THE "BARNSIES"

Hey all,

We want to introduce our partners in ministry, Justin and Jessie Barnes. The four of us have been friends for several years, and it's amazing to see how God has brought us together again to begin this new ministry in Benton Harbor, Michigan (many of you know them and love them already).

Kyle and Justin used to serve together part-time under and with our friend Brian Bennett at First Wesleyan Church in Battle Creek. From there, God called them both into full-time youth ministry -- Justin to Pennsylvania and Kyle to Plainwell, Michigan. After a season in Pennsylvania, Justin and Jessie then relocated to Kalamazoo (about ten minutes from our house in Plainwell) to serve at Lighthouse Community Church, another Wesleyan Church in our district. It was cool being so close to them again and to be able to just call and say, "Hey, it's been a rough week. Wanna meet for dinner and catch up?" We never dreamed that in a matter of months, God would be calling us to the exact same place for the exact same reason.

Looking back on the past several years, it's clear that God was unfolding a larger plan in the midst of everyone's personal journey. Brian is now the pastor of Overflow Church in Benton Harbor, and now God has brought Brian, Kyle and Justin back together again to "do life" and ministry as a team after having shaped and molded them all in separate and unique ways. The story of how Justin and Kyle began to hear their call to Benton Harbor is equally as cool.

One day, Kyle was working outside at our old house in Kalamazoo. He was still the Student Ministries Pastor at Friendship Wesleyan Church in Plainwell, but he was looking to do some odd lawncare jobs to make some extra money on the side.While mowing our yard, he was just sort of thinking about the whole thing. He had a sudden sense that God was saying, "Kyle, you're dreaming too small" -- that was the beginning of the pull to do something different with a lawn care business. Something so different actually, that the word business doesn't qualify it. Ministry is the word we choose to use.

Shortly after that, and without Kyle's knowledge, Justin started feeling a kind of urgency that maybe God had something else in mind for him. One day he just told Kyle that maybe he'd quit pastoring at the church and start doing something else, like maybe lawn care! So long story short, after a couple months of soul searching and talking, Justin decided to join Kyle in his vision.

It just so happened that Overflow Church was about to start a Christian Community Development Association in which they would seek to reconcile and empower a very broken community by bringing social, economic and racial justice back (visit the website at http://www.overflowccda.org/). It just so happened that everytime we visited the area to partner with Overflow in service and outreach, we left completely broken and burdened, having nothing but love and compassion for the people here. It just so happened that after Kyle left his position at Friendship Wesleyan, he took a temporary landscaping job in Battle Creek that provided him with experience he would have otherwise lacked. And it just so happened too, that Benton Harbor was training kids to do this kind of work and had no where to send them. All this "it just so happened" stuff was not "just so happened" stuff at all. When God is about to do something, coincidence does not apply. God was going before us and preparing the way!

So now here we are, both families, beginning to call Benton Harbor home. Kyle and I have been living here since just after Thanksgiving 2009, and Justin and Jessie are out of their home in Kalamazoo and making there way over slowly. We've been living with a very generous family in Benton Harbor who have a beautiful, spacious home. They are graciously allowing the three of us to live in a bedroom that used to be their daughters' playroom. They pretty much give us access to everything in the house, and they've really made us feel welcome (not to mention they've become good friends). They are also in the process of finishing their basement to make room for another family of four who are also called to Benton Harbor and are in the beginning stages of starting a new ministry called Mosaic (I'll talk more about Mosaic soon. Visit http://www.overflowccda.org/mosaic to check them out! They are another non-profit that will also be under the Overflow Christian Community Development Association).

Though we sometimes struggle, God has continued to provide for both our family and for Justin and Jessie. Kyle and Justin both work at the Berrien County Juvenile Center, so they continue to work with youth, and more importantly, with the same hurting youth that Harbor Shine will be ministering to. As you may remember, we're planning on starting a youth program in the summer called "Youth Shine". The initial goal is to work shoulder to shoulder with kids in the area while providing mentorship and life skills training for kids that have had little to no guidance. The greater goal would be to share the love of Christ with these kids! We're confident that God's love can break the economic, social and racial barriers that have so deeply hurt the youth in our area.

*(Just a sidenote: Kyle and Justin both found the juvenile center job opening without each others' knowledge and applied, and now they work together in that as well! Tell me that's not part of God's plan!). They hear many painful stories and come in close contact with a lot of kids who simply need guidance and unconditional love. I think this experience is growing them and spurring them on toward fulfilling God's plan for this area.

And you're probably wondering about Jessie! -- She works at a daycare center in Kalamazoo currently, but is looking for work in Benton Harbor/St. Joe. She has a huge heart for ministry, particularly for missions. She is wonderful with children and with people in general. She's been bouncing back and forth between staying with Justin in Benton Harbor (another family has graciously opened their home to them both), and between her parents' house in Battle Creek. Be praying for them in this way -- it's been tough for them being apart so much.

But here's the "plan" for the next months as far as housing is concerned. We're talking about possibly moving in together for a short time! Justin and Jessie are in the process of purchasing a home in Benton Harbor. Once that goes through, the five of us are thinking it might be cool to live together with our four dogs and with the hope of being good stewards and a good support system for one another as we establish our lives here.

So that's Justin and Jessie, and we love them dearly. We are going to have hard times, I'm sure, but our foundation is strong -- it's a solid rock called Jesus actually, and He is who we stand on and put our trust in. There can never be failure in that.

And by the way, my hope is that you'll hear from Justin and Jessie soon in this blog, so stay tuned to hear their heart and their side of this big story. They are wonderful people with much wisdom to share. They happen to be two of Maryn's favorite people in the world too. She prays for them often, and bursts at the seams almost every time they walk in a room (That's Maryn with them in the picture!).

Please continue to pray that God's will unfolds in His timing and in His way through Harbor Shine, through Overflow, through the OCCDA, and through each of our lives as we move forward.

As we say here at Overflow..."His Story, His glory!"


Much Love,
Kyle and Cyndie