Cary, North Carolina
On June 30, 2002, Trans World Radio President Thomas J. Lowell retired after eight years as president and 38 years as a TWR missionary--first on Bonaire, then Guam, then New Jersey, and finally Cary, North Carolina. Tom now serves as the Mission's Chairman of the Board.
What led you and Glenda to get involved with Trans World Radio in the early 1960s?
I was struggling to find out what the Lord wanted me to do with my life. I was involved in business and yet was dissatisfied, because I felt this was not where I wanted to spend the rest of my life.
I was influenced through a series of circumstances. First, I read a book by Watchman Nee titled The Normal Christian Life; then I was influenced by a TWR missionary who came and talked with us about TWR. I realized that through TWR I could use my talent in Christian missions work, not as a preacher but as a businessman. That was attractive. Since they were putting a station on Bonaire and needed somebody who knew accounting, I began the process with them in late 1963.
Why did you choose TWR?
It was a technical ministry. I saw in TWR the potential of reaching masses of people. I had a burden to reach people who were not in the United States, and saw TWR as a way to do that. I felt I had some background that could immediately be put to work without a lot of preparation.
What were some of the life-style adjustments you remember your family making?
We had four little ones, ranging from 2 1/2 to 6 years. The culture was quite different, but it was a simplified life-style. The people of Bonaire were friendly. I think we, as adults, didn't have much trouble fitting into that culture and felt at home almost from day one.
It was probably more difficult for the two older boys who were already in school. They had to transition from English to Dutch and learn to make friends outside the Mission who spoke Papiamento. But overall, we fit in and enjoyed our time and life from the very beginning.
What did you start out doing?
My primary function was to set up the bookkeeping. We had a person who paid the bills and kept a record of the checks, but we didn't have a formal accounting system. So my job was to be the field treasurer. In addition, because I had some radio background, I did news broadcasting and hosted a classical music program for several years.
What job did you like doing the best on the field?
I enjoyed them all. Back in those days we also were building our facility, so there was a lot of physical work to do. Often I would work in the office in the morning and go home and put on my work clothes and then do everything from push a wheelbarrow to mix mortar and carry blocks.
The frustrating thing was that there was so much pressure to do so many things during those early years that I didn't take much time for family life, or just to rest. It was just incredibly busy for probably the first five years we lived on the island.
After you spent some time on Bonaire you were transferred to our office on Guam. How would you compare your work in both places?
On Bonaire I [eventually] became the station manager, which was an administrative job. On Guam, I performed essentially the same job. It wasn't as developed a facility as it was on Bonaire, so we needed to take a step back and almost start all over. We had to build a team and put together an operation. But I personally got out of broadcasting on Guam. I was told not to spread myself too thin.
After nearly 15 years overseas you made a shift back to Headquarters in the U.S. How was the transition?
Very difficult! What made it more complex was being put in charge of an area I knew absolutely nothing about. At that time I was called the Home Director and was in charge of our work in the United States. I was responsible for publicity and promotion. That was all new to me. I look back on it now as somewhat of a nightmare. But I learned a lot, which has helped me in recent years.
For a person with a missionary mindset, it was quite foreign to anything I had done before. And although I am physically in the U.S., there is still a piece of me that lives overseas.
Can you share a story about the effects of the ministry that might communicate the heart of the ministry?
One of the most vivid stories is when I met a medical doctor in a large city in China. Both he and his wife are Christians. He listens to our broadcasts. I had the opportunity to visit with him in his flat, which was provided by the government, and which was quite primitive.
He told me about his life as a Christian in China, and some of the persecution he experienced. On two different occasions, he was imprisoned and physically mistreated. I saw and held the Bible that he cried over. It had tearstains through its pages. He had wrapped it in oilcloth and then hid it in a cook stove when he went off to prison. When he was released, he came back and found his Bible still hidden.
It was very meaningful to sit with a gentleman who, with tears in his eyes and great emotion, told me what it cost him to follow Christ. Today that Chinese gentleman is part of a group who distributes radios and encourages people to listen to the TWR broadcasts from Guam.
Has being president affected your walk with the Lord?
There is a greater sense that I need to be on my knees before the Lord daily. If that doesn't happen I feel it very strongly. We have always said -- and it is true -- that no man could have sat down and planned this ministry. This ministry is so vast. The Lord has brought it all together. It is through Him that the work -- whatever it is -- happens. The honor and praise and thanks all go to Him.
Yet sometimes from an earthly management point of view, I realize with a sense of fear that this work is not in my hands. I am not sitting in an office in the United States pulling the strings and dictating what is being done. Our work is managed and led from our regions. Our leaders worldwide have their dreams and aspirations as far as ministry goes. So, there is a great sense that I have to stay close to the Lord, because this ministry is a spiritual battle.
Sometimes the water level gets pretty high, and I find myself gasping for breath and wondering when relief is going to come. But this is good and positive, particularly for a person of my type, because I have to trust the Lord.
If you could ask people to pray for this ministry, what requests would you have?
I would encourage people to pray that the Lord would keep us faithful to His Word. We live in a changing world, and we need to be on the cutting edge as far as how we deliver the Gospel message. If we are not using a method that is relevant to the needs of people, they won't listen.
Another concern that we always face is the challenge of doing too much. There are so many opportunities today that are available to us, and we are limited by our resources, both people and finances. It takes wisdom to make correct decisions, and sometimes it is difficult when we're trying to choose between different options that look good.
Why do we still need radio to reach people with the news that God loves them?
There are 5.7 billion people in the world today. Half of them still live in areas impossible to reach by conventional missionary means. You either can't send missionaries there if you want to because evangelism is illegal, or there are some countries with populations of a billion or more where it is not possible to send enough missionaries to cover everybody.
Radio, then, is an ideal way to blanket these areas. You can't keep radio waves out! Mass media is one of the most effective tools to reach people for Christ.
Radio will never replace a personal missionary. But it does help advance the cause of Christ by proclaiming the life-changing message to multitudes of individuals who still need to hear that God loves them.