Steve was born in Sarnia, Ontario, to John and Alma Kember in 1944. He grew up attending the Sarnia Gospel Hall and was saved at the age of 14 through 1 Timothy 1:15. He and Merle were married in 1966, and Lydia, Lisa, Zonya and Jeffrey were added to their family. In these early years he became increasingly burdened to take the gospel to others.
His first outreach efforts began in Sarnia during the years 1977-87 while he and Merle owned Kember Furniture Rentals. His concern for the Christians’ children and others found him preaching in his furniture storage garage, seating people on the random couches and chairs. Many were saved and later added to the assembly. He helped in the Chatham area with door-to-door visiting and preaching in the tent, reaching souls for Christ. Numerous trips were taken to St. Lucia, West Indies, assisting with the mission work there, staying for a year with his family in 1983-84. During that year, he preached every night for 38 weeks in a row! Again, many were saved and assemblies planted that still continue today.
In early 1988, he and Merle were commended to full-time gospel work by the Sarnia assembly and moved to the Norwich/Woodstock area, working primarily among the Dutch Reformed. They saw many people saved there. He rented an empty lot in Norwich, put an old trailer on it, and the assembly first met in this “Good News Trailer.” Eventually, a building was secured in Burgessville, where the assembly still meets today.
Steve loved to encourage others to get involved. I moved into the area because of this and eventually married his daughter Zonya. He took six from the assembly with him to Russia in 1993 to hand out Bibles and share the gospel. At one point during his time in Burgessville he had three storefronts rented: in Tillsonburg, Brantford and Burford. A typical Sunday afternoon had some of us preaching in each of these, as well as back in Burgessville in the evening. Steve financially supported all of this and, as a result, you’d often find him painting lines in parking lots to help pay expenses and support his family. He often told me, “Nobody asked me to go and preach, so I can’t be upset if they don’t support me.”
It was during the work there that he and Merle lost their son, Jeffrey, at the age of thirteen. I remember coming to the house that Saturday morning, unaware of what had just happened, and will never forget what Steve said: “One thing I know for sure: God has never made a mistake before, and He hasn’t made one today.” Jeffrey died on August 11, 1992.
During this time, Steve also went door to door east of Cambridge. The small assembly in Clyde experienced a revival as a result.
January 1997 arrived and with it the start of 30 years in the west. Steve and Merle moved to Lethbridge, Alberta. He set up a booth in the mall, and through this effort Hutterites were contacted. Over the next six years countless were saved. Many came off the colonies, and two assemblies are now in the area as a result.
Meanwhile, much gospel interest was being seen in Steinbach, Manitoba, and Steve was asked to follow up the work begun there. So, in 2003 he and Merle moved again and were instrumental in the planting of an assembly there.
Their move to LaCrete, Alberta, in 2006 began Steve’s interest in the far north. Some were saved and, as a result, an assembly gathered for a few years until most moved south. During this time, he purchased a four-season, 30-foot trailer which he pulled even farther north over ice roads, often in minus 50°C weather, to reach isolated communities – some north of the Arctic Circle!
This interest in these First Nations people eventually moved him to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, in 2011. He had another trailer designed specifically for mobile street work and was weekly on the street, handing out coffee while sharing Christ. This work is still ongoing and often over 150 people come by each week. In the meantime, Steve’s long-time vision of a Christian café was realized when he purchased a building downtown. Elim Café still operates today, with literature available and Bible verses on the walls and on coffee cups. An assembly was also started in 2023 which continues to meet upstairs above the café.
During his 15 years in Prince Albert, Steve continued to take his winterized trailer north. He often took younger men along and, at the age of 82, was still hoping to go one more time.
Steve loved people and people knew it. Although he did much preaching, he preferred personal evangelism; the stories are endless of those touched by his genuine care. His passion for seeing people saved and gathered to the Lord’s name was unrelenting, and his encouragement has spurred countless others to share Christ. At least six men who first worked with Steve have gone into full-time gospel work. He was a forward thinker, a gospel pioneer. His ideas were often unconventional and not always welcomed, but he and Merle continued serving the Lord, and many of the ideas Steve initiated are commonly used among us in gospel outreach today. He took a lot of criticism and never seemed to get bitter. He was quick to apologize, almost to a fault, quick to lend a hand and give financially to those in need. Steve was right in the middle of more plans and ideas, but the Lord decided his work on earth was done and took him home on April 25, 2026. He died knowing the peace of God and sharing the reason of that peace with others, even while in hospice. Two funerals were held; over 300 attended in Prince Albert and 400 in Sarnia. His live-streamed funeral services have been viewed over 3,000 times.
I don’t believe his impact on the lives of others will ever be known this side of eternity. Many, of which there is no space to list, were involved and helped in the 50 years of his gospel efforts. He will be greatly missed. He was a tremendous influence in my life and for this I am forever grateful.
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise” (Pro 11:30 KJV).
