Daily Faith with Philip Cameron: Special Guest Pastor Ben Kaempfer
About this episode
Pastor Ben Kaempfer of Downtown Community Church in Tallahassee, Florida joins Philip Cameron for a wide-ranging conversation about what it looks like to live out kingdom values in both the church and the marketplace. Ben leads a congregation of roughly a thousand people that grew organically by serving the poor and marginalized — including a season where he spent time living homeless on the streets of Tallahassee to better understand the people he felt called to reach. "We served the marginalized and we attracted the young," Ben reflects, describing how Downtown Community Church became a hub for action-oriented faith. The conversation turns to Ben's entrepreneurial life as co-owner of Register Meats, a smoked pork sausage company now stocked in approximately a thousand grocery stores — including Publix, Walmart, and Sam's Club — across the Southeast. Ben explains that the company's growth is intentional: profits fuel social entrepreneurship projects such as coding academies designed to empower underserved communities. Ben also shares a powerful pastoral encouragement: "Don't underestimate how much God is honored by your struggle." He uses the analogy of a child making an imperfect Father's Day breakfast to illustrate how God values sincere effort over flawless performance. Discover more at downtowncommunitychurch.com and registermeats.com.
Part of our Pastors collection of conversations.
Quotes worth sharing
“I walked into salon number five, up the stairs. I can see it in my mind as I'm talking to you. And in the middle of 30 screaming kids, all rocking back and forth because their mothers had never cuddled them, never had love — and this wee boy is looking at me with his cheeks sucked in, looking down the line of where I was at. And the Holy Ghost spoke to me, and he says, that's your son, clear as I've ever heard anyone speak to me. And I walked down between the cribs and I picked this little one up. He was naked from the waist down, covered in his own waste. And I said, I don't know who you are, but I promise you I'll never quit until I make you my son.”
“I think that we really underestimate the degree to which God is honored by our struggle. If it was Father's Day and my kids woke up and they came down and they made me breakfast — the eggs would be just gross and undercooked and the bacon would be either charred or still practically bleeding. I mean, it would be a train wreck. But they would bring it to me and they'd say, dad, we made you breakfast. I wouldn't look at it and just knock it out of their hand and say, away from me, you evildoer. No, I would be honored by how much they struggled to honor me. Don't underestimate how much God is honored by that struggle.”
“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That was the prayer. It's not to get us into heaven, it's to get heaven down to earth.”
What's Discussed
Pastor Ben Kaempfer of Downtown Community Church — a congregation of roughly 1,000 in Tallahassee, Florida, founded 10–11 years ago — shares how a commitment to serving the poor and marginalized unexpectedly drew a large young adult following. Ben spent time living homeless in Tallahassee before planting the church to walk in his community's shoes. He also co-owns Register Meats, a smoked pork sausage brand in roughly 1,000 Southeast grocery stores including Publix, Walmart, and Sam's Club. Ben argues that business profits should fund risky social entrepreneurship — coding academies and community empowerment — and encourages believers that God is deeply honored by sincere, imperfect effort.
- Ben's Family and Church Background
- Reaching the Poor and Marginalized
- Why Young People Attend Action-Driven Churches
- Register Meats and Marketplace Ministry
- Business Profits Funding Social Entrepreneurship
- God Honored by Our Struggle
- Connecting Faith to Everyday Commerce
Episode Transcript
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Intro
Philip:Hey, welcome to Daily Faith Today. My name is Philip Cameron, and God has a plan in your life. Listen to me. I've learned in my life, been living for the Lord long enough, that he'll take me to places. And I believe that you just tuning by today and saying, what's this program? I believe that God has a word, a rhema for you. And we've got a great guest. I just met him a few moments ago for the first time. But you ever meet someone that you just kind of felt you've known for a long time? Well, that's how I feel about today's guest. And we're gonna have a great show today.
Philip:And I want you to stay with us if you can. We have a program with Daily Faith, and every day we want to be an affirmation in people's lives that God loves them, God is on their side. Let me tell you something, God is not your enemy. He's your friend. And even when we're out of sorts and when we're doing stuff we shouldn't be doing, the Bible said he's slow to anger and full of mercy, quick to forgive. And I've learned in my own life that the biggest beater up of my heart is myself. And I can say to you today, he loves you with a love that will never let you go. Nothing, the Bible says, can separate you from the love of God. There is nothing, nothing you've said, nothing you've done. The biggest problem we have is forgiving ourselves.
Philip:You see, when you come to Jesus and you ask for forgiveness, he puts it — the Bible says — in the sea of his forgetfulness, and he remembers it no more. God is not senile. He doesn't have a bad memory. As an act of his will, he forgets your sin. That's the amazing thing about grace. And the only problem is that you and I beat ourselves up over and over again and keep bringing up this stuff. And God is saying, what are you talking about? I don't remember this. It's all gone. It's forgotten. It's under my blood. So you are a brand new creation. The Bible says you're a new creature, a brand new person. Every time you come to the blood of Jesus, it washes you whiter than snow. And there's nothing the devil can point his finger at you today. Nothing at all.
Philip:So we've got a great show today. I want you to do something for me if you can — hit your share button and let friends know about it. I've learned that in social media, which is the first few minutes of the show is just for social media folks, because of the nature of our program and the subjects we sometimes deal with, they give a code to the program which limits or doesn't limit, according to their wishes, how much people see the program. And the quickest way and the best way to beat that is for you to share it with your friends, because that's direct contact. If you could do that, and also if you could hit the reminder button so whenever we are on, it'll ding on your phone to let you know that Daily Faith is on there. You are important to us. We have so many letters coming in every week and emails coming in from folks whose lives have been touched by grace and mercy, and we're delighted to have that.
Philip:Also, Daily Faith — you can find this on YouTube. It's really simple. YouTube.com/DailyFaith. But the main base, the center of all the programs that you can go and look over, is DailyFaith.tv. So simple — DailyFaith.tv — and all the programs that we do are cataloged there. And you can go and check them out, and whatever circumstance you are in, I promise you there's something in the catalog that meets and addresses your needs.
Philip:And we work hard. My son in particular — many, many years ago when we traveled and spoke in churches, we have a missionary work, and we try to get as much money to the mission field rather than waste it on travel expenses, et cetera. And he said to me one day, he says, why don't we do some T-shirts? And I've never worn a T-shirt in my life. I'm not a T-shirt guy. I says, T-shirts? Who wants to wear a T-shirt? Well, a great deal of our ministry is funded by our merchandise. And if you go to DailyFaith.tv and click on shop, there's a whole bunch of new T-shirts. And last weekend a couple drove — I was at a church speaking and there were two services — and this couple drove a long way just to buy the latest T-shirts from us because they wanted to keep up to date, because we renew them every year and put new styles out. And there's coffee mugs and baseball hats and all kinds of great stuff that you can get right there. And by doing so, you're helping us continue to help orphans as we reach the gospel.
Philip:So listen, we are so delighted to have you with us today. You're gonna love today's program. I promise you. Welcome to Daily Faith.
Philip:Hello, my friend. My name is Philip Cameron and you are watching Daily Faith. And we are delighted to have you with us. We've got a great program today. I believe that God is gonna speak to your heart. I've learned one thing in my life — one word from heaven, one whisper from the Lord, is worth more than a year of studying and a year of trying to figure things out by myself. And Daily Faith is a program that we create just to speak into your life, to love you, and let you know that God is on your side. And no weapon — listen to me — no weapon formed against you. Doesn't mean that they're not gonna be formed against you, but no weapon formed against you is ever going to prosper, in the name of Jesus.
Philip:And we wanna welcome all the new CTN stations that we have. In Tampa, we are on there every Thursday night at 6:30. In West Palm Beach, we are on at seven o'clock on Monday nights. In Fort Myers, we're on at one o'clock in the afternoon on Wednesday. And in Tulsa, we are on twice — Saturday and Sunday, both at two o'clock in the afternoon. And they're joining all the other programs. This, our little program, is growing. And it's amazing what the Lord is doing, because we believe that as the days approach — let me tell you, we are living in the most ridiculous days. I've never — I'm a news bug. My dad was a great news junkie. Before when he was alive, they didn't have all the news stuff and the social media programs. But every day in Scotland, he read six newspapers and he'd put them on his dining room table, and he'd put the left and the center of politics to the right wing.
Philip:And he would start and he would read through all the newspapers every day. And I got that disease from him. And I have never seen so much news pouring, gushing into our lives right now. This morning I woke up early and they're talking today — as we're recording this — they're talking today about this great release of prisoners and a great swap of prisoners. And it's more important than just guys being swapped. You know, I want to say, give us one of ours back and stuff. That is an indicator of stuff moving in the cogs of relationship between countries. And it can be good, and it also can be very, very dangerous. We are living in incredible days. And as we see that day approaching, you better have your lamps trimmed and burning. You better be ready for Jesus to come back and see us, because I believe it's sooner than we think.
Philip:So as you know, we do mission work. Our heartbeat in this ministry — we do Daily Faith, but Orphan's Hands is the missionary outreach of what we do. 35 years ago, I adopted a boy, an orphan from Romania. His name was Andre, and we changed his name to Andrew. He'd been stuck there. His mother abandoned him at two weeks old. And he literally was dying in this orphanage. And my dad saw the news about Romania when the Berlin Wall fell down and all that crazy stuff. And he kind of made me go, he forced me into going. And when we got there in this horrendous place, freezing cold — it was January, bitterly cold — my face was hurting because of the cold. And inside the orphanage, these kids were just as cold. It was horrendous.
Philip:And I walked into salon number five, up the stairs. I can see it in my mind as I'm talking to you. And in the middle of 30 screaming kids, all rocking back and forth because their mothers had never cuddled them, never had love — and they, the self-comfort is what they call this — and this wee boy is looking at me with his cheeks sucked in, looking down the line of where I was at. And the Holy Ghost spoke to me, and he says, that's your son, clear as I've ever heard anyone speak to me. And I walked down between the cribs and I picked this little one up. He was naked from the waist down, covered in his own waste. And I said, I don't know who you are, but I promise you I'll never quit until I make you my son.
Philip:And it took me a year to do it. But in the meantime, I fixed the leaks on the roof, and the beds were painted with lead paint, so I replaced 200 beds, and the heating system. And there were no toilets. They all sat on coffee cans — those big coffee cans that had been opened by the old-fashioned camp can opener, and all the bottoms were cut from sitting on these cans. And God broke my heart in the year it took me to get Andrew. And we've been, as a family, committed to missions from that point on.
Philip:25 years ago, we learned of a country called Moldova — the poorest in all of Europe, highest percentage of alcoholism in the world. And in that country, these kids, when a girl turned 16, were literally put on the street. Traffickers got them. And we just had yesterday — with Trafficking Day, the world — and they said that the profit is now $176 billion a year in trafficking. And these young girls are put on the street and a guy drives up in a fancy car and says, look, we've got a restaurant in Italy and we'll pay you a hundred dollars a month. And the wee girl gets in the back of the car and she's gone. And they use them 30 to 50 times a day. One girl can make $300,000 a year for her captor. And I just don't think that's fair.
Philip:So we now have a tremendous place in Moldova called Vatra Village. It was built for rich people beside the largest lake in the country. And what happened was that lake had a lot of algae in it, and they dumped truckloads of chlorine into the lake and killed the lake as well as everything else. And that cluster of homes, that village of houses, we bought them. They'd been sitting for nine years unfinished. And we've worked and finished them. And today these young folk come to us and they're told, if you are born, God has a plan. And the crazy thing that's happening is that these young people are being transformed by the power of God. And orphans are becoming sons and daughters, and sons and daughters are becoming missionaries.
Philip:And we also have a home in Odessa, Ukraine, and the same thing's happening up there. And right in the middle of the war, when the war broke out, first 800,000 refugees came to Moldova. And our kids were up at the border feeding and loving and caring for the people. And all through the summertime they have youth camps. And they just sent me a video — they make these videos themselves. And they just sent me a video of one of them, one of our teams, in a tiny little village that no one remembers. And watch these orphans. Every girl you see with a blue T-shirt on that says Together is one of our girls — $300,000 a trafficker gets ahold of her every year. And this is what grace does, and this is what happens when you reach out with us to change lives. Watch this, you'll be blessed.
Hi everybody, my name is Nyia and I grew up in this village, and now me and the team of Orphan's Hands, we came here to spend time with kids and we have now a summer camp. And this is the fifth day of our camp, it is the last day. So we are so happy to be here to invest in these kids. Thank you for helping us organizing this summer camp. When I am looking at the kids' eyes, I see myself, and I'm back to the days when I've been here in their place. I played here and someone studied the Bible with me. And I'm so happy — this is such an honor to be back here, to invest in them as someone did it for me.
Dear Orphan's Hands friends and family, we are so grateful to be here today in Zue Village. It's the village where we have been doing mission trips for an entire year with the young people from Vatra Village. And this week we have done the camp, and now we're visiting the children who have been with us in the camp this week. We are so grateful to be able to do this. And thank you for giving us the opportunity to be able to do this. Without you, this wouldn't have been possible. Thank you.
Philip:For an entire year, they adopt a village, go to every family in need, every widow, every broken home, and feed and care for these kids, share the gospel, and then to the evangelical church in the village. At the end of the year, many new folk have been born again and are in the church — orphans becoming missionaries. Everything you see being done, whether it's Vatra Village or in Ukraine, has been done by someone like you. Just like you, giving a dollar a day. A dollar a day can change someone's life for eternity. Those girls will marry godly boys, will have Christian families, and a whole cycle of destruction will be broken by the kingdom of God, by the gospel.
Philip:We need you to help us. If you'd like to join with us, be part of our dollar-a-day gift, you can help us and make a miracle happen. It's really simple. Just make a check out, or you can go online if you want to do that. Also, Orphan's Hands, PO Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee, 37716. You can also go on DailyFaith.tv — there's a giving page there, you can give right now by doing so. And also you can dial 833-DAILY-FAITH — just type out Daily Faith on your phone — and a real life person will pick up and talk to you. You can change someone's life today for eternity for a dollar. It's the greatest gift. I think if these girls are worth $300,000 to a trafficker, I believe that they should be worth a dollar a day to you and I. So help us if you will.
Philip:I'm delighted to have — I'm just looking forward to hearing what he's gonna say because he's a unique minister. He is a pastor, an entrepreneur. His wife is a therapist and he's got a great church in Tallahassee, Florida. And Ben, I know I'm Scottish, I mispronounce all these names. Ben Kaempfer. Am I right? Ben Kaempfer?
Ben Kaempfer:Correct, correct.
Philip:I got it right. It's the German — it's the German Kaempfer.
Ben Kaempfer:Correct.
Philip:It's a miracle. It's a miracle. I murder more names on this program. It's embarrassing, whether it's the name of the town or the name of the church or the name of the guest. I'm glad I got one thing right today. I can raise my head up.
Ben Kaempfer:Thank you for being on Daily Faith. Well, I'll go ahead. Yeah, I was gonna say, you've got a couple things right. I mean, just what you're doing with your mission work — I mean, it's beautiful, you know. I know that it's easy for those types of things to become things that you talk about, to become regular rhythms, but just seeing the individuality of each kid that you guys are impacting and the partnership — I mean, I know of all people you've been there and seen it firsthand. But when you're proximate to something and you look them in the eyes and you see that this person's existence is just the same as mine, it's just in a different place, different country, different context — it's so difficult to turn that off. And so thank you for what you guys are doing. That's really beautiful. And anything I can do to come alongside with it, that's amazing.
Philip:Thanks, Ben. Well, my granddaughter — come over here just for a second. I know we're on live TV, but this is my granddaughter.
Ben Kaempfer:Yeah, of course. Come here, come here.
Philip:Her name is Ali and she's 15 years of age. Can you see her? Come on. That's my granddaughter right there. When she's off school, she comes and helps grandad do this program. And I can't imagine someone selling her 30 to 50 times a day until she's dead. And that's our motivation, and she's my inspiration to keep going. We've been there over 200 times, and so it's our heartbeat. And I'm glad you're blessed by it.
Ben's Family and Church Background
Philip:You have a unique church. I want you to explain to the folks what God has called you to. You see, what I love in the body of Christ — there are so many different variants of how he deals with folks to minister. Tell us about yourself and the church and your wife and what you do in your life.
Ben Kaempfer:Yeah. So I'll give you the big banners of the sections of my life and then you can ask questions about the individual parts. So like you said, I have a beautiful wife — in fact, beyond beautiful, a blisteringly smart wife — who is a therapist, owns her own private practice. She's an entrepreneur herself. Brilliant. I mean, she is the centerpiece of our family. And if we are both reading a book together, it is embarrassing how much quicker she reads than I do. So we also have a nine-year-old daughter who is full of life and sass and attitude, usually in good ways. A son who's seven. So that's my home life.
Philip:Oh, you're all blessed.
Ben Kaempfer:Yes. Oh yeah. Our church is about a thousand people in Tallahassee, Florida. We started 10 or 11 years ago. Kind of the uniqueness of it is we didn't start to be a church that reached young people, although that's who we found ourselves attracting. We existed to reach people who were kind of outcast, specifically the poor, the orphan, the marginalized. Did a lot of work with the homeless. I actually spent, before we started our church, a couple of months being homeless on the streets in Tallahassee, just walking in someone else's shoes for a little while. And over the years, you know, we thought we were gonna serve poor people and then young people started showing up. And to be honest, for the first two years of our church, it was kind of a problem and an identity crisis. What are we gonna do with all these young folks who keep showing up?
Reaching the Poor and Marginalized
Ben Kaempfer:We figured if we were gonna serve the marginalized, we were gonna attract the marginalized. Yet we served the marginalized and we attracted the young, and we thought, gosh, we're doing this wrong. And we realized it was never about who we would attract, but for whoever would be a part of our church, who we would be for. The gospel was clear that it was for all people everywhere. And part of that is to love and to serve the poor and to be great neighbors, in our language. So I do that, and then I also run a company.
Philip:I think, Ben, also the fact that you're caring for the marginalized is attractive to young people. Our kids — when they come to us as an orphan, the first thing we do with them is make them give stuff away, go out to widows' homes. And I mean, we'll paint a whole house and we'll bring new furniture and we'll dig gardens. And the quickest way to break an orphan spirit in someone — not orphan spirit, but the orphan spirit — is to make them give. And I think part of the attraction to your church to young folk is that you are literally doing the kingdom's business on the ground, and that will cause young folk to be a part.
Why Young People Attend Action-Driven Churches
Ben Kaempfer:Yeah. Well, I think a lot of young people, they see that action bias of Jesus. I think the older we get, we get really captured by all that's fascinating about theology and doctrine and the complexity of the different systems of thought and philosophers who have kind of pontificated about things. But I think a lot of young people, especially, they see Jesus who loved and who served. And who did it in ways that — in fact, we did a series called In the Gray, because it always seemed like he was more truthful in ways than I would be, and it always seemed like he was more graceful in ways than I would be. And so when I actually look at how Jesus interacted with people, it was this divine kind of co-mingling — he was straightforward and clear, but at the same time he was selfless and giving and kind. And he would say, you know, I don't condemn you, but at the same time, go and sin no more. And I think young people really love the winsomeness of putting their faith into action.
Philip:Wow. I think you're right. So tell us — you're also an entrepreneur, and this really fascinates me.
Ben Kaempfer:Right. So what's great about it is our family owns a meat company called Register Smoked Pork Sausage, around the Florida area — all the Winn-Dixies, kind of down to south of Orlando and Tampa. We're in Publixes, Walmarts, Sam's Clubs, tons of independents, about a thousand grocery stores across the southeast. Growing — in 2021 we were in about 120, and we've grown by about seven or eight hundred grocery stores over the last three or four years. So we've been busy, but God has been very, very gracious. The name of the company is Register's Meat Company — Register's Sausage.
Register Meats and Marketplace Ministry
Philip:And I want you to go to your grocery store and ask for it. Say, I want this. Because let me tell you, I've learned one thing — in Publix, for example, they have an international section, and I can go and I can get British candies and chocolates and cookies and stuff that I miss from home. And I'm amazed how sensitive our managers — the store managers — are. When I say, listen, I'm looking for this and this is what attracted me to the store, he'll get different items for me. And so if you're watching this in America, especially in the Southeast, Register's — like a cash register — Register's Sausage.
Ben Kaempfer:Yeah. Actually, part of what we like to do, and kind of the goal of the company, is to help it grow to where we have — since we work with a lot of marginalized folks, and in my entrepreneurial spirit I have a lot of things that I want to do and to start — part of the function of the company is to create profit that creates a little bit more risky social entrepreneurship. By risky, I mean coding academies and things like that that we want to use some church kind of infrastructure for, but at the same time I'd like to use a little bit more private capital so we are being good managers and stewards of it, making sure we're taking risk where that's appropriate.
Business Profits Funding Social Entrepreneurship
Philip:One of the things I'm interested in doing in Moldova — in fact, right this minute we are negotiating to buy a farm — and we want to create, this is really talking to me, because we want to create industry for our kids to move into there. In Moldova there's hardly any work. Most kids go to the east or the west and leave behind. And I've always wondered if there's a way — and that's not my gifting — so we need to talk, if there's a way we can start something and get these kids going.
Ben Kaempfer:I would love to do that. I'm passionate about how we can create just these beautiful dynamics where it is a benefit to the person, it empowers them in a way that — when I was homeless, one of the things I realized really quickly was that our goal is not to take people who exist outside of the accessibility of lots of material wealth and introduce them into excess materialism. My only goal is to say, how can I help you to be everything that God has created you to be? That's it. And if that's somebody who has tons of money or somebody who's homeless, I frankly don't care. I just know that you are made in the image of God, you're wired and created in the image of God. And so I just want to help you to fully actualize that potential, as well as myself, because I feel like we have a stewardship and responsibility to do that. So I would love to help out however I can.
Philip:I can see a trip to Moldova in your future, for some reason all of a sudden.
Ben Kaempfer:I think you can talk me into it. As long as my wife can go, I'm pretty sure we're up.
Philip:Listen, we need her as well. We need her ministry amongst our kids also. What I love about what you're doing is the church has become so ethereal — everything is kind of gaseous and there's nothing real. I believe that the church has gotta be salt and light in the world. And we've gotta be active. This is my own personal opinion, maybe you won't agree with this — I believe that the governors of our country should fear us, and I believe that the senators should respect us. The church's voice — when Jesus spoke to the scribes and the Pharisees, those were political parties as well as religious entities. And so we've got to get involved in the world we're living in, because the sweet by and by is wonderful, but I've gotta change these kids' lives in the here and now, and get them educated and transfer them out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. But to do more and to prosper and be blessed.
Ben Kaempfer:Yeah. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That was the prayer. It's not to get us into heaven, it's to get heaven down to earth. One of our college ministers — I'll say this real quickly — was at a UPS store and somebody asked him, he was shipping something, it was a Bible and some resources, and they said, is there anything dangerous in the package? And he looks at them straight in the face and he checks the box yes. He goes, there's something inside of this book that turned over the world, changed eternity, something like that. And so the guy looks at him and goes, so there's no lithium in it? No. So I can actually send this. But kind of to your point, right, how you're infusing the kingdom into that — it's a power source more powerful than lithium batteries, for crying out loud.
Philip:That's it. But it's true. I mean, that's it. And what I love about what you've done, and what makes you so unique as a guest on our program, is that it's not just about the kingdom, it's the kingdom on earth as well. And the fact that God's blessed you in this business aspect — and I don't know if we can put up, if you could send us an image, we'll edit it into the program so folks could recognize your packaging. Because I want the church to support those that stand for faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. For too long we have allowed the world to take commerce from us. And I believe that God wants us to have marketplace ministries, that we are in the marketplace but at the same time have a gospel standard in us. And that's what you're doing.
Ben Kaempfer:No, absolutely. And I would say too, with that, there are a couple of things I would just say. One, you're absolutely right — creating the kingdom. People need to see Jesus before they are going to, in 2024, have a strong inclination towards him. And I was thinking about what I would share just as an encouragement for people, because part of what it means to be a pastor is I don't have an ivory tower. I mean, I share my faith in more meat rooms and in aisles where sausage is sold than I do in the pulpit. I would just say, I know part of this program is to encourage people who are struggling. And I think that one of the things is it really can be difficult to live out your faith. And I think that we really underestimate the degree to which God is honored by our struggle.
God Honored by Our Struggle
Ben Kaempfer:We have the desire for perfection. But the best way I would say it — the analogy I use with our church is, if it was Father's Day and my kids woke up and they came down and they made me breakfast — they're seven to nine, so they're getting it a little bit better now — but I mean, the eggs would be just gross and undercooked and the bacon would be either charred or still practically bleeding. I mean, it would be a train wreck. But they would bring it to me and they'd say, dad, we made you breakfast. Now I know perfect execution of a breakfast is not gonna be within their capacity. But I wouldn't look at it and just knock it out of their hand and say, away from me, you evildoer. No, I would be honored by how much they struggled to honor me. And I think that if there's one thing I would say, both in the church space and in the working world, is don't underestimate how much God is honored by that struggle.
Philip:That is the truth. In my phone today I have a photograph of the first sandwich that my granddaughter Kara made me. And she cut the bread — one was this thick and one was this thick — and then there's a slice of tomato and the whole thing is higgledy-piggledy, falling all over the place. And she brought it to me and I thought, oh my Lord, that's the most gorgeous sandwich I've ever seen. Because the heart is what makes it. And we are — I'm just so excited I've met you, because I really feel that what you're talking about is a template that other churches can follow. We can get so in our mindset that we don't have any boots on the ground. And that is what it's all about.
Philip:Listen, I want you to be in contact. First of all, I want you to go and eat his sausage and his meat that he makes. And it's RegisterMeats.com, I think, is your address, correct?
Ben Kaempfer:RegisterMeats.com.
Philip:Can they order this online? Is that possible?
Ben Kaempfer:Oh yeah, we ship it all over the continental US. RegisterMeats.com.
Philip:I can see some sausage in your life in the future, watching me right now. And I'm hoping I can talk him into having a British line so I can get some of my old-fashioned British sausages that I've grown up with, because I miss them very much. And Ben, thank you so much. You are a pastor — the name of your church is Downtown Community Church in Tallahassee, Florida. You see that right there — www.downtowncommunitychurch.com. And you need to get in contact with him. I believe that there are entrepreneurs waiting to find an answer, and this man can help you also. So Ben, thank you for being with me on Daily Faith. I appreciate you so much, and I believe that God's gonna bless you and honor you as you are doing two things — occupying on the earth, but talking about heaven at the same time. Thank you for being with us today.
Connecting Faith to Everyday Commerce
Philip:Thank you for watching Daily Faith. We are delighted you are a part of our ministry. We love you. Bye-bye.
Common questions
Why did Ben Kaempfer spend time being homeless before starting his church?
Ben deliberately spent a couple of months living homeless on the streets of Tallahassee to walk in someone else's shoes. He wanted to understand firsthand what that life was like before launching a church whose core mission was to reach the poor, the orphan, and the marginalized.
How did Ben's church end up becoming a church for young people if that wasn't the original plan?
Ben says they set out to serve the marginalized and poor, but young people kept showing up instead — which caused an identity crisis for the first two years. Eventually they realized it was never about who they would attract, but about who they would be for, and the gospel is clear that it's for all people everywhere.
What does Ben say to Christians who feel like they're failing or struggling in their faith?
Ben says people seriously underestimate how much God is honored by their struggle. He uses the analogy of young kids making a terrible Father's Day breakfast — a loving father wouldn't knock it away; he'd be honored by how hard they tried to honor him. Ben believes God responds the same way to our imperfect efforts.
What is Ben Kaempfer's meat company and where can you find it?
Ben's family owns Register's Meat Company, known for its smoked pork sausage. It's carried in roughly a thousand grocery stores across the Southeast — including Winn-Dixie, Publix, Walmart, and Sam's Club — and ships nationwide at RegisterMeats.com. The company grew from about 120 stores in 2021 to around 900–1,000 stores over the following three to four years.
How does Ben connect his business to his ministry and social mission?
Ben sees the profits from Register's Meat Company as fuel for riskier social entrepreneurship — things like coding academies for marginalized communities — where private capital lets him take on more risk responsibly. His broader goal, shaped partly by his time being homeless, is not to introduce people to excess materialism but to help every person fully become what God created them to be.
Topics
ben kaempfermarketplace ministrychurch growthsocial entrepreneurshiptallahassee churchkingdom on earthserving the poor