Ted and Joan Esselstyn - Retired Missionaries to Africa

Ted and Joan Esselstyn are retired missionaries from Africa Region, and are members of the Lakeholm congregation. Ted and Joan retired from service as Regional Education Coordinator for Africa in March 2002 after serving on that continent for 34 years.

Ted was born in Swaziland, Africa, son of missionaries William and Margaret Esselstyn.  He grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Joan was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  They met at Eastern Nazarene College, from which both graduated, Joan as a teacher and Ted preparing to teach ministers.

Their preparation took them to the Nazarene Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, to Yale University in Connecticut and to serve as pastor of the Wallingford Church of the Nazarene in Wallingford, Connecticut.  They left for the field in 1968, by which time they had three children, Karen, Barbara and William. 

Arthurseat, in the South African lowveld was their first assignment.  They taught and served as principal.  In 1975 they were reassigned to Johannesburg where Joan worked as teacher and librarian and Ted as teacher and Rector.  In 1983 Ted was asked to become the first Regional Education Director, a position which he held until retirement.  This assignment, supervising the starting and development of education institutions took him to every country in Africa where the Church of the Nazarene had education work.  Joan managed the office and the scholarship funds for all institutions.

The major projects were the establishment of Africa Nazarene University in Kenya, and the merger of the four schools in South Africa.  Nazarene Colleges and schools are in nineteen different countries on the African continent.

Ministerial scholarships are the burden of their present ministry.