Local and Regional Ministries

James Barnett, a member of KUMC, is living with and ministering to homeless people. He has spent time developing relationships with homeless people in several communities in Fl. and Ga. This young man is serving God in such a real way. Please keep him in your prayers for safety, provision, wisdom, and unconditional love for the ones he lives among.

This is the most recent letter from James:

Hello all! I hope all of you are well and more in love with Jesus today than yesterday! I get updates of the KUMC community every so often from my family. They speak highly of what happens there and while I miss you all, I’m even more excited about what our God is doing in your hearts and the hearts of those you serve.

Sometimes I hear about the troubles life has brought some of you. You can be certain you are in my prayers. I believe in prayer. I believe that when we pray, things happen. Jesus always attributed miraculous healing to our faith. So my prayer is that you will be abundant in faith. I pray that God will put you in situations where he is all you have so, as a community, you can draw closer to him and understand what true “faith” is. I feel like I’m only beginning to understand that myself.

Right now, I’m in Wisconsin. When I was in Atlanta, I met a church from Wisconsin that asked me to visit when I came nearby. So, that’s what I’m doing. I’ll be speaking at their church on Wednesday.

A couple weeks ago, I got to spend the afternoon with Shane Claiborne, the author of Irresistible Revolution and the single most influential Christian author in my life. We hung out at his community called the Simple Way and it was wonderful!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve spent time in Baltimore, D.C., Philadelphia, Scranton, Rochester, Niagara Falls, Chicago, and have arrived here in Milwaukee. I’ve met many people on the streets who are at the end of their rope. The Lord recently spoke through me to a man in Chicago.

His name is John. He told me that he couldn’t understand why I settle for a relationship with Jesus when I could be getting high on drugs all the time. For about a second I didn’t have words as I haven’t ever done drugs, but then the Holy Spirit filled me with truth that I, myself, wasn’t prepared for. I said to John, “John, when you take a drug and get high it causes you to want a greater high, correct?” He agreed. I said, “So you move onto the next drug that provides that. You keep getting in deeper and deeper but you never go backwards do you? You never settle for a lower high. You don’t go back to weed when you’ve smoked crack right?” He said, “No way! It wouldn’t do much for me.” I told him that God was the same way. I’ve tasted the most glorious high that never leaves me empty. I wouldn’t settle for anything less because I’ve had the best. I could tell he was having some inner-turmoil because he knew the truth was spoken. The darkness never likes the light. We read in scripture how the light exposes what’s in the dark. He and I continued our conversation for another hour and then he asked for a ride a few cities north. He made sure I was aware that he had killed someone before though. I told him he was more than welcome in my van. You should have seen his face. He said, “James, you’re crazier than me! What if I knife you while you’re driving and take your van from you!?!?” I told him he wouldn’t do that. “How can you be so sure?” he asked. I told him that if he tries to pull a knife on me that my God would cause his hand to freeze up and he wouldn’t even be able to take his hand out of his pocket. Haha. Maybe I am the crazy one. The whole 45-minute ride north we talked deeply about Jesus and how he can change lives. I could tell he internalized it but was struggling. When I dropped him off he thanked me. I told him that myself & many others would be praying for him until he chose to get high on Christ. We both laughed at how cheesy I was and we parted ways.

Honestly, I meet people like him every day. Some choose Christ, others don’t, and some will later. But praise God for being accessable to us. Oh man. We are blessed.

Updates on CYNY: Shirt sales have boomed thanks to Casey Darnell, a worship leader of North Point Church. Casey and I have become good friends over the past year. He has adopted CYNY as one of his main causes. This summer he wore my shirt on stage in front of 2,000 kids every day for the course of 2 months. He has also connected me with other big organizations that have promoted us.

CYNY: I also have a new Assistant. Her name is Katie Randall. She lives in SD and has done wonders for CYNY. Because of her I’ll be on a speaking tour over the next few weeks with a few bands. To finish it off, I’ll be speaking in front of 300,000 people in SD t a festival called LifeLight. David Crowder, Mercy Me, and many other bands will be playing along side of my talk!

CYNY: Since CYNY isn’t just about the homeless in America, I planned on making it a statement of “neighbor” more than a statement of “clothing” by going international and across borders and distributing to those in need. All this was in line for next year. HOWEVER, a very prominent non-profit organization called “To Write Love on Her Arms” Check out the website: http://www.twloha.com/ (every student in America knows the name) has asked us to travel to Haiti in November to dig 10 wells and pass out clothing. I am writing them this week to confirm or decline. I think I’ll go ahead with it. We would be printing shirts that say “clothe your neighbor as yourself” in Creole. Probably print 100’s of kids tees in many colors! Our collaboration with TWLOHA would bring CYNY to a very different level.

After SD I’ll be heading to California to lives on the streets again. I’ve been hanging out on the streets for the past few weeks but mostly just been on the road trying to make it to point B.

I have a guy named Roger Hart with me who loves Jesus and was up for traveling in the van with me for a few states. Be praying for him as well. We’ve been together for the last few weeks.

Sorry if it all seems so jumbled. My thoughts are all over the place! This was mostly an update to let you all know I’m alive and that Jesus is good to me and my friends on the streets. If you’d like to hear stories about the streets and what I’m learning make sure you check out my new blog at http://officialjamesbarnett.tumblr.com/

I love you guys! Thank you for your support!

Peace & Love,

James

James Barnett
President/CEO
Clothe Your Neighbor As Yourself
www.cyny.org

Love At Work

Love At Work is a growing ministry of Killearn United Methodist Church in Tallahassee, Florida that was founded in 1993. Over the years what was once a construction project designed to help residents of nearby Gadsden County who reside in substandard housing has grown into a multidimensional mission effort to help the residents in all areas of life not just housing. But we can not do it alone. There is more need than we can meet on our own. Join us as we bring hope to the hopeless in the name of Christ.

For more information visit their website.  www.loveatworkmissions.org

Shadetree

Located in Gretna, Florida, The Shadetree Group exists to affirm the dignity of the under-resourced and empower them to transform their lives and their community.

KUMC Quilters

The KUMC quilters are busy year round making baby blankets for the Phi Center and the Women's Pregnancy Center as well as lap blankets for shut-ins and others in need. They also have made Moses Baskets for the Gretna ministry and stuffed animals for orphans in India.

PHI Center

The Pregnancy Help and Information Center is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. The Center offers aid and assistance to women who are pregnant,believe they may be pregnant, or have young children in need.
We assist women after childbirth in obtaining the emotional and physical necessities for themselves and their children. Assistance is offered in a confidential and compassionate.
For additional information visit their website. www.phicenter.org/who.html

Lighthouse Children’s Home

The Lighthouse Children's Home has been operating in Tallahassee for thirty years and is a full time Christian residential facility for teenage girls.  For more information and ways you can help visit their website. www.lighthousechildrenshome.com