On Monday, November 7, 2022 I was sitting in a hotel room in Iowa when I received one of the most difficult phone calls of my life. My friend, my brother, and fellow worker, Stephen Troell, had been taken to Heaven unexpectedly. Just fifteen minutes before he saw Jesus we had spoken at length by phone, as we did almost every day. My last words to him were, “I love you.”
Few people know the extent to which he invested himself in the work of Enjoying the Journey. He believed in what God has given us to do and was passionate about helping people hear the Word. It was Stephen who helped me start the daily podcast, and kept the technical aspects going day after day.
He was with me when I spoke from Ezra 9 on Revival Praying. I vividly remember him saying, “We have to put this in print.” And so we did. Every piece of literature, every book, every online resource had his fingerprints on it. More than that – it had his heart in it.
Today I am remembering him with great gratitude. He was one of God’s special gifts to my life and ministry. Last evening I spoke to a group of pastors on “The Partnership of the Gospel.” Gospel workers are not to be lone rangers; we are “striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). We need one another!
Stephen was my partner in the gospel. We were separated by distance but united in purpose. May God give him ever increasing fruit here and rewards in eternity.
Recently we have established a home base for Enjoying the Journey. The Compass House has helped our team have room to work, and we want to be good stewards of it. One of Stephen’s dreams was to develop an ETJ Studio that could be used for both audio and video recording. Though it is a work in progress, I am happy to announce that we are dedicating this studio in his memory.
“Stephen’s Studio” will be a constant reminder, every time it is used, of our responsibility to get the truth to as many people as possible while we have opportunity. Acts 6 speaks of his first century name sake with these words, “Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost…And the word of God increased.” Our prayer is that Stephen Troell’s influence will continue to cause the word of God to increase and many will come to know Jesus.
In my last conversation with my friend we discussed a number of exciting projects. He was forever stirred up about advancing! As we neared the end of our discussion, I vividly recall the words he said, “Scott, we just have to do more!” Little did he know that in a matter of moments he would be in the presence of the One he loved and served. He cannot do more. But I can. And you can.
Would you take a moment to pray? Pray for Stephen’s precious family, the continued blessing of God on the work, and for the Lord to use you in some way as a partner in the gospel. We have to do more.
In the famous words of the Moravians – Stephen’s favorite motto – “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of his suffering.”
(Our Helping Your Joy Newsletter will be dedicated to Stephen this week. We know it will be a blessing to you and includes many of his own words. You must register here to receive it; we will not share it on our other platforms).
Stephen Troell, a special man used uniquely by the Lord. May our great God use his memory to stir the hearts of Christians for our world.