a check in the mailbox for $10,000. So that was like kind of the first miracle. Yeah. And so we were able to buy a sound system. And then when we came to Lakewood, you know, I I knew Lakewood was landlocked, I was born and raised here. Right. But but we did some research that some of these old denominational churches were going to come on the market. But uh they did, but then brokers bought that up because you know that was valuable land.

Israel Caminero: 25:31

Right.

Bob Kistemaker: 25:31

And so we ended up being a mobile church for nine and a half years of setting up, tearing down, and uh and so and you know you were with us for for many of those years that you know there's a lot of work uh on everybody.

Israel Caminero: 25:43

Yeah.

Bob Kistemaker: 25:43

But uh despite that, you know, the Lord blessed us and and we kept growing and the Lord kept providing for us.

Israel Caminero: 25:50

Yeah, not only do I remember setting up, but you're not your typical pastor because you used to sit there and set up and things with us too, you know. Like you, you you were like one of us. You'd sit there and set things up and and pulled out a broom one time and was sweeping. I think I remember saying, No, here I'll do it, and you're like, why? You know, I'm fine, I can do it. Just things like that. So it's it's good to know that you know you didn't think highly of yourself, you were just like us, you know, even though you were shepherding all of us. But that's great, you know. I I remember those days, and although it was tough, it was kind of fun in a way, you know, like setting up and I'm not gonna lie, like sometimes you didn't want to get up and do it, but it was still fun because the outcome of it when people would come to church and get saved, that's what it's all about. And I know years down the line, you grew well, the church grew so big, and then you guys got the place that we're at now today, recording this podcast. And that's another miracle on itself, if you want to share about that.

Bob Kistemaker: 26:54

Yeah, so we were mobile for nine and a half years, and you know, we would cry out to God, and I would get desperate every year, like, Lord, when are you gonna give us a building? Because we could have left Lakewood and had a building after year one, but we really felt God called us to this area. And so uh we were at church for nine and a half years, and and Pilgrim St. Paul uh Lutheran Church uh became available. And when we came to talk to them, it wasn't on the market yet, they were getting ready to put it on the market. And so we told them we were very interested, and they they knew our church and they knew we did a lot of outreach. But uh what so what happened was another church that was just coming into Lakewood called Parkside, which is Alistair Begg's uh a church plant out of Solon, which you know they had that's probably the wealthiest church in Ohio.

Israel Caminero: 27:41

Yeah.

Bob Kistemaker: 27:41

And so it was just ironic that, kind of like David and Goliath in a good way, Parkside's a great church. I'm not saying anything negative, but it was like, Lord, we can't outbid them. Yeah. And so we got into this long, drawn-out uh bidding war, if you will, for almost a year. And finally the Lord blessed us and gave us this building. And it was just a couple years later that Parkside was able to buy another Lutheran church in the city of Lakewood. But yeah, so we were able to move in here about eight and a half years ago, and uh that was a miracle in itself. Uh we had just enough money to to uh to get in this. I think we had sixty dollars left after we did just a minor, you know, some renovations. And then little by little God has provided, you know, and we've been able to uh you know remodel and yeah, yeah. It's been a great journey. We've seen we've seen lots, you know, hundreds and hundreds of people saved and lives changed.

Israel Caminero: 28:36

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes to all that. All the miracles, all the people getting saved and everything. It's continues to grow. You know, you went from two to three services now, right? Yeah, and it's packed. And if you guys have if any of my listeners live in Lakewood and haven't seen or heard or even been to this church, I suggest you seek it out and find it and at least check it out because it's a very good church and it'll change your life. And it's still growing. And I walked in here today and the stage is just spectacular the way it looks. And those are miracles from God too, the renovations and everything that's happening as far as what's going on, and you're still doing outreaches, you're still doing all sorts of things, you know, like you haven't stopped. It just keeps growing. So, what's next as far as the church and Pastor Bob?

Bob Kistemaker: 29:39

Well, not sure what the next season holds for me. I know God has something, but we're we're kind of in in a three-year transition uh process where we're gonna be transitioning the the head leadership over to uh Pastor Jose and uh Amanda Rivera. So we're kind of in that process uh of of we have a matter of fact, we Jose and Amanda has been our worship leaders for about nine years. We just hired another a new worship leader that's that's gonna be taking over here in the next couple weeks.

Israel Caminero: 30:09

Okay.

Bob Kistemaker: 30:09

So little by little we're gonna be transitioning, and the goal is in October of uh 26 uh that that Jose and Amanda are gonna take take the lead here. And then uh Yolan and I are gonna kind of step away from that. We'll probably still be here in some capacity and see what the Lord has for us. But yeah, but but I'm still going strong. And uh, you know, I was just telling a young man I'm mentoring uh this afternoon that that I never see the word retirement in the Bible. Okay, so yeah, I know God has something for me in this next upcoming season of my life, but you know, I I I love doing what I do. Yeah, I love seeing lives touched by Jesus and changed. And uh, you know, I've I've had the pleasure and privilege of just seeing so many people impacted for Jesus. And uh, you know, there's not a better feeling in the world.

Israel Caminero: 31:01

That's right. It's all for his glory. You know, that's what we're here for. Great commission, right? That's right. Go and change people and bring them to Christ, and that's exactly what you're doing now, not compared to what you were, but you had to go through that season to be where you're at now as a youth. When we're young like that, we don't listen. We're just living life through our flesh, and it happens to a lot of people. You know, some people grow up in the church and some don't. I'm glad that you were here on this podcast today, Pastor Bob. And I can't thank you enough for the things that you did for me and my family while we were attending here. Like I said, you were a great leader and you changed me to the man that I am today. I can say that, and I just want to thank you personally. I don't think I've ever done that. And I'm not gonna say I don't miss being here because I do, but like you said, the Lord calls us to be at different places like he called you out of where you were, and the Lord wants us where we're at today. And we're going through what you went through when you first started Lakewood, you know, with our church that I'm attending to now. We're growing and setting up and mobile, like you said. But um I always ask a question to everyone, and I'd like to ask you this question about when you're having a hard day. I know you don't have those. Not anymore. No, I'm kidding. Just every day. Yeah. But when you're having a hard day, or just anytime, what's your go-to verse that you go to in the Bible that's your favorite?

Bob Kistemaker: 32:41

I I have several, but I I guess probably the one that I go to more than any other is Proverbs chapter three, verse five and six. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. And in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. And uh you know, I I wear that one out, so but uh that that that's just helps me to always remember that God is in control. He is and uh, you know, we don't know why we have to go through what we have to go through, but but we trust in the sovereignty of God. And uh and so that that's kind of my life verse. And also 1 Corinthians 15, 58, where Paul says we're to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor is never in vain. And I think that's a verse that's kept me from backsliding, is I've always been steadfast in the Lord and always abounding in the work of the Lord. I've never gotten complacent. Uh you know, we all go through seasons where you know we get tired and stuff, but I but I've always tried to just all right, Lord, what's next?

Israel Caminero: 33:47

Yeah. Yeah.

Bob Kistemaker: 33:48

So those are probably two of my main go-to verses.

Israel Caminero: 33:51

That's good. That's good because obviously, I mean, look at your story. Look where you started and look where you're at now, and look where you're gonna be and where you're going. Like you said, the retirement word isn't in the Bible. So you're not gonna retire, you're just probably gonna graduate to do something else.

Bob Kistemaker: 34:09

You know, and I think those verses help me, though, even you know, as a pastor, you know, I'm a spiritual dad, and and when people go through it, such as you know, yourself and Sandy and your family, uh, you know, other people in the church, when they hurt, we hurt.

Israel Caminero: 34:23

Yeah.

Bob Kistemaker: 34:23

You know, and and sometimes people look to a pastor and like, well, why is this going on? And it's you know, I have to be honest, I don't know why. You know, I don't know why bad things happen to good people. But again, all I know is I gotta trust in the Lord. Amen. And somehow, by God's grace, I've seen it in my life and I've seen it in other people's life. He'll get us through, you know, the tough seasons.

Israel Caminero: 34:44

Yes, he does. Yes, he does. Without the Lord, you have nothing. If I didn't have the Lord right now, I don't know. I probably wouldn't be sitting right here doing this podcast with you. Who knows where I would be? But the Lord sustains us through all our pain and all our hardships.

Bob Kistemaker: 34:58

And I I you know, Yelana and I have been blessed just by watching you, Izzy, and and and your wife and just your journey and you know, just how you've kept your faith strong. Yeah. And uh, you know, I I I I know a lot of what you've been through, and uh, you know, you you guys are amazing people of God. Thank you. And I I believe, you know, God has you in your new church for a season. The Lord's gonna use you guys. I mean, he already is using you, but but you're gonna have a great influence.

Israel Caminero: 35:24

Thank you. Thank you for that. Now we're gonna go to my back to the past section of my podcast, which is basically where I ask if Bob Kiss the Maker of today were to go back to his past and see the young Bob Piss Kiss the Maker, I'm sorry, what would you say to him that you know now that you didn't know then?

Bob Kistemaker: 35:49

Not saying young Bob would listen, but I I think I would tell I would tell myself if I could go back that that that there's a God that loves me, and there's a God that has a plan and a purpose for my life, and if I would just be willing to submit and surrender and and do what do what I know to be right, that that uh life could be really good.

Israel Caminero: 36:14

Now, do you think he would listen?

Bob Kistemaker: 36:16

He probably wouldn't have listened so I I believe for me personally, that's why the Lord brought me kind of to him through AA. I don't think in my in my condition before Christ I would have ever walked into a church or I would have even been open to walk into a church.

Israel Caminero: 36:33

So Yeah. Yeah, that's great. That's great, Pastor Bob. Like I never heard your testimony till today. I've heard like bits and pieces, but not the full testimony, and I'm glad that you were able to share it today for all the listeners that are out there listening, because like I stated earlier, someone might be going through the same thing and they'll hear this and say, Wow, you know, there's hope. There's hope. Like I I don't need to be this way. And I just want to thank you again for that.

Bob Kistemaker: 37:03

You know, and I always like to tell people, Israel, that if if God changed me, He can change anybody. And so I don't care where you find yourself, I don't care how helpless or hopeless you might feel right now. If you reach out to God, he can change your life.

Israel Caminero: 37:18

Amen. Amen to that. Did you want to plug your church before we leave?

Bob Kistemaker: 37:23

Yeah, as is as he said it we're called Lakewood New Life Church. We're on Manor Park in Detroit in the heart of downtown Lakewood, and we're just a non-denominational New Testament church. And one of the things that I love most about our our local church New Life is our diversity. We are a very diverse church, and uh, you know, that's one of the first things people say when they come through the doors is like, how in the world did you gather all these people from different ethnicities and you know backgrounds, and you know, it's just the work of the Lord. And so yeah, if you like he's like Izzy said, if you're looking for a church, you know, try us sometimes.

Israel Caminero: 37:58

Amen.

Bob Kistemaker: 37:59

And those times again were we're we have services on Sunday morning at 8 30 a.m., 10 a.m., and 11 30 a.m.

Israel Caminero: 38:06

Okay. I just wanted to let everyone out there know the times in case they were wondering where it was at and what times they were. So like I said, thank you, Pastor Bob, for being here. I always call you Pastor Bob. My honor, brother. So I I think I even have you on my cell phone as Pastor Bob. But um, I just want to thank you again for being here and sharing your story for everyone. And before we close, do you think you could close us out in prayer?

Bob Kistemaker: 38:32

I can. Father, we just want to thank you for uh your goodness and your mercy. And uh we thank you that you're a God of all grace and comfort. And Lord, I just pray for anyone that's listening to us today that just finds themselves in a season where they feel helpless or hopeless. I pray, Lord, that they would not give up, but they would reach out to you, uh, that they would even maybe contact Israel through the podcast or reach out to a church or or whatever the situation might be. But Lord, Lord, I just pray for anyone who might be going through that. And I pray for anyone who might be searching, that's listening, that that that's on a journey uh wanting to know who God is or or even wondering if God is real. I pray, Father, that you would show yourself strong to that individual.

Israel Caminero: 39:23

Yes, Lord.

Bob Kistemaker: 39:24

And I just pray that that anyone that that's listening, that they would just feel uh your love, your hope, and your peace, Father. And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Israel Caminero: 39:36

Well, thank you, Pastor Bob, for being here and sharing your testimony. Like he said, if you want to see him, he's in Lakewood on Sundays. I just want to give a quick shout out to all my listeners. You know, the the love that you've expressed ever since I started this podcast is just phenomenal. And I appreciate every single one of you for. Just subscribing, sharing, and even reviewing the podcast. And for those of you that are here for the first time that have never listened before, I'd like to say thank you to you also. And if anyone ever wants to share a testimony, you can reach me at living testimonies at hotmail.com and I will get back to you as soon as possible, and we can get you on here to share your testimony because all testimonies are different, and all testimonies that you share will touch someone in a different way. And it's not to glorify anybody but God that I'm doing this. So at this point in time, again, I just want to say thank you for the love and support. And I hope everyone that's out there has a blessed night and a great day. Goodbye.