Liberty alumnus uses contemporary bluegrass music to bring the Gospel to the jungles of Costa Rica

With a banjo, fiddle, drums, and a heart for sharing the Gospel through the music, Liberty University alumnus Mike Redman (’85) has reached remote tribes in Costa Rica and others across the globe.

Redman first felt a call to ministry while in high school in Forest Park, Ga. He attended Liberty to earn an interdisciplinary studies degree with a focus on biblical languages and philosophy.

“I took all of the Greek and Hebrew courses that were offered,” he said. “Liberty gave me a foundation for Bible training. It directly prepared me for what is going on now, and I’m eternally grateful for what they gave me in my time there.”

After studying at Dallas Theological Seminary, Redman returned to Georgia and worked as an associate pastor and as a Christian school superintendent and Christian college professor. It was after his oldest son, Jeremiah, developed an interest in Spanish that Redman began looking into mission opportunities in Spanish-speaking countries. As the worship leader at his church who also sang and played guitar in a family band, Redman knew music could be a powerful tool to share the Gospel. Then an opportunity presented itself at a missions conference.

“Everything I saw at the conference was about work in Africa, Asia, or Europe. These were great, but our idea was something closer for our church folks, in a jungle, Spanish-speaking, and music oriented,” Redman said. “As I was about to leave, I saw a booth for Operation Mobilization, and I told (a representative) about our parameters. He looked at me as if to say, ‘This is unbelievable.’ He told me that just yesterday he had gotten off the phone with a lady in Costa Rica who was specifically asking for help reaching a remote population in the jungle, and she had a feeling that music would be a beneficial way to reach those people.”

Redman’s sons, Isaac and Jeremiah, and drummer Darren Hilley, made the first trip to Costa Rica in 2014 and returned “on fire” with a love for the people there. They taught the locals a song Isaac wrote titled “Hallelujah He,” about proclaiming Christ boldly. When Redman visited for himself one year later, he saw how rapidly his idea had taken root.

“As we drove into town, there were people literally running along the side of our bus shouting Isaac’s name and asking him to sing the song,” he recalled. “Our music has truly been something that has opened the door for us. It’s not that we have some fantastic music, but it has created this opportunity for us in the jungles of Costa Rica that we might not have otherwise.”

It was also on that trip when their group, a collection of Christians simply sharing their faith and love of music, received its unorthodox name — The Gospel Mule. After performing in a church in San Jose, the congregation presented them a certificate of appreciation and asked who they should address it to.

“We paused and told them we didn’t have a name; we were just a group of people from a church,” Redman said. “They said we were like the drug mules they’d seen who would carry drugs through the jungle, but we were carrying the Gospel with us instead. From that moment on, we became The Gospel Mule.”

Their most extensive work has been in Talamanca, a mountain range with hundreds of square miles of remote jungle reserve that Redman said has been home to the same indigenous people groups for centuries. They bring items with them to donate on each trip — Bibles, tools, and clothing — and typically get involved in a construction effort in addition to holding services and performing. They have already made two trips to Costa Rica this year (in March and June) and have plans to return in August.

A new door opened in 2019 when they brought soccer balls and the Good News to Cabecar, a remote village accessible only by foot — a two-day hike through mud, rain forest mountain ranges, and across rivers on shaky swinging bridges.  By the end of their trip, the group was personally asked by the tribal chief to return soon and tell them even more about Jesus. The local witch doctor, however, attempted to prevent the Gospel Mule from returning, and the next year’s COVID-19 pandemic closed off the village and allowed for the witch doctor to have a larger voice in the tribe.

“While we were leaving that trip (in 2019), one of the locals who was helping us told us that the witch doctor of the tribe had had a vision of lights coming into the village that were stronger than her, and she wanted the villagers to reject these ‘lights,”’ Redman recalled. “It put a conflict between the tribal chief and the witch doctor. During 2020, the witch doctor went to the tribal government (not Costa Rica’s federal government) and said that no one from the outside should come into the village anymore — not because of COVID, but because she wanted to maintain her power and influence.”

The officials agreed. The work was over.  Later, however, the chief came to the Gospel Mule’s defense, telling the government about how helpful they were.  The government made a special exception for The Gospel Mule to return if they did construction and other projects in the village. Since then, the Gospel Mule has brought the people of Cabecar supplies to build metal roofs to replace thatch and has built a hut that allows a traveling doctor to spend more time in the village.

“We had no idea that all of this was happening in 2020. We were just back in the States dealing with COVID shutdowns,” Redman said. “After seeing the Gospel Mule’s work, the government not only allowed it, but specifically invited the Gospel Mule to tell everyone in the jungle about Jesus. What a great God we serve. God has continued to open doors against all odds.”

Redman said that the people of Cabecar and other remote villages in Costa Rica are very welcoming of the group, extending the work of the Gospel Mule vital to fulfilling the Great Commission.

“There’s a feeling in this part of the world that they are a forgotten, unwanted people.  So when we come to visit them, they feel incredibly honored,” he said. “They have a tremendous respect for pastors, so they even invite us to their homes to pray with them and their families.”

“The way we see it is this: God has children up in those mountains and jungles and someone needs to tell them about Jesus,” he added. “We feel it’s us, and we are honored to be the ones called to do this difficult but rewarding work for our Savior.”

In addition to trips to Costa Rica, the group has also worked in Mexico, the Middle East, and different areas of the United States over the last nine years, bringing friends and partners along for the journey. They’ve performed at villages, held revival services, pastoral conferences, marriage seminars, and presented Jesus for anyone else God placed in their path.

“We have had the great privilege of winning people to Jesus through our music, preaching and teaching ministries here at home and in many foreign countries, having fellowship with and encouraging believers in many remote areas, and developing life-long friendships with others who are true soldiers of the cross of Christ”, Redman said.  “Our single prayer is that God will find us faithful in the work to which He has called us.  It is our hope that, as we are faithful in each step of this incredible journey, that God will continue to bless and open doors for His work through the few loaves and fishes offered up by the Gospel Mule.”