Unity Community
A place where the congregation at Unity Church in Greenville, NC hear stories of life change, discover how God is working through our ministries, and hear from missionaries we support.
Unity Community
Meet Unity's Intern, John Michael Teeter
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Host Tim DeCresies talks with John Michael Teeter about his background and early impressions of the ministry at Unity.
Hello and welcome to the Unity Community Podcast. This is a place where our church family can hear real stories of life change and discover how God is working through our ministries and missionaries, both here and around the world. From conversations with our staff and leaders to testimonies from our people, we're pulling back the curtain on what God is doing in and through Unity Church. Thanks for listening. Let's grow closer to the Lord as we grow closer one to another.
SPEAKER_02Welcome, I'm your host Tim DeCreestie. Thanks for taking a moment to listen. One of the joys of church life is watching God work through people at every stage of their journey. Welcome, I'm your host Tim DeCreestie. Thanks for taking a moment to listen. One of the joys of church life is watching God work through people at every stage of their journey. Some have served faithfully for decades, while others are just beginning to discover where God may be leading them. Today, we're sitting down with John Michael Teeter, who is serving as the summer intern here at Unity. Fresh out of college and stepping into a season of learning, growth, and ministry experience, this internship has provided a unique opportunity to explore God's calling and gain a firsthand look at life and ministry within the local church. Today we'll hear a little bit about his story, his faith journey, and what he's learned during his time at Unity and how God may be shaping the road ahead. John Michael, welcome to the podcast.
SPEAKER_01It's good to be here. Thank you for hosting to me.
SPEAKER_02I'm glad you want to uh spend some time with us and give the listeners a chance to know you a little bit better.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir. I'm uh happy to be here. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Well, let's just dive right in and um just tell us a little bit about yourself.
SPEAKER_01Sounds good. Uh well, first off, I just want to say I'm very thankful for the opportunity to serve this summer at Unity, and I'm excited to get to know to know you guys. Um I know it's only 10 weeks, but I hope to be intentional and get to know you guys. Um and so I uh I grew up in a military family. My dad was in the army, and so do you do you want to hear the list? Yeah, let's hear the places, all the places. Um was born born in Germany, and then moved to Virginia, where my sister was born, and then we moved to Hawaii, where my other sister was born, and then we moved to Colorado, and then California, Colorado, California, a little bit of bouncing back and forth, and then Virginia, and then Colorado, where I graduated high school, and then I went to Grand Canyon University for a year, and then I took a gap year and worked and raised some money and went on a mission trip for nine months, and then felt the call to ministry, and that is where I landed at Welch, which is where I am currently at, pursuing a degree in pastoral ministry, um, to further theological and ministry studies. Okay, good.
SPEAKER_02So you said you were born in Germany.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_02As a little side note, does that mean you could play for the German national soccer team?
SPEAKER_01No, I I wish, but I you it's I had American citizenship because I was born on, I think, American hospital.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so you were on base.
SPEAKER_01What what base were at in Germany were you? It was a real small base in northern Germany. Um Bremenhaven, I believe is the name. Uh-huh. Okay. Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_02All right. Well, good. I spent some time in Germany, so that's that's a nice area. You probably don't remember it. I don't remember.
SPEAKER_01I was told that as a baby, I'd crawl on the beach and pick up cigarettes and put them in my mouth.
SPEAKER_02But don't do that.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_02Um Well, so you said with all that bouncing around, you've seen a lot of the United States. How do you think that uh that travel or that transient family life has impacted maybe your world vision?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I think anyone who's moved a lot knows that there's pros and cons to moving. Um it often stretches you and you grow and you meet new people, and it's it's awesome. You get to build lots of good relationships, but there's also some cons. You have to leave a lot of cool people, and there's often a lot of tumult when change happens, and so that is that is always a challenge.
SPEAKER_02So do you feel like did you play you bounced from California to Colorado or you know, however that order went, when you would move from one place to another, did it change your perspective? Do you feel like it gave you a wider perspective of life?
SPEAKER_01I think growing up that way, you don't know any different. But as I've gotten older, um I think I've I've been very grateful for the way that that I was raised and the way that that my parents were really open and we we were able to talk about these things and had a lot of good conversations growing up.
SPEAKER_02You said it w you know as you got a little bit older, that's where you um got more serious about your relationship with the Lord. Tell us a little bit about that and how that happened.
SPEAKER_01So that's a that's a pretty pretty crazy story. Um do you want do you want the long?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, what we got we got all day.
SPEAKER_01Sounds good. Sounds good. Uh so growing up, I was a big swimmer. That was my sport. I started swimming when I was 10, and I was planning on swimming in college, and so I swam from ages 10 to 18. Uh, but my my senior year of high school, I was swimming and my arm swelled up. Uh I it turned purple. I could show you a picture later. Uh my vein got got really big, and so I went to the doctor and they did an ultrasound and found a blood clot in my arm. And so I immediately had to stop all physical activity and go into a medical journey of different blood thinners, uh, medicine, uh, a couple surgeries. And so my senior year was not able to do any physical activity that kind of put a halt on swimming in college. Uh and that really shook up my identity. Uh I hadn't I had grown up in church and I I knew all the right things, and I would say I had a relationship with the Lord, but that was a moment in which, you know, I I think you you had to make your faith your own. And I did not immediately do that. Um and so I I turned to some things uh like like like many uh to um some things I should not have been getting involved in, some people that I probably shouldn't have been hanging around. And so my senior year really just was going down a dark path um and it was not good. I continued on that path. My first year of college at GCU did not have a lot of purpose, did not have a lot of identity or really a direction for my life. Swimming was kind of my identity uh up into that point.
SPEAKER_02Aaron Powell So do you think maybe God used uh your medical issue to help change your identity?
SPEAKER_01I think so. I think looking back, that was that was a huge first step. Um and I guess finishing finishing some of that story uh that summer after my freshman year of college, I decided I was kind of done and didn't want to really go back to college, and so I started working, and my my family was moving from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama, and so I was saying goodbye to some friends up in Denver, Colorado, and I was driving back home at night, and at the time I had a broken ankle, so I had a cast on. And so as I was driving, uh a white car pulled out in front of me, slammed on the brakes, and four guys in ski mask and automatic weapons jumped out of the vehicle and came around to my car, ripped open the door, and put a gun to my head, and told me, Give me, give me your phone. And so they uh they took my phone and they threw me out of the vehicle, and my crutches were in the backseat. So I was on the side of the road hopping up and down on one foot. Uh and thank thankfully, by by the Lord's provision, I don't know if she was an angel, but uh a lady ended up stopping, letting me use her phone to call my dad, and she ended up driving me an hour and a half to meet my dad.
SPEAKER_02That's crazy. I feel like we just shifted into a dateline episode. So where where was this at? This was in Denver, Colorado. Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_02That's crazy that they just stopped you with guns, mask.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm. That uh that moment I I like to call it smelling salt moment where I was shook and I realized that I needed to get my life in check and I needed to get right with God. And that was, I guess you could say, a Damascus Road moment where um I I was like, I I don't know where I'm at, Lord, but I just need to to get right with you. And I can I can say four years later, walking learning to walk with the Lord has been the most fulfilling and joy-filled four years of of my life.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's an incredible story. How God will I mean He'll get your attention. So you say Damascus story, um, just like Paul, you know. Yeah, that's amazing. That's amazing. So um, who has invested in you spiritually to help you grow to where you're at now?
SPEAKER_01So some of the biggest mentors in my life have been my dad. Um he is a he's a man of faith and of patience and steadfastness. I always remember seeing him in the word in the morning, and just that that is implanted in my memory and has been a habit of my life um this throughout throughout these years of walking with the Lord. And I really have looked to him as a mentor. My grandpa, who has been a pastor for 40 years, um, he he's a man that I I greatly look up to and admire. And then I would say broadly the church moving around a lot, you know, you have a lot of different people who are in your life for a season. And so I'm very thankful to the youth pastors, to the elderly people who take you out for froyo on your birthday, um, to to the pastors who have preached faithfully over the years, and so I think I think there's a there's a lot of people that could be named. Okay. So how did you find your way to Welch College? So to Welch College, I met with Mr. Clint Morgan, uh who is the director of international missions, and then my grandpa, um, Billy McKinney, for a debrief after a mission trip. And they showed me Welsh College, they walk walked me on campus, and I don't know how familiar I with Welsh College, but they wear suits and ties and dress clothes, and it's great, but at the time I was not very accustomed to that. And so at first I was like, there is no way I could come here, but I think the Lord worked on me and continued to have conversations with people and and one thing led to another and ended up ended up going to Welch and it has been great so far.
SPEAKER_02Okay. So um you mentioned prior to us start, you know, starting to record that you meet with uh Clint Morgan as one of his coffee groups when I did the podcast with him, he mentioned he meets with college students. So you are one of those college students that he meets with.
SPEAKER_01Yes, and I listened to part of that interview. That man has a lot of store stories, it's incredible.
SPEAKER_02So well, I'm glad you made your way to Welch. And so how has that experience kind of shaped you? Was it while you were at Welch that you thought, hey, I want to get into ministry?
SPEAKER_01No, so that that started a little bit before. Um, like I like I mentioned, after Grand Canyon University, I went on a nine-month mission trip to five different countries where we got to partner with different ministries, and it was an incredible experience. But one thing that became clear when I left was that I had a lot of questions, a lot of theological questions. Uh in an environment, an experience like that, you're exposed to a lot of different things, and I was passionate, but I wanted to be sure that I was I was preaching the truth, and I I am very passionate about the truth, and so I'm thankful at Welch College that I'm able to dig into these things and talk to professors and read books and learn about church history, and it's it's exciting, and uh I'm very thankful to be able to Well, how did you get involved in the missions trip? In the mission trip. So I don't suggest doing this, but I Googled mission trips on online and signed up for the first one that showed up.
SPEAKER_02Hey God, that's how you know he made that one show up. Yes, yes. So I mean, what um can you tell us a little bit more about that or just that whole experience?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Uh so we got to go to Guatemala, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Africa, and Swaziland. And then like I was I was saying before, we got to experience different ministries. So we did some children's ministry, we did some construction, um, we did some um food food homes in in Africa, we did we did some swim lessons, and so it was truly incredible, and you got to see Christians around the world.
SPEAKER_02So, how do you think that impacted you, you know, since you did a lot of traveling as a you know as a child, you know, how did that experience kind of open you up to where you find yourself today?
SPEAKER_01That uh that is something I'm currently wrestling with, is like, you know, the moving around a lot. Is that is that the path that I want to continue on or you know, settling down and planting roots? I think there's fruit in both. Um, you know, like I like I mentioned earlier, my grandpa, pastor for 40 years in Gainesville, Georgia, he's known in the community, he's had an impact, it's awesome. Um my dad has moved around most of his life and has had incredible impact, and his faith um is a is a model for me today. And so I think I think there's fruit in both. It just is a little bit of deciding or deciphering uh what God's will is for your life.
SPEAKER_02Well, and that's where you want to be. So whether that's in um like our own pastor, grew up in Pitt County, still here, you know, never, you know, I'm gonna say he never left, but you know, he's kind of been here his whole life.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_02That is beautiful. And then you have other people that are bouncing them out everywhere and they're in God's will as well, and they're just as content and happy. So it's not a right answer to that. It's go where God is leading. You mentioned um you know that you were still wrestling with some things. Can you go a little bit deeper?
SPEAKER_01Yes, yeah. And I think I think sanctification will continue to happen um throughout your entire life. And so recently I would say that I think the Lord has been been teaching me patience and to be faithful in the season that you're you're in. Um as a as a college student, you're often bouncing between home and school and internships, and so it's real easy to kind of lose your your footing. Uh, but we must remember that our our foundation is in Christ, and we are called to be faithful where we are at. And so the Lord has really just been pressing that on on me, and so I hope in whatever season uh anyone else is in that that they would uh take comfort and purpose and motivation and that's right. Uh so with that, how did you find your way to this internship? This internship, I I heard about it through a professor, Chris Talbot.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01I believe he was a youth pastor here a few years ago, and so I heard good things about the church from him, and then he he helped me get connected to some of the pastors, um, various Zoom meetings and um applications, and then yeah, it just it just seemed like a like a good fit for the summer, and I'm I'm very thankful to be able to serve here this time.
SPEAKER_02Okay. So Chris helped make that connection, and he he was the youth pastor for a couple years, and then he you know went on the the college route. How has your experience been here at Unity so far?
SPEAKER_01It's been it's been phenomenal. I I think getting to know the people has been the best part, uh getting to know the pastors and and see their heart for ministry in their various capacities and then getting to know some of the congregants of Unity and hearing of the various ministries. Comfort and joy is this Thursday, and um and so I think I think Unity is is very involved in a lot of areas, and that is really cool to see.
SPEAKER_02So in the brief time you've been here, what are some takeaways that you've learned?
SPEAKER_01I think I think like like I said, I've been learning, learning quite a bit, and I think in school you you learn you learn a lot and you get to study, and it's awesome when you're in in the ministry, like that, that is what you are doing. There are some things they don't teach you in school, and so uh I think I'm learning learning a lot on the practical side of what does it look like to organize a Wednesday night youth group? What does it look like to talk to someone in the hospital about Jesus? And so I I I think you get a lot of experience um doing something like this, and so that is one of the ways in which I I've I felt like I've been learning. What do you think your future plans are? Future plans is I I want to be in ministry. I think that is that is very clear. I think chaplaincy would be would make sense growing up in the military and having having that exposure to the military community. Um I think there there's a big need. I've had a lot of friends go into the military, and it can be a dark place sometimes, and there is a need, and so as a chaplain you have a unique role where you get to invest in these 18 to 22 year olds who are fresh out of high school looking for purpose, and what better way than to to be a mentor and to be a older person in that in that capacity. Um and so I think that that would be the goal right now. Uh there's quite quite a long process to become a chaplain. What was your what was your dad's uh job in the military? His job varied throughout the years as he did he did 25 years, and so he was a transportation officer for a while. I think he did a lot of logistics, and then he was a data scientist for a while. Okay. I was just wondering if he was a chaplain.
SPEAKER_02You know, that's why I I guess I could have asked it that way. But so you want to be a chaplain in the army? Yes, sir. Okay. So that to me is a whole different ball game. Um Were you ever in the military? Yes. I'm thinking about my time in the Air Force and Yeah, there is a lot of need for chaplains in the military for sure. I knew. In the job I had, there was one person that uh you know would I strongly identified as a Christian. We knew he went to church, you know, and um but for the rest of us that was not the case. We were living in our own our own ways, you know. That was the furthest thing from my mind. Well, I don't say the furthest thing from my mind, but uh going to church on a Sunday in the Air Force was not high on my list, you know, outside of basic training, because it got you out of the dorm on Sunday, so you kind of like it's a break, I'll go. Um so yeah, that's gonna be that will be tough work.
SPEAKER_01I do think that the role the role is a little different than a pastor. Uh-huh. Um there's a lot of counseling involved. Um soldiers will get assigned to you for counseling. Okay. And so that could vary anywhere from from suicide to marriage to mental health, things of things of that nature. Um there's also chapel services held on base, and those are usually on rotation, and so you'll you'll tend to preach one every every once a month. And so there's quite a few different roles that you fulfill as a chaplain. Um you definitely organize Bible studies and make sure that you're involved in the in the soldiers' lives, and then you help you actually help make decisions on on some things, and so there's quite a few responsibilities as a chaplain. Uh I have we've had growing up in the military, we've had some good chaplains that we've been friends with, and so I think the the need is always there. And I was actually talking to Mark McCraney, who's a Free Will Baptist chaplain, and he's been in for so many years. I think he did eight years in the Air Force and then went back to school, became a chaplain. And he he was saying that the army, US Army was created in is it 1775, and then that same year, a few months later, the chaplain corps was created, and so it took the army only about two months to realize the need for chaplain, chaplaincy. When you're experiencing death quite often and and very raw um aspects of human life, then questions often come up. And so as as a chaplain, you're there to to support truth and to do it in love.
SPEAKER_02There's definitely a need for chaplains in the military. Um, and I, you know, think as a you know, 20-year-old living overseas, you know, you're away from your family being single, you know, I didn't have my family there, you know, nobody I'm on my own, and so you're still going through some of the same crises that you may have in college, but you have nobody to lean on, or at least no family to lean on. So um I definitely see there's a need for you know that kind of advice. Um it's a really influential time in your life, and we need more uh spiritual guidance for those people in the military and just you know trying to get through life and you know all the things that they're gonna see and experience. Well, with that, um what else would you like the listeners to know about you?
SPEAKER_01I uh I love outdoor stuff. If anyone ever wants to go on a hike or a bike ride, let me know.
SPEAKER_02Okay. So you uh will you go out with I know Jordan, Jake, they'll go play pickleball outside. Yes. Do you do that?
SPEAKER_01I do. That's that's big right now. Jordan let me borrow his paddle for the summer. And I'm not not as good as some of those youth group, youth group guys. They they put spin on the ball, and I don't I don't know how to do all that, but I I like getting out there and having fun.
SPEAKER_02So you're just gonna issue a challenge to anybody? I guess so. Hit you up and uh Okay. Well what what can the church family do for you while you're here this summer?
SPEAKER_01I think I think that everyone's been great, um, very hospitable and welcoming. You know, I'm sure some some guy shows up and you're like, who is he? Who's he? But no, I felt nothing but but love and I'm I'm very thankful to be here. Uh I think I I just want to be able to learn and to hear stories and to hear your opinions on ministry and different ways that the Lord has worked in your life. That stuff is very encouraging uh to me, and um I hope that I can be an encouragement as well. And what have you enjoyed?
SPEAKER_02You've been you've been a part of the Sunday morning services. Are there things about the service that you really enjoy?
SPEAKER_01There are. I I enjoy the worship, the praise team sounds sounds great. Uh I I love Pastor Manning's uh preaching. Very expositional, verse by verse, which is good. He's a very clear communicator. And so I this past Sunday was my first first sermon by him, and then Jordan killed it last week. I think one thing that's comforting to know that that I've gotten to see is the preparation that goes into Sunday, and Sunday is the result of Monday's work. And so I think that has been very clear, and getting to see both sides of the results and the preparation uh I think is is necessary and very encouraging.
SPEAKER_02And do you think that's with all aspects of not just the preaching, with maybe what Kevin does?
SPEAKER_01Yes. I I agree. I I think there's a lot that goes into hospitality and the kids men and the youth and the worship. And so there's a lot that goes into Sunday that you don't really think of if you if you show up on Sunday and it's your first first time and and praise the Lord for first time guests, like that is that is a lot of times you know why why we do that and to to support the body. But um Yeah, I think it it has been a cool to see the preparation for all all aspects.
SPEAKER_02So now when I was a kid, I just you know I I remember telling my parents I want to do ministry because I just thought, whatever, man, you just work Sunday and Wednesday. So you're telling me that's not the case?
SPEAKER_01No, no, that is not the case. That that's kind of what I thought too. Seeing my grandpa. And that that is one thing that I I hope to learn this this summer is what does the week in, week out, day in, day out look like. So a lot of a lot of prep work. A lot of prep work. There's a lot of studying, there's a lot of organizing, there's a lot of ordering biscuits, getting coffee, you know, reading um, reading commentaries, going through the text, praying and preparing for for Sunday, Wednesdays, also visiting people in the hospital, doing meeting with people. There's so much to ministry. You can you can be, I think I heard one of my professors say, as a pastor, you can be one of the busiest people in the world, or you can be the laziest people in the world. And so you have to find that middle ground where you're where you're resting well, but you're also being purposeful and intentional, and that is something I think that the the pastors here do do very well.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I know when I started coming to Unity back in 1995, uh, when I would go to work, I'd have to drive by the church and uh I would leave pretty early in the morning and I would always see Pastor Jeff's car in the parking lot, you know. So that was encouraging me as a young believer, like, wow, that pastor, he's yeah, you know, six o'clock in the morning. And then if I drove by and his car wasn't there, like, what is what's he not he's not working? So, but that was rarely the case. So, yeah, I know there's a lot of time that goes into Monday through Friday to make Sunday happen. Yes, sir. Well, thank you so much for joining us. Before uh I let you go, I want to pray for you and uh just encourage you. And we look forward to seeing you the rest of the summer, and we hope that uh God does great things through you if you go on and become a chaplain in the military that uh he'll use you to encourage those people that um you come in contact with. Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much for having me. It's been great.
SPEAKER_02All right, well, let's pray. Dear Lord, thank you for raising up a generation of believers and leaders who desire to follow you faithfully. Thank you for the opportunity to learn, grow, and serve during seasons like this internship. We thank you for the gifts, experience, and lessons you have provided through the summer. Uh, we pray for John Michael as he continues seeking your direction for the future. Give him wisdom when decisions need to be made. Um, give him courage when the path isn't fully clear and confidence to trust you one step at a time. And Lord, remind us all that no matter our age or stage of life, you are continually shaping us in for your purposes. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. And those of you listening, thank you for taking a moment to be a part of the conversation. Whether you're just beginning your journey, navigating a season of change, or faithfully serving where God has placed you, I hope today's episode reminds you that God is always at work shaping the next chapter of your story. With that story, God has writing in your life. Please go and tell.
SPEAKER_00Thanks so much for listening to the Unity Community Podcast. If today's conversation encouraged you, we'd love for you to take one or more next steps. Join us this Sunday morning for worship at 9 or 10 30. Get connected to a life group andor find a place to serve. You can learn more about Unity and how to get plugged in by visiting the links in the show notes. So until next time, let's grow closer to the Lord as we grow closer one to another.