Meet The Founder
About Me
I’m Ryan Steuer – child of God, entrepreneur and missionary coach who helps missionaries see more than they can ask or imagine through workshops, coaching, and courses. The poverty mindset that many donors and missionaries have keeps us thinking missionaries signed up to scrape by with very little.
I believe Ephesian 3:20 applies to all of us (even missionaries):
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,”
Too often, we look at our finances and say, “What have you called me to do with this Lord?”
Instead of asking, “What have you called me to do, Lord?” and then create a budget..
As we run Magnify Missions workshops, we see missionaries:
full of energy and focus as they open up a coffee shop in Zambia.
create new income streams for their family.
use their band to bring the Gospel to public schools while operating in their zone of genius instead of their zone of drudgery.
serving refugees in Chicago excitedly (not begrudgingly) inviting donors into God’s story.
You will find me traveling the country in my RV with my five kids and blessed wife. We are always ready for our next adventure whether it be canoe camping in Tennessee, hiking Glacier National Park, or looking for migrating birds in Texas – all while coaching missionaries, running businesses, and podcasting.
I’ve served God’s Kingdom as an 8th grade teacher, missionary, pastor, and entrepreneur. My journey took off after a one month sabbatical where my family and I unplugged for one full month with no email, no phone, no text. Just my family, God, and His creation. Our sabbatical time of actively seeking and not striving has convinced me that God wants you to thrive in your ministry AND personal life.
If a one month sabbatical seems impossible for you right now, then try out a one day sabbatical rest plan. Watching Netflix or collapsing early in your bed at night do not count as rest. The writer of Hebrews tells us to “make every effort to enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:11).
Download this free One Day Sabbatical Guide and begin entering into His rest today.
My Story
At the age of 26, I gave my life to Christ in the back row while listening to my uncle preach. I was there because my fiance thought we should go to church and because my uncle was in town. I found Jesus because of relationships. People I cared about thought I should know Jesus like they did.
There was no shining light from heaven or chorus of angels, but my whole life changed at that moment. Within a year, I quit my steady engineering job with a Fortune 500 company to go teach 8th grade English at an urban school on the southwest side of Indianapolis.
We found a church, and I cried every Sunday for 5 months as I came to understand how God’s love worked. It was awesome! I prayed, I sang, I poured myself into kids at school and let them know they were loved. A bible sat on my teacher desk every day. Kids knew where my care for them came from. I was fired up for Jesus and still am.
It wasn’t all perfect as I was trying to earn God’s love through works and there were some church authority issues, but all and all, God got me!
When my family moved to a country home with a little land and creek, we watched as the church across the street moved out their piano, pulpit and chairs. They were calling it quits because of church politics. I went to enquire about the next steps for the church. The next Easter we opened up the doors, and I was the pastor! God’s so cool!
The owners of the church building leased the building to us for a dollar a year. I knocked on every door in our 126 house country town to invite people to come worship with us.
I grabbed my bible, practiced a few lines of invitation and headed out the door. I took a deep breath as I knocked on the first door. The nice gentleman at the door attended another local church and said he would pray for us.
While we were talking, his dog started barking behind him and coming closer. He tried to block the bulldog as it came toward me, but he couldn’t stop the dog. His dog reached around his leg and bit me on the leg. The very first house I called on, and I got bit by a dog!
I prayed one more time asking God, “Are you sure I’m supposed to be knocking on doors?” I figured the devil was scared, and I must be on the right track and kept moving down the line.
Before we opened the doors someone donated a piano, we found a perfectly restored pulpit at the end of someone’s driveway and a neighboring church called us with extra chairs they didn’t need anymore. It was miraculous the way God was providing for us!
We didn’t have any training or plan outside of a Word from God. Day one was packed with 75 people. Eventually, we had 40-50 faithful local attendees and saw people saved, healed, and transformed. We held ice cream socials, gave out flowers and did some old school caroling in that small one church town.
After four years, we were called away from pastoring the small country church God started. We ensured a healthy transition to another pastor, and it still thrives today.
Pastoring that wonderful country church was possible because I am an entrepreneur. There was no donor that could support a pastor’s salary there. It was missionary work- that small town was never going to support a pastor’s salary.
Because God was blessing our business and providing us with time freedom (and money to support our family) we could minister to our church:
Susan came to know the saving grace of Jesus
Tim learned to pray with his kids at night
Jane and Kevin were baptized in the creek behind our house.
My family has a positive view of the Bride of Christ.
My wife and kids don’t have the stories about how the church took over our lives. We were never hurt by people in the church. Even those that didn’t attend were blessed and have a positive view of the church.
We were able to be generous at every turn because God provided beyond what we could ask or think.
If you are ready to explore what God has for you beyond what you can ask or think, click here to see if a Magnify Missions workshop could be a good fit.