The Spark with Jacob Hayward

The Spark with Jacob Hayward

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The Spark with Jacob Hayward episodes

  • Mission to Belize: They sold their first trees! W/ Ed Kapraly

    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

    1. The real Belize vs. the postcard — Interior jungle, Mayan village life, no AC, limited power, and why the bugs (and the beaches) aren’t what people assume.

    2. The nutrition crisis they walked into — 70% poverty in the district, stunted kids from missing protein, and the “protein event” that started with smoked pork after 24 hours of village prep.

    3. They sold their first trees — Andy’s first sales ($500, then more the same day, then another 70), what $2.50 seedlings mean when average yearly income is $1,500–$3,000, and why fruit trees around the house change both diet and cash flow.

    4. Vanilla at the doorstep — Why they dropped a far-off cacao plan and chose a hand-pollinated orchid women can tend in the yard while watching kids—plus the 3–4 year path and the cooperative they still have to build.

    5. Missions that doesn’t start with a building — Why they’re funding trees, nurseries, and income instead of a big church structure first, how tragedy in the village (a young husband’s death) makes the work more urgent, and what’s on the table for the October trip.

      6. 49 min
    6. You’re Too Busy Doing Things for God to Be With God W/ Pastor Wayne Downing

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      Show Notes / Highlights

      • Motorcycles as a picture of rest: no phone, just the road, prayer, and thoughts

      • What a sabbatical actually is (and why it’s not “a six-week vacation”)

      • Why pastors carry a unique weight: the Sunday sermon is a small sliver of the calling

      • Sabbath as both a day and a trust posture — Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath

      • Eugene Peterson, the calendar as friend, and scheduling silence/solitude

      • How Wayne prepared (and didn’t prepare) for six weeks of “just Wayne”

      • Reading Scripture for himself instead of for the church

      • What changed in him and in the church when he came back

      • Why Americans are terrible at rest (microwave culture, Chick-fil-A speed)

      • Phones, scrolling, and the lie that “vegging out” is rest

      • Kids as an honest feedback system for our hurry

      • Divert daily. Withdraw weekly. Abandon annually.

      • Rest is not a reward you earn after you finish everything. It is how God reminds you the world does not sit on your shoulders.

        • 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.

        1 hr 10 min
      • Quakers, Bombs, and the Haitians of Springfield: What Peacemaking Actually Costs w/ Pastors Joe and Cara

        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’s multi-generational Friends upbringing and the quiet ethos of peace that formed him long before he had language for it

        • Cara’s journey from Foursquare Pentecostal roots and Navy recruiting tests to a “convinced Friend” after encountering Jesus the Peacemaker at Malone

        • Why the peace testimony is more than the absence of war—it is the presence of God’s abundance

        • Navigating “God and country” culture in small-town Ohio while pastoring people with military pasts and futures

        • Practical peacemaking in violent contexts: Cara’s eight years teaching conflict resolution in LA Unified schools amid drive-bys and gang trauma

        • The Springfield, Ohio Haitian deportation crisis as a live test of whether the church will treat immigrants as neighbors or threats

        • Biblical through-line on the foreigner/widow/orphan and Psalm 146’s clear priority

        • Salvation as metanoia and entry into God’s household (oikos)—not just a cosmic ledger transaction

        • How scarcity thinking and scapegoating fuel violence, while rest in God produces the courage to cross borders and differences

        • The twin practices that form peacemakers: deep time with God + intentional friendship with people different from ourselves

          • 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.

          1 hr 9 min
        • Your Christology Is Too Safe! Church Planting w/ Pastor Matt Chesnes

          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

          • Why a long-time lead pastor felt God shifting him toward regional multiplication

          • The difference between “planting a church” and launching disciple-making communities

          • Stories of multi-national worship, cross-cultural stretching, and learning spirituality in India

          • How Business as Mission opens doors traditional church planting often cannot

          • Practical first steps for established churches stuck in maintenance mode (repentance, Gospel of John, praying the Word together)

          • Open doors right now: UAE, Hungary, Malawi refugee work, and more

          • Why success looks like a movement of God you can’t fully control or count

            • 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

            • EFC-ER Website: https://www.efcer.org

            • Evangelical Friends Mission (EFM): https://friendsmission.com

            • Matt Chesnes: Reach out through the Multiplication Team via the EFC-ER website or email [email protected]

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              55 min
            • Appalachian Trail Q&A with Thru-Hiker Henry Hayward

              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

              • What Henry actually misses a month later (and what he doesn’t)

              • The gear that got left behind, the bivy that failed in a 18-hour rainstorm, and why he switched from boots to sandals

              • Town-to-town resupply vs. mail drops, and why New England trail stores feel like a tax on hikers

              • Damascus as the overrated “trail town” and the places that quietly hit different

              • Why extreme purism is nonsense when the trail itself keeps changing

              • The green tunnel, the constant up-and-down with almost no switchbacks, and how early-season leafless views changed everything

              • No big “calling” revelation—just the quiet knowledge that he’s different and still figuring out how

              • Where God felt most present: alone, struggling, and in the rocky alpine zones up north

              • How to chase a quieter mind without hiking 2,200 miles

              • Practical advice for anyone who just wants to start hiking (and a few solid Midwest/nearby recommendations)

                • 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.

                35 min
              • The Beauty of House Church: Intimacy, Authenticity & Kingdom Living with Pastor Kristin Aull (Pursuit Friends)

                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

                • Why they returned to (and love) house church after traditional settings

                • The irreplaceable intimacy of meeting in actual homes

                • Navigating visitor anxiety and welcoming newcomers through relationships

                • “Belong before you believe” – creating space for seekers and skeptics

                • Conversational Bible discussion vs. monologue preaching

                • Intergenerational family-like bonds and kids fully included

                • Shared pastoral care and authentic vulnerability

                • Practicing the Kingdom: meals, worship, mission, and real-life application

                • Challenges and joys of small, committed community

                  • 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

                  • Pursuit Friends House Church (Facebook page; contact: [email protected])

                  • Theology of shared meals and communion

                  • House church ecclesiology: community + worship + mission

                    • 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

                    49 min
                  • Creating Beauty in the Church & Creation with Pastor Justin Bryant

                    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:

                    • How beauty in nature reveals spiritual truths, virtues, and God’s character

                    • The cycles of creation (seed, soil, water) versus linear, disposable culture

                    • Restorative power of slowing down in nature

                    • What truly makes something beautiful: order, connection to God, adorning rather than destroying

                    • Navigating sorrow and beauty in death through a recent funeral

                    • Why churches should prioritize beauty in their spaces and lives (drawing from Exodus, the Tabernacle, and Revelation)

                    • Becoming “good clay” in the Potter’s hands, letting God shape us to reflect His beauty

                      • 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.

                      47 min

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