“A good name is more valuable than great riches”

No farmer worth his salt would plant a seed one day and try to harvest it the next. A lot of time must pass between the planting and the harvesting seasons but that doesn’t mean there isn’t work to be done in between. 

If there is an individual who understands God’s non-linear route from planting to harvesting, it’s this month’s Sponsor Spotlight Atlas Machine & Supply, Incorporated, a fourth generation family-owned business, and it’s president, Richie Gimmel. Gimmel has recognized the value in “sprinkling the Gospel around” in planting godly seeds in the hearts of others.

Disciple making is always done best up close and personal. It’s one thing to read a story, listen on the radio or watch a video about it, but quite another to get a front row seat and partner in the disciple making movement. 

“I really was just blown away by seeing the mission firsthand,” Richie Gimmel said. “I don’t know that there’s ever been an example to that level of Christ changing lives through a ministry. They’re really coming alongside people and the impact they’re having on these guys is hard to ignore. It’s amazing to see the change that God can do in these lives.” 

After hearing about the Cash’s through a mutual friend, Richie and Tony chatted over the phone a couple of times before he attended their annual fundraiser event, God’s Harvest, in 2019.

Richie was taken aback throughout Tony’s testimony. 

“It really came down to Tony,” Richie added. “He’s a really remarkable guy. He’s a guy who’s been through the worst of the worst in life and has completely rebuilt his life after 36 years of being incarcerated. It’s awesome to see the way God changed him and the passion he has to help change others to have that same relationship with God and start their lives over. It’s this beautiful picture of brokenness that Christ can really work with.” 

After last year’s God’s Harvest, Richie felt led to give financially through his family’s business—Atlas Machine & Supply, Inc.—as one of Tony and Kim Cash’s premier Kingdom Community Impact Sponsors.

His wife, Christal, and he married in 2007 after meeting in their College-Age Ministry and they married in 2007. The Gimmel’s have two boys, Will, 9, and Miles, 5. They are active members of Sojourn Church. And they are faithful believers, members of their community, and faithful givers.

Not even 2020’s COVID-19, which has hurt their company’s revenue, changed their generosity. 

“We’ve lost money this year and have continued to give,” he said. “We haven’t reduced any giving to the Cash’s or the other ministries we support. It’s definitely hurt this year. It doesn’t hurt as much when things are well, but it certainly hurts when you’re operating at a loss and continuing to give. It’s funny, I tell people that I like to give irresponsibly and things always seem to work out. I really believe if you’re faithful to God with what He’s entrusted you with, then things just work out. I’ve never really been in a position where I don’t have way more than I need. When you give recklessly, God just blesses that.” 

‘A lot of little things’

Atlas Machine & Supply, Inc., which has locations in Louisville, Ohio, Tennessee, and Indiana, is a fourth-generation family-owned and operated business. 

Richie’s great-grandfather, Dick, started Atlas more than 100 years ago in 1907 and Richie took over his father’s role as company president in 2014. 

He hasn’t looked back on continuing his family’s legacy of generosity. 

“I never met my great-grandfather, but my grandfather was a Christian and he would give anything to anybody who needed it at any time,” Richie said. “He just didn’t have a lot of use for piling up material things. He really looked after the employees. We have a legacy of going above and beyond for our employees. That’s a legacy that’s been passed down as far back as I could see. My father was probably the best at it. He had a huge heart for people.” 

Sometimes Christianity, especially in the marketplace, becomes a bit more palatable for non-Christian employees when you give it in small doses.

“It’s a delicate balance because we’re not a faith-based institution, per se, but we do a lot of little things to communicate to people that we are a Christian owned and operated business,” Richie added. “We certainly have people from different faith backgrounds working here, so we have to be aware of that, but also it doesn’t change the truth that we believe in.” 

They pray before company meals, host a monthly Bible study at the Louisville office, some of their Bible verse wall art is scattered around the building and Atlas helps individual employees in practical ways behind the scenes. 

“We try to sprinkle the Gospel around the place, but really the bigger way we live out our mission as a Christian company is how we treat our people and our customers,” he said. “We have a saying from Proverbs 22:1 in our conference room, which says, ‘A good name is more valuable than great riches.’ So we do our best to really take a long-term view and treat employees and customers the way we want to be treated.”

Religion to relationship 

Richie was raised in church, but had the typical college rebellion upon leaving home. 

“It was your classic college rebellion and just, ‘This isn’t what the world is doing,’” Richie said. “I would also say growing up our faith was more about the church than the relationship. It didn’t feel like it was changing my life much. It was more about being at church on Sundays than living my life for Christ. I was sort of well-primed to fall away in college.”   

While on a mission trip to Cuba with his father through Southeast Christian Church, Richie “saw God at work there” and got baptized a few months later. 

As Americans, we tend to be impatient and want God to plant, sow, and harvest in days or weeks, or months. But God’s seasons are much different than ours as Richie has experienced. Even during Richie’s college rebellion, God’s seeds had already been planted, waiting to be nurtured and sown. But the harvest field wasn’t here – it was in Cuba where Richie’s personal harvest was realized. 

And now Richie and his family are planting seeds in God’s field.