Transformed & Transformational

Jack Stenekes has been serving with TeachBeyond (formerly Janz Team) for over 50 years, first on the stage and then behind the scenes in administration and finance. What stories and wisdom does he have to share? Listen in to hear his heart for evangelism and faithful obedience to the Lord.

• Learn more about the history of Janz Team and TeachBeyond in Episode 159: The Roots of TeachBeyond with George and Beverley Durance.
• "Music was to undergird and support the work of evangelism, and it always was meant that way."
• "We'd have up to 80% unchurched kids that would come out for these events, and I think in those occasions, I realized, 'Wow, God is doing something very remarkable through our presentation of the Gospel through music and through the preaching of the Word.'"
• "Even though changes were there, doors of opportunity also became available."
• "It's not necessarily a person's ability, but a person's availability."
• "When God closes a door, He opens a window." - Corrie Ten Boom
• "When you do look back, you see it in perspective, and that's not possible when you're in it. With all of the changes that took place, I'm just so grateful that the Lord impressed upon me just to stick with it and do what you need to do at the moment."
• "Let's do this together. The Lord has a way forward. He has solutions for us, and I'm happy to be part of it. A person doesn't have to be in the limelight; that's not necessarily where it's at."
• "Anticipate that God is going to continue to give you a means to serve."
• "Our vision and our purpose should be to reach people for Christ."
• "That's my prayer for the organization - that we actually aim for the heart of people, not just for their minds."
• "God is going to provide what we need for the moment in the times of challenge."

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Getting a large white board
• Heather: Stories from the 70th anniversary episodes
• Jack: Getting older and learning a new pace

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

Persevering through difficult seasons often brings new perspectives on God's faithfulness and provision. In this episode, two school leaders - Steshire Buyinza in Uganda and Ellen Kujawski in the Dominican Republic - share about their experiences pioneering in establishing new schools and how they have seen God at work amidst challenges. Don't miss the special 70th anniversary story from TeachBeyond's first teacher!

• Learn more about Arbor Christian Academy ( serve | give | follow ), Butambala Christian Learning Center ( learn | give | follow ), and Black Forest Academy ( serve | give | follow )
• "We started this school out of the need that we saw in the community for young people to have something that they could do and feel like they mattered in the community - but as well, preach Christ to them, preach the living hope to them, give them the love of Christ, for them to know that they are loved, they are not alone." - Steshire Buyinza
• "Is this where God has called us? Is this what we're supposed to be doing? And He just over and over affirmed that, 'Yes, I have called you to San Francisco.'" - Ellen Kujawski
• "We didn't want to be the people who came in with our vision of what we thought a school should be. We really wanted to be sure that it reflected the needs and desires of the local community." - Ellen Kujawski
• "I have learned that God is good and He is good. I have learned that when you trust God, everything is possible." - Steshire Buyinza
• "What I have really learned from persevering through these difficult things is that God is faithful." - Steshire Buyinza
• "It's so easy for us to forget the things that God has done because in the moment they are such big concerns, and then I'm learning to celebrate when God does meet those needs instead of just moving on to the next concern." - Ellen Kujawski
• "This all belongs to God. He is the one who called you and He is faithful [...] This is His work. Whatever we are doing, it is all for His glory." - Steshire Buyinza
• "You're not alone. You're not the only one who is facing these kinds of situations." - Ellen Kujawski
• "You're doing a great job. God has trusted you as a vessel to reach out to these children, to reach out to these young people. May God bless you." - Steshire Buyinza

What's changing our lives:

• Heather: New routines with shorter days
• Ellen: Raising a 15-month-old
• Steshire: Reading through the book of Genesis with her students

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

This year, we celebrate the 70th anniversary of TeachBeyond! TeachBeyond was actually formerly known as Janz Team Ministries for over 50 years, changing its name to TeachBeyond in 2009. Listen in to hear more of the story of how TeachBeyond came about as we talk with George and Beverley Durance - well known for their family ties to the original Janz Team and their roles as former TeachBeyond President and Donor Services.

• "Being part of the Janz family played a huge, positive role in my life." - Bev Durance
• "We said, 'Wow, we would really like to do something for God, and we don't want to get old and wonder what it would have been like to do that.'" - George Durance
• "The biggest motivator [..] was just strictly a deep desire to say the same thing in the 21st century that our forefathers had said in the 20th century, and if we were going to do that, we had to change how we said that." - George Durance
• "We started by praying. I think this has become a real hallmark of TeachBeyond – that we pray." - George Durance
• "When you have faith, you always act. Faith is never sitting on your backside. You ask and then you act." - George Durance
• "When you put your foot on the accelerator, don't take it off because you'll never find it again." - George Durance
• "If you're going to cast a vision, you have to actually have a vision." - George Durance
• "We see transformed lives, we see people changed across the globe, based on an educational initiative that the Holy Spirit has empowered and used." - George Durance
• "Who would have guessed that I would follow in my mother's footsteps to process the donations to support this work?" - Bev Durance
• "We determined that we would take every opportunity to develop relationships with the donors […] Our job was to give the organization face for the many people who wanted to support the work." - Bev Durance
• "I just love seeing God's hand of provision at work every day, and that transforms a person." - Bev Durance
• "So how does one keep going? How does one persevere in doing good? As we know, we will reap the harvest if we keep persevering, and one of the ways is to remember right from the beginning that God has gone before and prepared hearts and that you're in the center of His will, no matter how hard or discouraged you feel." - George Durance
• "Our missionaries are doing this – communicating the Gospel and discipling students in educational settings around the world – and I think my uncles would be so pleased to see the work they started continuing in this way." - Bev Durance

Learn more about TeachBeyond's annual Day of Giving here!

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Scheduled phone calls with his brother
• Heather: Visiting her mentor from a past season
• Beverley: Entering retirement and more time with family
• George: Keeping busy in this season of life

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

Can missions really have a positive impact on diplomacy? Dr. Phil Dow, Head of School at Black Forest Academy, shares about his research and personal experience with faithful missionaries whose impact expanded beyond what they could have imagined.

• Phil's book, Accidental Diplomats: American Missions and the Cold War in Africa
• Special Providence by Walter Russell Mead
• "I've grown up within the missionary community; I have a passion for seeing that work thrive, seeing God honored through the Great Commission around the world. Missions was everywhere around me."
• "The history books actually have a lot to do with people's misconceptions."
• "When I looked around the peers of my parents, the work that they were doing, what I saw was people that were there not getting wealthy, not in with the rich and powerful, not politically powerful or aiming for that, so the reality was very, very different from the stereotype."
• "They were going truly to the ends of the earth. And so, if they were going for wealth and power and influence, they went to the wrong places."
• "These missionaries went out to share their faith and to love their neighbor, and not to do that at the center of political power, and yet they end up having a massive influence."
• "How in the world did they have such a huge influence? The answer is really because they simply were doing the work that God had called them to."
• "Christianity as a global faith has been a twentieth century story, and that is intimately connected to the story of evangelical missions, and Africa is the most obvious glaring example of that."
• "It was because they didn't care about political power that they were so influential. It's because they were simply being obedient to God's calling on their lives that they were trusted because they weren't seen as manipulating or power hungry."
• "What excites me is the future of the Global South in the Great Commission."
• "I'm optimistic about the continuing role of the US and Canada and countries that have been traditional sending countries to continue to play a role, even if it looks a little different than it did thirty, forty, or fifty years ago."

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: A crawling baby and an office full of plants
• Heather: New mug from a Germany pottery market
• Phil: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer

Weekly Spotlight: Black Forest Academy

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

In this episode, Brian Delamont returns to the podcast to talk with Keane and Heather about Romans 12:2 — what it means to be transformed by renewal of our minds, rather than being conformed by the world.

• Romans 12:1-2
• "God is the master designer of all transformation. Since He created humanity in His image, He has the most precise and the most boundless understanding of what we can become in His design."
• 1 Peter 1:14
• "It's a moment by moment discipline to think and live in the Holy Spirit's path for us."
• "This is what He intends for us – not to be squeezed into something we're not, but rather to have every aspect of our lives be everything He knows it can be."
• "metamorphoo" - Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:2
• "The glory God has for us is revealed as we do the things our Father does and live the lives He intends for us to live. Our transformation shatters the power the mold of conforming wants to put on us and reveals more and more of the glory of God in our lives and in our world."
• Vision (the desired outcome), Intention (deciding to do it), Means (the way or ways to achieve the desired outcome)
• Titus 3:5
• "Transformation challenges all of how I live as a human, and for renewal to happen I need to make a commitment to transformation."
• "Changed thinking both comes from and results in a changed brain - literally, a renewed mind."

October Reflection:

• What is your vision? (Do you genuinely want to be transformed?)
• What is your intention? (You must decide to change.)
• What is your means? (What action steps will you take to move towards the change God has for you?)

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: A crawling baby
• Heather: The Gift of Limitations by Sara Hagerty and the boundary lines falling for us in pleasant places (Psalm 16)
• Brian: Stretching his skills as a musician

Weekly Spotlight: Ukarumpa International School

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

Have you ever felt pressure to figure out your whole life? Do you ever wonder what God is doing when you look at the fragmented pieces of your story? Gabriel Klein, TeachBeyond member in Brazil, shares how God has led him from a teenage dream to play in a band to go to seminary, learn video editing, and become a missionary.

• "For lots of students, what impacts them the most is listening to other students talking about what happened, talking about how God changed them, how God worked in their lives. So right now I have the chance to be the one listening to the stories and like recording them and editing and sharing them."
• "What God is doing is a lot bigger than what I can see and what I can put in a two-minute video."
• "God uses different things to transform people's lives… God uses our gifts, no matter how different they are."
• "I don't need to have this huge crisis every time I need to make a decision because He's taking care of it."
• "It's not about what I do but about being someone that loves Him and growing in my relationship with Him, and remembering that He is doing it and not me. It's His job, it's His ministry, it's His story, after all. I'm just a part of it."
• "I was looking at my calling and my future as something that was like a mystery that I needed to try to solve so that I could understand God's will for my life. Right now, I can see that He has been guiding me all the way through here, through all these transitions, through all these different jobs and different experiences."

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Playing street soccer with his sons
• Heather: Dahlias blooming late
• Gabriel: The Common Rule by Justin Earley

Weekly Spotlight: English Camps

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

What does it look like to cultivate a classroom environment that fosters integrity and responsibility? Rosemary Openda, seasoned educator and TeachBeyond member in Romania, shares relatable stories and practical tips for teachers to approach this topic intentionally.

• Rosemary's Article | Sign up to receive OnPractice
• "It's not just giving them knowledge; our very own lives should reflect Christ and should be a model that a student can emulate."
• "When you cultivate integrity in your class as a teacher, you give the student room to learn, room to be themselves and to value them, and also to understand that failing is not the end of it."
• "Communication is both verbal and nonverbal. How you communicate to your student matters a lot."
• "A teacher is a role model in class and outside class. So when I'm speaking to my student, they are able to see the authenticity in me."
• "Honesty is not just a matter of the classroom; it's a matter of the heart."
• "I have value in them as a student, as a person, and that changes the way they look at things, and it promotes a positive attitude."
• "Our words are very powerful."
• "God has entrusted me with these students for such a time as this, and I must be a good steward."
• "Healthy competition allows the student to learn something from the other student that is positive."
• "What are the things that this generation needs from us as forerunners? This has given me an opportunity to always, always search my heart and walk right with the Lord."
• "I am so much transformed in a way that I want what is inside me to come out as sweet waters to my students."

Click here to learn more about the Rise Up Summit!

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Reading a monthly book with a mentor group
• Heather: Listening to an audiobook
• Rosemary: Continuing to be a role model for students from summer camp

Weekly Spotlight: Bucharest Christian Academy

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

We are back for season 5! Author and artist Ruth Chou Simons joins Heather and Keane for this first episode of the season focused on finding our home in Christ, wherever He leads us.

• "I care about words as art."
• "'The heaven declare the glory of the Lord,' the Bible says. Ultimately, we are not just believing that God is on high and He is sovereign and He's the ruler of all and Creator God; we don't just think that and believe it, we experience it when we see the sunrise and the sunset."
• "The more we know that God is God and we are not, the more we start really being able to worship Him for who He is."
• "When you make your home with God, you'll never be far from home."
• "Sometimes we associate home with location or environment or kind of furniture or the smells… Nothing can truly satisfy the way my relationship with Jesus can."
• "If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world." C.S. Lewis
• "God offers to all of us a sense of belonging, home, and absolute security, regardless of where you live… It doesn't matter where God takes you, if He's the one that you're walking with, you actually have access to your true home."
• "The first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day is to have my soul happy in the Lord." George Mueller
• "Everything that is scary out there, I'm sheltered from ultimately by the blood of Christ, but also I have safety and comfort under the shelter of God's wing. And that shelter is true home."
• "Throughout Scripture, when we see God pursuing His people, when we're being offered a relationship with Jesus, it's always through presence."
• "He is our shepherd as in He is caring for us, He holds us, we are close to Him."
• Hebrews 11:16

Learn more about Ruth Chou Simons here and find her new book here!

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Community photography class
• Heather: Changes to her church small group
• Ruth: FaceTiming her sons in other states and ginger turmeric shots

Weekly Spotlight: Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

Looking for practical suggestions for beginning the school year well? Megan Randolph, TeachBeyond's Director of School Services, shares doable tips to prepare for the year logistically and spiritually. This is a great episode to share with your friends in education!

• "The rhythm of an academic year is necessary for the longevity of teachers."
• "At the end of the first week of school, what do we want our students or our learners that are in our care to know? We want them to know that we care about them, we want them to know that we value excellence, and we want them to know that we're passionate about our work - the content and also the work of education."
• "If you can do that bigger picture planning now at the start of the school year, I think that will save so much time and allow you freedom later on to pivot as you need."
• "Plan, put effort into it, pray about it, approach it in a positive manner, and then just make the best with what you can and with what you have because, at the end of the day, actually how you approach the first day of school is really going to set the tone for your students."
• Tips from past guests:
• Linda: Have a plan for classroom management
• Esther: Have students share a special item from home
• Anna: Give each student a fresh start and view them as children of God
• Jonathan: Keep the students the main focus over the lesson plan
• Lindsay: Welcome each student personally as they enter the room
• Tosca: Take time to reflect and remember that God is writing your story

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Sons back in school
• Heather: Watching the Olympics
• Megan: Packr app

Weekly Spotlight: Belize Christian Academy

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

For International TCK Day we are going back in our archives to our conversation with Michèle Phoenix from Season 1, Episode 22. Michèle is known around the world as an advocate for Third Culture Kids (TCKs) and the children of missionaries. Listen in for a glimpse into the world of TCKs!

• "Passport culture plus adoptive culture(s) equals Third Culture Kid (TCK)."
• "Because I have those two cultures in me, my closest sense of belonging is with others who are, like me, multiculturally formed in their formative years. There's a misconception that third culture is actually my individual third culture that I form out of the two that shaped me [...] but actually the term means that we find belonging with others who are also third cultured."
• "My differences were similar to their differences, and that I wasn't weird; I was a TCK."
• "Mostly belonging in multiple places increases their skillset; it makes them bridge builders."
• "To ask them to figure out what is uniquely one culture and uniquely another in the way they think and in the way they think, even in the way they speak, is going to be a real challenge for them."
• "Something that feels fairly minor to a monocultural adult who has lived multiculturally for a while might feel like this tidal wave of all of these emotions coming back to the TCK or MK."
• Article: Nine Tips for Living Well in a Season of Grief
• "The enormity of the blessing and the strength that comes from growing up as a TCK is immeasurable. You have blessed them in ways that you probably won't ever be able to fully realize."
• "Generalizations about TCKs are not always entirely helpful, but knowing what the majority of them tend toward I think can be a really helpful thing in mentoring them and walking with them."
• "Because of our experience seeing things done differently in other parts of the world [...] we can start to draw people from their highly selective clusters toward each other."
• Learn more about Michèle's ministry here!

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Reading more than one book at a time
• Heather: The Next Right Thing Journal by Emily P. Freeman
• Michèle: Four Tiny-Small Questions for the Quarantine-Weary
  • What small thing can I do that will make me feel alive in this moment?
  • What small thing can I do to take some sting out of this day?
  • What small thing can I do to make today feel purposeful?
  • What small thing can I do today that will connect me with God?

We'd love it if you would subscribe, rate, review, and share this show! And as always, you can reach us at [email protected].