After a promising start in his education, Robert Gilmour LeTourneau dropped out of school at the age of 14. He was the black sheep of the family. While his brothers held the same job for years, Robert could not keep a job. For years, his parents prayed for him, until Robert finally opened his eyes and began seeking his salvation. Years later, he described his encounter with God: “I was not struck by lightning. I just prayed to the Lord and asked Him to save me. Then, I was sure of his presence. No word was spoken. I received no message from beyond. The only thing that happened was that all my bitterness was washed away, and I was filled with such a huge relief that I couldn’t hold it in.”

After his encounter with God, an overwhelming desire to lead others to have the same experience, and he felt that the only way to do this would be on the altar. When he asked his pastor for advice, he heard:

“You know, brother LeTourneau, God needs businessmen as well as pastors and missionaries.”

So he decided to become a Godly businessman, someone who God could rely on to finance His work, and he became a faithful tither. But it was not all a bed of roses.

He partnered with a friend and started a company. Everything seemed to be going well until he had to take some time off to work on ship maintenance during the First World War. When he returned, he found out that he was in debt and bankrupt. To pay off the debts, he worked on repairing a tractor and was hired by the owner to flatten several acres of land, also using a scraper. He fell in love with the job, bought a tractor and with a rented scraper, he started the land levelling business.

In May 1921, he established an engineering workshop to design and build his inventions. In 1930, now with two factories, he envisioned an upcoming year filled with solid gains and prosperity. That’s when everything started going down hill. He said he would not give his tithes during that whole year. Instead, he would invest in the company, so that the following year he could “give an amount that God could be proud of”.

He thought he could do things his way and that God would not mind, after all, He would receive “His share” at the end of the year. Years later he acknowledged: along with pride, there was also fear. First, he wanted to see if the business would succeed. Mistakenly, he felt that if God wanted to receive, He would bless him, and not that he first had to believe and give. He even wrote: “God does not do business that way. He does not tell us to come back next year when we ask for His help. If you wait to see how the harvest will be before you give God His part, He will see you as a man of little faith. He certainly realized my false justification”.

Without faith, the expected result did not come through. Instead of the promising prosperity of that business, he was bombarded by problems and ended the year in debt. He realized that God was not interested in the amount of his tithe, but the attitude that demonstrated faithfulness and unconditional faith. He decided to do more for God, so he made a covenant of faithfulness and obedience. A partnership with Him.

Thereafter, in exchange for his unrestricted obedience, he received such wisdom that still amazes those who study his life. Inevitably, he became a millionaire and was highly respected among his competitors, who never understood (and to this day still do not understand) how he could be so far ahead of his time. He became recognized worldwide as a leader in the development and manufacture of heavy equipment. His inventions accounted for almost 70% of all the earthmoving equipment and engineering vehicles used by the allied forces during World War II.

Among his inventions are the rubber tire with low pressure for heavy vehicles, the electric drive system and mobile equipment for drilling offshore. In addition to machines that, with a simple push of a button, could move tons of earth, he enabled the development of the world in the 20th century. We can say without fear of error that the 21st century would not have gotten this far without the inventions of LeTourneau.

Seen as an engineering genius, he wrote in his book “Mover of men and mountains”, “I am just a mechanic that God has blessed. He uses the weak to confuse the strong. There is no logical explanation for the fact that I have developed these machines. I have not gone past seventh grade in school. At thirty, I was broke and in debt”.

LeTourneau saw his work as a service to God, and eventually did not limit himself to tithing. The percentage he gave gradually increased until he reached the point of donating 90% of his income to the work of God. In addition to this, he dedicated his life to saving souls, paying from his own pocket to travel and give his testimony around the world.

Seeing what was really important, he understood that everything belongs to God, and that he was simply managing something that was not his. When asked about the amounts he donated to the church, he said: “The question is not how much of my money I give to God, but how much of God’s money I keep to myself.”