Interview: The Joshua Fund’s Carl Moeller talks ministry, Inside the Epicenter podcast and more at NRB convention

The Joshua Fund's Executive Director Dr. Carl Moeller met with ALL ISRAEL NEWS for an interview last week during the 2023 National Religious Broadcasters convention in Orlando, Florida.

Moeller became executive director of The Joshua Fund in the summer of 2020, after many years of faithful service in various Evangelical ministries, including Cru and Saddleback Church. In addition, he previously served as the CEO and president of both Biblica and Open Doors, USA.

During the interview at NRB, Moeller shared about his work at The Joshua Fund, the weekly Inside the Epicenter podcast, and what he hoped to share during the NRB gathering.

 Below is the interview, lightly edited for clarity.

ALL ISRAEL NEWS (AIN): What are the three things that you most want NRB members to know about The Joshua Fund? 

MOELLER: First of all, we are a ministry that uniquely blesses Israel and the neighbors in the name of Jesus – and that's very unusual for most ministries, especially most ministries here. They're going to either choose a side, or ask you to choose a side first before you really can engage with them. I think the number one thing that I want them to know is that The Joshua Fund (TJF) is truly a “both-and” ministry, blessing Israel and the neighbors.

Secondly, the impression that we give is that we are a huge, well-oiled machine. But we’re actually punching way above our weight class. And we are really not about the show or even the “big voice.” We're about the pastor, and the ministry leader, and their unique and individual ministry. You know, the reality is that 90+ percent of all the ministries in the area that we work with, most people here would never have heard of. And we get a chance to be their voice and their promotion. So honestly, that's the second thing I would like them to know.

And third is that Joel [Rosenberg], as founder of both The Joshua Fund and ALL ISRAEL NEWS, is so unique in the kingdom. There's not another Christian leader represented here in the media, or in ministry leadership, or in other things that has the unique combination that Joel brings to this. He brings biblical knowledge, he brings geopolitical engagement and he brings a very clear, direct through-line to biblical prophecy without becoming wild-eyed or purple-haired in the midst of that. So those are the three things that I would say are the biggest elements of The Joshua Fund that I would like everybody here to know. And that's what we're bringing to people here at this booth. 

AIN: Why did you launch the Inside the Epicenter Podcast several years ago, and what have been some of your favorite episodes? 

MOELLER: Well, selfishly, I launched it because I liked getting a graduate level education, talking to Joel two hours every other week. [Laughter] But no, seriously, one of the primary missions of The Joshua Fund right from the beginning has been to educate the global church about what's happening in the epicenter. And I can't think of a better way than to reach millions of people through listening to a conversation that Joel and I can have about some area of biblical prophecy or current events or biblical history, or just highlighting some of the ministry partners that we have through The Joshua Fund.

So when I saw that The Joshua Fund hadn't had a podcast yet – and we have such an amazing content creator in Joel – I thought, ‘Man, that's a no-brainer. That's what we have to dive into.’ And I was really fortunate this year. We were blessed. We were able to do 11 podcast recordings while we were here [at NRB], just pulling people off the floor, like Ambassador Sam Brownback on the topic of international religious liberty. I did two podcasts with Joel from Israel, but from here. It's just one of the best ways for us to get our message of education out, to really help shape the Evangelical mind worldwide about what God is doing here in the epicenter. 

AIN: Do you have any favorite episodes? 

MOELLER: One is the War of Gog and Magog, which we've done in a couple of different parts. That's been one of the most powerfully communicated and yet lesser-known prophecies in all of the Bible. And Joel does an amazing job of connecting the dots between all of those things that I talked about.

But the other one that I really liked, personally – there's been a lot of them that I've enjoyed a lot. Lynn's testimony was great. You know, she's another Jersey girl. I'm a Jersey boy.

But we've had so much response to the podcast on finding the biblical city of Sodom, that was literally destroyed, scientifically proven to be destroyed, by – get this – fire and brimstone from heaven. An exploding meteor destroyed the city. Exactly where the Bible says it would have been, exactly in a way that the Bible would have said it was destroyed. And we talked to the archaeologist who discovered it.

AIN: How has the podcast been received in the U.S. and around the world? 

MOELLER: I think it's been received very well. I think it's been encouraging to me and some of the folks that I've had a chance to interact with. You know, I get a chance to travel around the country and speak at churches and talk to some of our supporters and donors. And people are always coming up and saying, ‘I really appreciate the podcast.’ And one gal in Naples, Florida, last year told me, ‘I clean my house to it.’ I'm like, ‘Well, okay. She puts her headphones in, and she goes around the house and she cleans.’ And she says, ‘You guys are always talking about something interesting.’ And so for my money, I think those anecdotal stories are really helpful to know that we're hitting a nerve. You can look at the analytics, and the analytics are amazing too, in terms of the growth of the podcast and the millions of listens that we've had on YouTube, Spotify and other platforms. If Joel and I can literally hit hundreds of thousands or even millions of ears with a story or a communication about something God is doing in the epicenter, and we can do that by just sitting down and talking from Jerusalem in California for two hours every other week, I'm all in. It's a great thing. 

AIN: Why did you agree to join The Joshua Fund three years ago as executive director? 

MOELLER: Well, Joel has certain documents in his possession that are threatening to me. No, I'm kidding. [Laughter] No, honestly, I really felt like it was an organization that had such a unique vision of being a “both-and” organization, that Joel's ability to communicate that was second to none, and that it was just a real opportunity for me to build on what had been done for 15 years in such a beautiful way—and to give God every chance to take The Joshua Fund to the next level. So that's where my heart is – is seeing those things happen.

AIN: What was the most surprising thing that happened since you joined The Joshua Fund?

MOELLER: You know, I've always been a fan of Joel's. Ever since he started writing books. I'm always surprised that people fall into one of two camps. They either completely know everything Joel's done – they are big fans, they watch the television program, they read the books, they're familiar with the ministry and they listen to the podcast.

But then there's the other folks that have been around the Christian world doing ministry, and they've never heard of Joel. And it's a stunning thing to me because, you know, he's sold 5 million books. I mean, every week he's got a television program. And all I can tell you is that we still have a lot of work to do at The Joshua Fund, because I always find people fall in one of two categories. It's never like, “Oh, yeah, I've heard of him.” No, it's like, “Oh, I love Joel!” or “I've never heard of Joel,” so I want to get more of the “never-heards” to be “I-loves.”

The Joshua Fund is a non-profit educational and humanitarian relief organization whose ministry is dedicated to blessing Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus. The ministry was founded by Joel and Lynn Rosenberg in 2006.