Brian (BA, Wheaton College; M.A.T., Lee University) is a fourth generation pastor and missionary. He has served as an English teacher in China and the U.S. as well as a local pastor. He and his wife, Joannie, are full-time missionaries with Modern Day Missions.
For more than a decade, Brian served IHOPKC by leading several short-term training programs that strengthened believers in the Lord and empowered believers to underhand, live and share the message of the Lord’s return. He also served as faculty at the International House of Prayer University. Joannie (BPME, University of Taipei; MMEd, UMKC) has taught piano and music theory in the Forerunner School of Worship, lead the Chinese- Worship school and also a local harp and bowl team in Mandarin.
Brian has ministered in conferences throughout North America and Asia in topics including the prophetic, end times and prayer. He and Joannie have been married since 2013 and they have three children.
Some of Brian’s other interests include basketball, but he’s not as quick as he used to be; hiking, he has been up in the Rockies a few times, ran into a moose and got stuck in a lightning storm at 13,000 feet; Scrabble and learning languages; eating food from various cultures, but not duck’s blood or beetles—although that may have happened; and playing piano and guitar.
To connect with Brian, visit brianbeeson.org.
Brief Testimony
Several times in my childhood the Lord met me and it profoundly marked me. As I look back on those times, I am so grateful.
My father was a cardiologist and church-planter. His life of faith and friendship had a big impact on me. We have other family members that serve the Lord in full-time ministry: My grandfather was a medical missionary in Kenya in the 1950’s and my great- grandfather was an itinerate preacher. But in all this, there were broken things in the family.
In 2008, I entered youth ministry. Immediately, I hit a “dead end” with several generational issues rising-up that threatened my productivity and even–my life. Every day became very hard to live. Through a series of events, the Lord delivered me from depression and other deep spiritual bondages. I began meeting regularly with friends where we sat with the Holy Spirit in prayer.
The Lord would bring healing, identity and understanding through impressions and pictures in these encounter prayer sessions as I continued to embrace Him.
As God met me powerfully, He began to demonstrate the power of His love to our youth group. Within a few weeks, our team was doing hours of encounter prayer and deliverance for the students as all sorts of things happened that I had only read about in books or Christian biographies. This was a very exciting time as we were learning new things in the Kingdom every week.
I began reading books on inner healing and deliverance to gain language for what was happening. As I got to know Jesus’ heart I was hungry for teachings about Jesus, what was important to Him and His end-time plan. We began training the youth to fast and pray, do the Sermon on the Mount and continued on in exercising the prophetic and other spiritual gifts. Many of our youth had dramatic encounters with the Lord during this time. This came as we spent long hours in worship as we adored Jesus and heard His Word and He met our hungry hearts.
Then in 2011, the Lord called me to resign my pastoral position and give myself to prayer. I moved out to Kansas City to do an internship on prayer. The first week I was there I met Joannie. We hit it off and began dating. I was surprised at how many Chinese speakers there were in Kansas City at IHOPKC.
Then in 2012, the Lord revealed to me through a series of events that I was an SRA/DID survivor from abuse that happened early- on in my childhood. He brought me first to the mission base to slow down parts of my life to bring healing. A lot of experiences in my past began to make sense. I had always felt that something was not right and was seeking help, but for what exactly, I wasn’t sure. This discovery was the key. The Lord brought several key friendships and healing ministries to help me encounter Jesus and grow in wholeness (Restoration in Christ Ministries and Seek First Ministries). During this time, He helped me get married, have children and renew my life more parts of me working together as God intended.
In this recent season as He has brought the intense healing to a close, the Lord has shifted me to as season of being His friend as well as teaching and training others on topics I’m passionate about.