(Photo courtesy TeachBeyond)
International (MNN) — Is God calling you to pray, give, or go?
Sometimes, when confronted with this question, there’s an immediate reaction: there’s fear, there’s guilt, and sometimes confusion.
Matthew 28:18-20 notes the words of Jesus: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” It’s known as the Great Commission. And even though it was given thousands of years ago, it has yet to be rescinded.
The word beyond means outside the understanding, limits, or reach of; it suggests crossing boundaries. To that end, TeachBeyond engages educators in 45 to 50 countries around the world. TeachBeyond President George Durance says, “We want to ‘teach beyond’ the ordinary–teach beyond just the simple, utilitarian type of education that trains people for the work place or to be good prudential citizens.”
Their teams work to meet the needs of this world–physical, relational, and spiritual, but they don’t stop there, Durance adds. “These are wonderful qualities in education, but we want to go beyond that to see individuals transformed, to see them really become all that God, their Creator, intended them to be.”
(Photo courtesy TeachBeyond)
Together, they can do more than they ever could apart. Durance explains, “What we need more than anything else are quality people who are passionately sold out to Christ, and who are willing to go abroad and live in, sometimes, pretty difficult circumstances, simply because they love people and want to see them transformed.“
The TeachBeyond mission statement declares:
As followers of Jesus, we are an international organization providing transformational education to children and to adults. We provide teaching and learning services to all regardless of gender, ethnicity, or religion in order to promote holistic personal growth and enduring social benefit.
From that comes the obvious question: how do they do that? “It could be some kind of service directly to students where we’re doing the teaching. Many of our people are classroom teachers. But it can go beyond that to advice and counsel for boards, for leadership training of teachers, for providing curriculum support.”
We go. TeachBeyond connects teachers, administrators, RAs, dorm parents, and support staff with exciting educational opportunities around the world!
We train. TeachBeyond equips teachers to reach their full potential as Christian educators.
We partner. TeachBeyond works in over 30 countries with more than 30 international schools (K-12), universities, national schools, and start-ups. TeachBeyond sponsors summer English Camps in numerous countries.
(Photo courtesy TeachBeyond)
TeachBeyond nurtures growth: personal, transformational growth, and the result is enduring social benefit. “If you’re really going to have a transformed student, whether it’s a child or adult, it’s going to be a change in the spirit, the heart of the individual.
There’s an additional challenge in meeting the demands of the modern world, too. Poverty limits resources, and the people fall further behind. Durance says, “There is a great hunger for education and a real understanding on the part of national leaders, government leaders, and so on, that it’s really education that is going to prepare their people for the modern world.”
Finally, says Durance, “It’s prayer that launches the missionary endeavor. That’s what we’re really asking for is prayer for God’s people. The money is important, too, but that is not the primary prayer request.”
TeachBeyond calls Christians to think outside of their current context, explains Durance. In the grace to DO, pray, give, or go becomes not “one or the other,” but “both/and.”
