Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, was called "Barnabas" by the Apostles in Acts 4:36. This name means "son of encouragement" and was given to him because that was his nature. Encouragement is what Barnabas Ministries is all about. We believe the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ should be encouraged. The Lord gave gifts for that purpose. Serving in the Kingdom, like all service, can be taxing, tiring, and sometimes trying. Barnabas Ministries was established to encourage The Church to continue in its work and not grow weary in well doing. We desire to exhort and inspire the church to continue in love and good deeds.  Research has shown encouragement is measurable. A major university conducted a study involving two control groups. In a test each group was assigned the task of exercising in separate gyms. One group was given encouragement while the other group was left to itself. As you can guess, the group receiving the encouragement achieved greater results. This is no revelation to our Lord.

We are instructed in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 to "encourage and build one another up." Hebrews 3:13 gives us the reason why encouragement is important, "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness."

We can encourage with words according to 1 Thessalonians 4:18. At times we need someone who is strong in the faith, as were Timothy (1 Thessalonians 3:2) and Tychicus (Colossians 4:8 and Ephesians 6:21-22). Sometimes we just need a reminder of God’s word and the refreshing and strengthening brought by sound doctrine (Acts 15:32, Titus 1:9). The everyday disciplines of personal Christianity and the many demands of ministry may cause members of the Body of Christ to become drained. Barnabas Ministries exists to encourage The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ to continue being the light of world and the salt of the earth.

In a day when "mission statements" are in vogue, we offer our own: "To encourage." It’s that simple. Every revival, seminar, retreat, or special meeting we conduct has the end result of encouraging The Church in the mission the Lord has given us in Matthew 28:19-20. The Church cannot fulfill that commission if it is discouraged. Barnabas Ministries wants to assist the Kingdom in bringing the fortifying power of encouragement to the Lord’s people.

We have no new or unusual message. We will not compromise the message of the Bible and we will not distract from the message by fanciful method. We believe the Lord has provided The Church with all we need, as is promised in 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Every visit to your congregation or camp has the goal of bringing refreshing encouragement through the Word of God in keeping with the biblical examples given. We desire to serve and encourage the body of Christ, as together we serve Him with the message of encouragement.