My name is Chip Pagel and I from St. Louis, Missouri. I was blessed to go on my first teaching and training trip with the Campbell’s to Nepal in October 2023. I first met Soup Campbell at Kids Across America in 2016 and have been learning from him and walking with him ever since. From the moment I first heard him speak, I realized my vision for fulfilling the Great Commission needed to expand. The passion and conviction he spoke with from the Word of God made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Seeing faithful men attached to him in pursuit of obedience to Christ led me to evaluate my own strategy in ministry. Over time I realized I could not expect others to follow what I was not modeling and got involved in the process for myself.
“I realized that the walk of a disciple is not about ‘doing’ but ‘being.’”
— Chip
When Soup asked me to go on a trip with him he gave me his schedule and a list of places he was going in 2023. I chose to go to Nepal because I had seen his Nepali disciple on many zoom calls and kept hearing how the disciples were reproducing and multiplying there. The two weeks we spent in Nepal were both challenging and life-giving and the memories I made there will be etched in my mind forever.
In Nepal both my biggest challenge and greatest reward was “staying low.” Soup requires every person on his overseas teams to follow this principle of humility and submission. It was definitely difficult for me the first few days. Back home I a leader, pastor, and teacher in my congregation. But in Nepal walking with Soup I was something far more important; a disciple. I realized that the walk of a disciple is not about ‘doing’ but ‘being.’ As Soup says, “disciple-making is not what we do…its who we be!” I was blessed to catch this lesson within the first few days and it made the rest of my time in Nepal so much more freeing and enjoyable. As a person who speaks for a living, it was a joy to be in a position to sit back, listen, and be strong in submission.
Rollin’ with Soup
…and Mrs. Linda was a complete delight, and I gleaned many lessons from being in their company. Watching them serve, teach, eat, and laugh together equipped me to be a better husband and father and made me long to return to my family in St. Louis, ready to implement what I had learned. But what stood out most watching them up close was that a person can completely be themselves and impact the world for Christ at the same time. Disciple-making never requires a person to lose their own individuality and culture.
Soup may rarely be in his home city of Memphis but Memphis never leaves him! I did not expect to be watching young married couples in Nepal learn the electric slide but that’s exactly what happened! And it’s all part of the process.
Our Nepali host, Dr. Anand made us feel at home from the moment we landed. He and his wife, Mrs. Chiri, treated us as family. The first question their son John asked me when I met him was if I knew the Nepali word for brother! I will never forget that moment.
We enjoyed plenty of chicken wings, hot lemon with honey, and enough momo’s to keep us full until we returned to the states. Watching Dr. Anand it is obvious that he has been rollin’ with Soup and that Doc’s disciples have been rollin’ with him. My challenge to anyone reading these words today is simply this: Who are you rollin’ with and who is rollin’ with you?
S.A.L.T 