A God-Led Journey to Zambia
Guest post by Dave Kier, who grew DFS, Inc. into one of the largest providers of high-quality animal feed in the United States.
Dave first got involved with Business as Mission in 2011 after touring BAM projects in Central Asia with IBEC staff, and now serves on the IBEC Ventures Board of Directors. Dave has been married for 40+ years to his wife Jan and together have 4 children and 7 grandchildren.
Long ago, God laid on my heart to become more involved with ministry outside our local church. I was not a carpenter nor concrete worker, thus short term mission trips weren’t my calling. I was a businessman who invested many years into honing my business skills as the owner of DFS, Inc, a feed and grain company located in Newell, Iowa. DFS, Inc. began as a feed dealership and a farm supply store called Don’s Farm Supply started by my parents in December of 1970. I joined then a short 2 years later.
Upon assuming ownership of the company when my father retired, I and family and great co-workers built the company to become one of the largest commercial feed companies in the United States. We grew to own 4 feed mills in 3 Iowa communities, a commodity brokerage company and a technology company. Our two non-feed companies are located in Des Moines, Iowa. My parents, the business and my wife, Jan, and I have long been financial supporters of missionaries and the local church, but there was an uneasiness as I wondered if I should be doing more for the Kingdom of God than sending a check.
I took the call in Acts 1:8 seriously as I understood life wasn’t just about me.
I began visiting various business as missions (BAM) projects around the world and joined the board of IBEC Ventures, which opened new doors of opportunity to serve BAM projects. The business at home was continuing to rapidly grow but I had enough leadership in place to allow me time away. I visited projects in Indonesia, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ecuador and Zimbabwe and attended conferences all across the USA as I learned how business and ministry had come together in different cultures.
People ask how I got so involved. I tell them when the Lord opens doors of opportunity – you must be available to go and not look back.
As I began staring 70 years of age in the face, I had to decide what to do with the large feed and grain company. Agricultural business is like most others in that you either continue to grow or you go. I was making plans to make another major investment in a new large feed mill but knew I wasn’t going to be the one to make it work. I asked my son and the CFO to meet to discuss what they believed was best for the future of the company. I am a risk taker and was at ease considering investing millions into another asset, but my son and CFO were uneasy with this decision. They suggested we merge with a larger company to share the risk. Merging didn’t appeal to me, so we sold the feed and grain division. Our son continues to work for one of the new owners and leads the two remaining companies.
David’s prayer became mine when he pleaded: “And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Thy strength to this generation, Thy power to all who are to come.” Psalm 71:18 NASB®
As the date neared to finalize the sale in December 2018, I discovered that, although I had the company prepared to be sold with a solid balance sheet, good assets and leadership, I wasn’t emotionally ready to sell what my dad started and what I worked nearly 4 decades to build. My routine is to start every weekday morning writing a devotional which I email to people around the world and then I pray as I walk around our large backyard. One November morning, I was praying (actually whining) to the Lord wondering what I was going to do with my time after the sale. When finished, I went in the house and the phone rang. Greg, a friend from Michigan, called to ask if I would be interested in joining he and Peter Cunningham from Zimbabwe as they expanded into Zambia. To me this was the fastest answer to prayer I had ever received as I now knew God had other plans for me and our family.
“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 NASB®
Greg, and another friend from Michigan and I traveled to Zimbabwe in July 2015 to see what we were told was a very unique and successful business for ministry model. A relationship began between all of us. Greg, family member of a large egg producer, was converting their laying barns to cage free and removing thousands of cages. He began sending their company’s used cages to Peter in Zimbabwe and I sent some feed mill equipment. By the time I received Greg’s call, he and Peter had purchased a 3,500 hectare farm located near Livingstone, Zambia. They had already begun replicating Peter’s model in Zimbabwe in building chicken barns on the farm and making plans for a large hatchery.
The following January of 2019, my wife (Jan) and son (Nathan) traveled with me to Zimbabwe to meet the Cunninghams and then on to Livingstone, Zambia to see what was underway there. The three of us agreed that working with Greg, Peter and Dan Wiersma (the one who tends to the financial and legal details for us) would be a worthy cause to be involved in so, before we departed, we set the wheels in motion to purchase 128 hectares outside of Livingstone along the Zambezi River. The following year we built a feed mill, abattoir, soy processing plant and a modest central office. We believed the timing was perfect for the spreading of the gospel in that part of Zambia.
“Make the most of every opportunity in the evil days.” Ephesians 5:17 NLT®
Church leaders knew of the work in Zimbabwe and were eager to join our efforts. We also have the full blessing and support of the government. Zambia is the only nation in the world with a constitution that states they are a Christian nation. A top government official told us “Now we want to be a Christian nation”. It’s a rare opportunity to be part of a business established to fund ministry to reach an entire nation. Now in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia, Peter’s vision of reaching all of sub-Sahara Africa for Christ is coming closer to being realized.
This journey in Zambia is one of the most satisfying events of my life. My prayer to the Lord has long been to help me make a difference for His kingdom. Never would I have thought that He would afford me and my family the opportunity to help reach entire nations for His name’s sake.
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20 NLT®
