Our History
From left: Hildor Janz, Adolf Janz, Leo Janz, Cornelius Enns, and Harding Braaten. Germany, 1971.
TeachBeyond was born on the western Canadian prairies in 1954, when Leo Janz committed himself to bringing the Biblical message of hope to post-war Germany. Several members of his family joined him to create The Janz Brothers Gospel Association, which began broadcasting over Radio Luxembourg in 1955. News of the Association’s radio, church, music, and educational work spread to German-speaking communities in Europe. As opportunities grew, the original Janz Association established various national Janz organisations to serve needs in Europe and South America.
In 2006 the Board of Directors assessed the status of the organisation and came to the conclusion that it would be appropriate to recast the vision and undertake new initiatives. Out of this came the phrase, “teach beyond,” which subsequently became the name of the organization in 2009. This change was coterminous with the appointment of a new president, Dr. George Durance, and the establishment of a USA office in the Chicago, Illinois area. Dr. Durance introduced a strategic planning process that resulted in a five year Plan known as “Educating for Transformation: the Birth of a Dream 2010-15,” that was adopted by the Board in April 2010.
