Most people hear “Belize” and picture beaches, palm trees, and turquoise water. This is not that Belize.

This conversation is from the interior jungle of the Toledo District—among rural Mayan families where poverty is high, refrigeration is rare, a chicken for dinner was still running that morning, and a third of the children are stunted from lack of protein.

Ed and the team aren’t just visiting. They’re building something with the village: fruit trees around homes for year-round food, a seedling business that’s already producing real income, and a longer-term vanilla project designed so women can work close to their children. Andy, their local partner, just sold his first trees—and in one stretch made what can be a huge share of a typical year’s earnings.

This is missions that looks like tables, trees, smoked pork, muddy roads, and dignity. Watch the story of what’s already working and what’s coming next in October.

5 Show Highlights

NEW! My New Shirt Shop Promo

If this conversation about slowing down, abiding, and being instead of just doing landed with you, grab a shirt from the new shop: Truth & Beauty https://truth-beauty-3.myshopify.com

These are original sketchbook drawings printed on simple, well-made tees — roses, quiet lines, “Truth & Beauty,” and one called Spark of something new. They’re $30. Wear one as a small, everyday reminder that rest and presence matter. Go slowly.

Show Notes / Highlights

Short Bio — Pastor Wayne Downing

Wayne Downing is the pastor of Goshen Friends Church in Zanesfield, Ohio (Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region). He is known for his joy, his smile, and his Goldwing. Married to Susan, with grown children, Wayne recently took his first sabbatical — six weeks of stepping out of the pastor role to simply be Wayne. He came back preaching John 15 (“Abide in me”) and carrying a renewed sense that the church deserves a rested pastor. He is a mentor and dear friend to Jacob.

Pastors Joe and Cara Pfeiffer of Mansfield Friends Church sit down with Jacob to unpack the historic Friends peace testimony—what it really means, how it rewired their own lives (including Cara’s near-Navy path and Joe’s post-9/11 high-school stand), and how it shapes their response to war, immigration, veterans, scarcity, and the daily cycle of violence. This is not theoretical pacifism. It’s the costly, creative, Spirit-formed refusal to let fear and nationalism decide who is human.

Episode Highlights

Joe Pfeiffer is a pastor at Mansfield Friends Church and a “birthright Friend” whose family roots in the congregation stretch back generations. Formed by the gracious ethos of the Friends, a powerful Spirit encounter on a Jamaica mission trip as a teenager, and a lifelong wrestling with Jesus’ command to love enemies, Joe is known by some as “Quaker Joe” for his commitment to recovering the peaceable strengths of the evangelical Friends tradition.

Cara Pfeiffer is co-pastor at Mansfield Friends Church. Raised in the Foursquare (Pentecostal) tradition, she nearly joined the Navy before sensing a clear call to Malone University. There the Quaker peace witness “tugged at her heart” and became the missing piece in her faith. She later spent eight years teaching peacemaking and conflict resolution in the Los Angeles Unified School District, working with children living in daily violence. Together Joe and Cara bring a lived, pastoral, and theologically grounded voice to the Friends peace testimony.

Description

What if the biggest barrier to church planting isn’t lack of strategy, funding, or even people—but a too-safe vision of Jesus?

Pastor Matt Chesnes, Director of Multiplication for Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, has spent decades pastoring established churches and walking cross-culturally from Japan to India to the UAE. In this conversation he challenges the idea that multiplication starts with better programs. It starts with a bigger Christology.

From multi-ethnic worship gatherings to Business as Mission, from praying Scripture over isolated pastors to training people who will plant disciple-making communities in 120+ nations, Matt paints a picture of a church that seeks first the Kingdom and then simply obeys.

This episode is for anyone who feels the tension between maintenance and multiplication, between safety and the call to go.

Podcast Highlights

Guest Bio – Pastor Matt Chesnes

Pastor Matt Chesnes has served as Director of Multiplication for Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region since August 2024. He brings more than 35 years of pastoral experience, including 16 years at Pelham Friends Church (Ontario) and 20 years at Morning Star Friends Church.

A long-time advocate for missions, Matt has served on EFC-ER’s Mission Board and participated in ministry across Japan, Jamaica, Brazil, India, and the United Arab Emirates. He has a particular passion for multi-ethnic worship and has orchestrated All Nations gatherings that included up to eight different cultural groups.

Key Links & Contact

Subscribe to The Spark Newsletter

Want more conversations like this delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to The Spark with Jacob Hayward—short, thoughtful writing on faith, church planting, fatherhood, and seeking first the Kingdom.

Join free here: https://the-spark-with-jacob-hayward.beehiiv.com

Description
Just over a month after finishing the Appalachian Trail, Henry sits down for a raw follow-up. He talks about the gear that failed him, the towns that are overrated, why extreme “purism” is ridiculous, and how the trail is both more boring and harder than most people admit. He also gets honest about where he actually sensed God—usually when he was alone, exhausted, and talking out loud to the sky—and why a simpler mind on the trail made prayer feel easier than everyday life. No polished “life-changing journey” narrative. Just the real thing.

Show Highlights

Newsletter Blurb
If this conversation stirred something in you—about simplicity, presence, or the difference between the life we perform and the life we actually live—you’ll want the deeper, weekly version.
Subscribe free to The Spark with Jacob Hayward:
https://the-spark-with-jacob-hayward.beehiiv.com

Short, honest writing on faith, calling, family, and the long road of becoming the person you’re supposed to be.

AI Summary
Jacob Hayward sits down with Kristin, a leader at Pursuit Friends House Church, to explore the joys and realities of house church ministry. After years in traditional church settings, Kristin and her husband joined a plant that began in a home, briefly moved to a building, and returned to a house church model during COVID—rediscovering the deep community they craved.

They discuss the unique intimacy of meeting in homes, where you truly know people (refrigerator contents and all), the challenges and beauty of not being able to “hide” in rows of seats, and how house churches create space for belonging before believing. Kristin shares practical insights on conversational teaching, intergenerational relationships, shared pastoral care, and why this model feels like family reunion rather than Sunday service.

A heartfelt, encouraging conversation for anyone exploring simpler, more relational expressions of church or seeking authentic community.

Key Topics

Guest:
Kristin serves as a leader at Pursuit Friends House Church in Green, Ohio. She helped plant the church over seven years ago and is passionate about relational, participatory faith communities that reflect the early church.

Resources Mentioned

Call to Action
If you're craving deeper relationships, authentic faith discussions, or considering house church, give this episode a listen and visit Pursuit Friends if you're in the area! Share with someone exploring simpler church models. Jacob and Olga’s own house church journey continues—stay tuned for more.

Length: ~54 minutes
Tags: House Church, Organic Church, Christian Community, Missional Living, Intergenerational Church, Simple Church, Authentic Faith, Ohio House Churches

I sit down with Pastor Justin Bryant of a small country church in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Recorded in Justin’s Church's backyard, a transformed wildflower meadow complete with a natural playground, we explore the profound role of beauty in faith, church life, and everyday creation.

Justin shares the story behind developing the church grounds: moving from an empty field to a thriving meadow and children’s play area, inspired by family experiences, church themes of beauty, and his background in design. The discussion flows naturally into deeper themes:

A thoughtful, hope-filled episode for anyone craving more beauty, rest, and authenticity in their faith and community.

Guest:
Pastor Justin Bryant serves a small country church near the geographic center of Ohio. A former designer with a heart for creativity, he’s passionate about helping his congregation and community encounter God through beauty in creation and shared spaces.

Catching up with my baby brother who just finished thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. Listen as he tells stories of his time on trail, his reflections on beauty, on silence, on purpose, and what his next adventure will be!