QCLife@3, a special interest feature of WBTV Channel 3 in Charlotte, did a profile story on The Barn, talking about the weekly fellowship, but also about the prison ministry that we are involved in. Their intro and profile video is posted below. Their page with the profile is here. You can read more about The Barn's prison ministry here.
Volunteers Inspiring Inmates
A local group of men are inspiring inmates to live better lives!
There is something happening in Fort Mill, SC. Men come from far and wide – North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, to experience a unique fellowship. Men among men, inspire one another to lead a better life. They call themselves the Barn Brothers. Barn Brothers International Ministries began about 15 years ago. The group has been meeting in a renovated barn every Tuesday night ever since. The men use a book called Wild at Heart by John Eldredge as inspiration. Haines Maxwell, a member of the board, says the men find healing in conversation. Attendees discuss life challenges, and they consider spiritual questions. Barn Brother, Ed Sniadecki says the internal change can be significant.
Once a week, some of the volunteers take a message of inspiration to Kershaw Correctional Institution. The message has touched 480 inmates and the number is growing. Dennis Jahn leads the pack into the prison each week. The Kershaw clergy say the Barn Brothers are changing lives. Many of the inmates strive to lead a positive, crime-free life on the outside.
Click "Fullscreen" at bottom right of video, then play video.
** SPECIAL MESSAGE - Help the Barn Brothers buy The Barn! **
Please read our Information Packet (PDF) discussing our ministry and this effort.
The late Bob Blake built the barn in the early 2000s. He offered its use to Kevin Casner, who wanted to lead a group of men through the Wild at Heart video series, and began meeting there. From those humble beginnings, The Barn has grown to a consistent weekly fellowship of dozens of men each week, coming from many church backgrounds. Additionally, The Barn has sent men to regional and national weekend retreats each year, taken the Wild at Heart message to Slovakia in 2013 and 2014, to the Czech Republic in 2017 and 2018, and also into prison ministry in Kershaw, SC, impacting 440+ men during the years that we have been there. Bob Blake, prior to his passing in 2013, saw the life changing ministry that has occurred through The Barn since 2005, as part of his “eternal portfolio”. In 2015, The Barn officially became Barn International Ministries (BIM), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, to further support its ministry efforts. You can read more about the beginnings of The Barn, its mission, and the ministry it has become, under Our Mission and Our Story below. Check out Haines Maxwell's video, just below, giving you a tour of The Barn, sharing stories of men throughout the years that have been impacted by The Barn fellowship, and talking about our effort to purchase The Barn property, which consists of a goal to raise 100k in the next 2 - 3 months for a down payment on a loan, and then 200-300k over the next 2 - 3 years to payoff the loan and continue to invest in the ministry. Also below, are some testimonials from our allies. Please prayerfully consider supporting this effort and ministry with a donation. Thank you!
Barn International Ministries is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization.
All donations made to the organization are tax deductible as allowed by applicable law. Consult your tax professional.
Men today need a safe place to get real with themselves and with other men. I've ministered worldwide since my first book Healing the Masculine Soul pioneered the Christian men's movement in 1988, and am happy to endorse The Barn as a rare and much needed outpost on the frontiers of healing and growth for men today. What they offer is rightly beginning to expand and I heartily recommend it as an opportunity for others to partner with them by your support.
~ Gordon Dalbey, Author, Healing the Masculine Soul http://www.abbafather.com/
Men and their relationships with others are literally revived as they see Jesus at The Barn. In Charlotte, NC, The Barn is an unusual, visionary, biblically-based gathering of men. And they actually meet in a barn – a place where men can share their hearts in transparency, fellowship in Jesus and serve their Lord, their families, their businesses and others faithfully in the name of Jesus. As I have travelled throughout our nation, this is the only ministry of its type that I have seen east of the Mississippi River. How grateful I am to hear that it is expanding to other cities in North and South Carolina.
~ Tom Phillips
Vice President, Billy Graham Evangelical Association
Having partnered with The Barn and the brotherhood of men that beckon its walls for the past decade, I can truly say without reservation, there is not a more impactful ongoing event for the hearts of men in this country than Tuesday nights at The Barn. The impact of this environment, both the friendships that await a man and the deep work of God that is offered from week to week makes it more than a unique place, it makes it holy. God plus The Barn has changed countless mens' lives, marriages and families. We look forward to continuing our partnership and alliance with The Barn both in the battle now and at the banquet to come.
~ Michael Thompson
Author, Heart of a Warrior
Click image for larger version
Our Mission
Getting Real, Walking Together, Changing the World
Barn International Ministries is called to minister to the hearts of men by helping to create redemptive communities of intimate and authentic friendships, both locally and internationally, which encourage men to embrace their true identity as God’s sons, and to walk together with other men as allies, toward becoming stronger husbands, fathers and friends. We invite men on a journey toward the reorientation of their good heart, by creating a safe environment for that to be accomplished. Our intent is to foster an environment of intentionality, where a man can hear the call of Jesus to come up and out of his past wounds and hurts and into a healed and whole place, where he can in turn offer healing to others. It is our deep desire that all men, regardless of race, nationality or religious background, experience the freedom and abundant life available to them through living a life in Christ Jesus, and by the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit. We believe this message can and is changing the world.
Our Story
These articles tell the story of how The Barn was founded in 2005, and how it has touched men's lives in the years since.
Carolina Gateway
(an Indian Land circular from the Lancaster News)
July 10, 2013
Remembering Bob Blake,
Builder of The Barn
"Barn Brothers in Blake’s ‘eternal portfolio’"
Fort Mill Times
(part of the Rock Hill Herald )
July 27, 2018
"Baring their souls in a barn. Men’s group in Indian Land digs down to deeper issues"
Join Us
Tuesday Nights
NEW GUYS SHOW UP EVERY WEEK!
This Band of Brothers meets each Tuesday. We share life, we share our journey, and we share in the larger mission to reach the hearts of men.
We weren't created to walk alone! Someone smart once said "A true friend is someone who knows the song of your heart and can sing it back to you when you've forgotten the words"
Saturdays - 8 a.m.
Several groups meet on Saturday mornings!
Drop in to get the scoop or email us for more info.
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Mobile (turn device sideways to view larger)
Hear From the Barn Brothers
Questions or comments are welcome!
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