Five Years In

Barnabas Initiatives was launched exactly five years ago, August 1, 2014. The aim of this ministry, as stated in the nonprofit incorporation papers, is “to strengthen the life and mission of the Christian faith community.”

The focus has been on churches that are faltering, under-resourced, or simply ordinary. Our aim is to encourage and equip such churches (or ministries) in times of stress for revitalized health and mission.

With this purpose and focus over five years, Barnabas Initiatives has:

> Engaged directly with 18 churches and indirectly with seven more, for a total of 25 churches or ministries assisted toward renewed health and mission.

> Mentored 12 pastors and ministry leaders in challenging situations.

> Co-hosted seven one-day seminars with Evangelical Seminary to equip pastors and lay workers to better serve disadvantaged churches.

> Published 120 blog posts and a book, Rooting for the Underdog, to stir hope, reset perspective, and prompt action for stressed churches.

> Covered all ministry expenses, without assessing fees for services, by the generous support of 50 donors (24 churches, 26 households).

The workers, partners, and donors who now comprise the workforce of Barnabas Initiatives are convinced that endeavors to encourage and revitalize stressed and/or faltering churches effectively help to strengthen the life and mission of the whole Church (1 Corinthians 12:26).

Like the firm promise to Jerusalem, a biblical metaphor for the Church, we actively participate in the powerful intervention of the Lord Jesus to revive his Church: “I am the Lord . . . who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them’” (Isaiah 44:24,26; Psalm 69:34-36).