Joni Table Talk – November 9, 2025
Real America's Voice | Host: Joni Lamb
Guest: Pastor Matthew Ishumelowo and Dan Steiner
Episode Overview
On this inspiring and faith-focused episode, Joni Lamb is joined at the table by co-hosts April Simons, Rebecca Lamb Weiss, Cindy Johnson, Dan Steiner, and special guest Pastor Matthew Ishumelowo all the way from London. The conversation journeys through Pastor Matthew’s remarkable calling from a Muslim upbringing in Nigeria to pioneering church growth in London, as well as his holistic outreach and crusade work in Africa, blending evangelism and massive compassion initiatives. In the latter half, the discussion centers around living with an eternal mindset, and Dan Steiner introduces his new book, "Hearing Jesus Say Well Done: The Secret to Securing Heaven's Rewards," exploring the biblical concept of heavenly rewards and how believers can live a life worthy of eternal commendation.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Pastor Matthew Ishumelowo’s Journey: Transformation, Mission, and Miracles
From Islam to Christianity and Early Call:
- Pastor Matthew shares his story of being raised in a Muslim family but encountering Christ at age 20 after reading a gospel tract he found by chance.
"I was in a drunken state...picked up one [tract], read it, and invited Jesus into my heart." — Pastor Matthew Ishumelowo [04:08]
- Faced little familial persecution due to his father’s unusual religious path and his passing during the Nigerian civil war.
Reverse Missionary to London:
- After attending Foursquare Bible school in Nigeria, Pastor Matthew was asked to go to the UK as a “reverse missionary.”
- He was warned that English churches rarely exceeded 30–100 people and was discouraged by initial slow growth. For several years, church numbers remained low.
"First three, four years were very discouraging...I was so discouraged, told my wife...If you wanted to do some studies here, you need to do it now because we're going back home." — Pastor Matthew [07:02]
Turning Point in Ministry:
- A guest preacher encouraged him to act in faith (e.g., pray over empty chairs); attending John Wimber’s “Signs and Wonders” conference also radically changed his ministry outlook.
"John Wimber’s conference was my turning point. ...He was saying, step out and let God start using you. Just do something and let the Holy Spirit show up." — Pastor Matthew & Joni Lamb [08:01–08:29]
Miraculous Growth:
- Emphasizes obedience, stepping out in faith, and re-engineering expectations (beyond a “200-person pastor” mindset) as keys to growth.
- Multiple services, word-of-mouth, and commitment to excellence led to explosive attendance—growing to 12,000 before their building was seized for the London Olympics.
"We grew to 12,000. And then the fire became like a conflagration, and all the churches began to catch the same fire." — Pastor Matthew [10:57]
Resilience and Fresh Provision:
- Church lost their building but, through perseverance, later acquired a £45 million property for only £5 million—a signature moment of divine favor.
"24 acres, buildings worth 45 million pounds. And we bought it for 5 million...It is totally crazy." — Pastor Matthew [13:19–13:30]
Compassion Crusades: Holistic Evangelism in Africa
Vision Shift:
- Wanted to move beyond traditional crusade models to a holistic, compassionate approach: medical surgeries, distribution of food and supplies, and pastor training alongside the gospel message.
- The crusades feature five "fingers": free surgeries, nightly crusade meetings, massive relief distributions, pastor conferences, and converting stadiums into temporary hospitals.
"So our crusades are five fingered...we take over some hospitals in town and carry out free surgery...the second finger...the nightly crusades...the third finger is relief..." — Pastor Matthew [15:48–17:02]
Impact:
- Multiple years running, each event sees tens of thousands of medical treatments (including complex surgeries and mass deworming programs), food/clothing distributions, and tens of thousands committing to Christ.
- Employs hundreds of local doctors (paid for their time), organizes 5–7,000 volunteers per event, and coordinates essential crowd control for safety.
Miracles and Testimonies:
- Reports stunning stories: deaf-mute individuals healed, Muslims receiving Christ, and even a local food distributed (cassava) serving as a means of miraculous healing.
"We had a 32 year old lady who had never spoken or heard. She spoke. She heard. ...a woman [with rashes] said, 'Even their gari is healing my body.'" — Pastor Matthew [24:31–25:32]
Funding & Legacy:
- Notes the outreach is largely self-funded from his business ventures, increasingly gaining support from churches and donors. Joni Table Talk gifts $50,000 toward medicines.
Living With an Eternal Perspective – Dan Steiner’s Segment
“Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant” and Heavenly Rewards
Paradigm Shift:
- Dan Steiner discusses how Christians should live with eternity in mind, not only seeking salvation but aiming to hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
- Emphasizes that the most significant aspect is not perfection, but faithful obedience to what God sets before each individual:
"Not about perfection. It's just about relationship and doing what God's called us to do." — April Simons [33:57]
Judgment and Rewards:
- Drawing from 2 Corinthians 5, Dan highlights that while salvation is a free gift through grace, there is a separate evaluation for rewards in heaven, based on faithfulness and how believers steward their gifts, opportunities, and callings.
- Uses the parable of the talents/minas to illustrate God’s desire for “increase”—whether leading souls to Christ, serving faithfully in the mundane, or raising a godly family:
“It's about obedience with the gifts and callings that God has placed on the inside of you. ...If you're faithful to that, then you're going to receive the same reward.” — Joni Lamb [41:19–42:23]
Legacy and Multiplication:
- Testimonies underscore how simple acts of faithfulness—like the two widows who opened their home to the lost—ripple forward generationally, producing powerful ministry lineages.
- “The Christian life is action...only what we do for Jesus Christ, that and that only for eternity, that's our legacy.” — Dan Steiner [53:07]
Practical Challenge:
- Dan issues a “one week gospel assignment” for listeners to ask God to send someone into their path for them to share Christ, underscoring that simple faithfulness has eternal results.
“Lord, the next person you send into my life, make sure it's the person you want me to witness and talk about Jesus.” — Dan Steiner [56:59]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On the simplicity of salvation:
“From a tract, y'all! … That's that simple, actually.” — Joni Lamb & Rebecca Lamb Weiss [04:27–04:30]
- On discouragement and breakthrough:
“Your attitude was like, if this place isn't working, I'm going back home. He said, you need to change your attitude, do some things, take steps of faith…” — Guest Preacher advice to Pastor Matthew [07:24]
- On miraculous provision:
“24 acres...buildings worth 45 million pounds. And we bought it for 5 million...It is totally crazy.” — Pastor Matthew [13:19–13:30]
- On measuring Church health:
“By default, most seminaries train you to pastor 200 people. And I needed to re engineer my thinking to be able to handle thousands.” — Pastor Matthew [09:47]
- On holistic ministry:
“A kind of crusade that brought compassion. …We do the surgery as a start, then the relief, then the...pastor compress. We now train the pastors, ten thousand of them.” — Pastor Matthew [15:14–17:02]
- On timing and God’s calling:
“Provision is for an appointed time… the word for appropriate season is zaman in Hebrew, kairos in Greek...I went into ministry at 22, and I didn't start this crusade until I was 70.” — Pastor Matthew [21:45–22:17]
- On living for eternity:
“This life is so important. It determines where we'll spend eternity. But we will be judged for the gifts and calling that God has put on the inside of us.” — Joni Lamb [38:37]
- On influence and legacy:
“What we're talking about here is legacy. …We can do things that will not only last in our lifetime, but beyond our lifetime and then into eternity.” — Dan Steiner [52:22]
- On obedience vs. scale:
“Whether that's a mother who's raising five amazing children that gives her all...she's going to get just as much a reward as a Billy Graham or someone else.” — Joni Lamb [41:19]
- Challenge to listeners:
"Lord, the next person you send into my life, make sure it's the person you want me to witness and talk about Jesus..." — Dan Steiner [56:59]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- Pastor Matthew's Testimony & Early Ministry: [04:08–06:53]
- Difficult Early Years in London, Turning Point, John Wimber Influence: [06:53–08:36]
- Miraculous Church Growth & Building Miracle: [09:46–13:34]
- African Compassion Crusades: Model & Testimonies: [14:14–21:24]
- Finances, Multiplication, and Volunteer Mobilization: [22:33–24:12]
- Miracle Accounts from Crusades: [24:31–26:08]
- Persecution and Revival in Nigeria: [27:31–29:04]
- Transition to Eternal Perspective Discussion: [33:30–36:54]
- Well Done, Good & Faithful Servant Discussion (Heaven's Rewards): [37:10–43:40]
- Parables, Legacy, Practical Evangelism Challenge: [44:53–57:57]
Episode Takeaways
- Faithful Obedience is more impactful in God's eyes than outward ministry scale.
- Miracles & Expansion follow persistent faith, willingness to change, and bold steps.
- Holistic Outreach—meeting physical, emotional, and spiritual needs—can ignite revival.
- Legacy matters; small acts can multiply for generations.
- Every Christian is called to eternal impact—no act of service or witness is too small for God to reward.
- Eternal Mindset: Live in light of eternity; prepare not just for “entrance” to heaven, but to hear "well done" from Jesus.
Resource Links:
- Pastor Matthew Ishumelowo: kicc.org.uk
- Dan Steiner: danielsteiner.org
Closing Encouragement:
This episode challenges believers to step into God’s calling with bold faith, embrace humble service, and keep eternity front-of-mind in all things—trusting that every act of obedience, no matter how small, echoes forever.