Discover Barnabas
What Is Barnabas International?
Barnabas International exists to shepherd global workers and train global shepherds. We are pastoral care providers, shepherding the hearts and souls of God’s people. Our ministry priorities are targeted toward global servants, pastors, national church leaders, and their families.
A Short Overview
Going
We travel to the fields of service to provide an “on site” ministry of presence.
Listening
We ask questions, taking time to listen to the servant’s story.
Speaking
We minister the Word of God through preaching and teaching as pastoral care providers.
Giving
We believe that encouragement is fundamentally a gift of grace.
Our Name
Barnabas International is named after a first-century disciple. You’ll find his story beginning in Acts 4:36. He’s mentioned often in the book of Acts; in fact, only Paul and Peter are referred to more frequently, yet most people don’t even know his given name. Why is this? Barnabas lived to serve others. His given name was Joseph, but the Christians nicknamed him “Barnabas” because it meant “son of encouragement.” Barnabas came alongside people in times of challenge and helped them (see Acts 9:10-28 and Acts 15:36-39).
It is the hope of each Barnabas staff member that we, like this disciple, might be people of encouragement. The goal of Barnabas International is to equip, edify, encourage, and enrich God’s servants so that they are refreshed in their souls and renewed in their service.
Our History
It was early spring of 1986 when Lareau and Evie Lindquist had a two-week assignment with the Wycliffe Bible Translators in Colombia, South America. They were unexpectedly detained in a remote area of the jungle, Cona Colorado. During the evening and late into the night as they were walking the small airstrip, the concept of Barnabas was born.
After much prayer, Barnabas International became a reality on July 7, 1986. The Lord pulled together a supportive Board of Directors, and the ministry of encouragement, enrichment, and edification was put into action. The focus was those in international ministry, national church leaders overseas, ministry workers in the States, and Christians in general. The organization was started as a “Ma and Pa” ministry with no intention of being more than that, but the Lord has allowed the ministry of Barnabas to grow and expand.
Following Lareau there were a few other Executive Directors that the Lord brought to Barnabas for particular seasons of Barnabas’ growth. Tom Eckblad and Lee Hotchkiss each led during key transitional seasons. In 2008, Perry Bradford was hired to lead the organization. Perry, along with his wife Sandi (picture left), led Barnabas for 15 years. During this season, Barnabas grew and looked at new horizons of caring for global workers around the globe. It was also during this season that Barnabas really leaned into and adopted the Biblical shepherding theology model of ministry that we use today. Key programs, organizational elements, and further board development were added that set Barnabas up for future growth and ministry to global workers. Many new staff joined the ranks of Barnabas with hearts to shepherd global workers and train global shepherds.
In 2023, Perry retired and the board hired Barnabas’ most recent Executive Director, Josh Beck. Josh and his wife Denise, former global workers themselves in South Sudan, are passionate about the work and ministry that Barnabas does. With them come new partnerships and a continued focus on a shepherding member care model. Additionally, they join a staff that the Lord continues to grow – a community of pastoral shepherds, counselors, spiritual directors, TCK specialists, teachers, and debriefers. Our staff values mobility often traveling to different teams, families, and individuals in their country of service to provide member care. As we look to the future, we are expectant of where the Lord will lead us as we put our trust in him.
