“I almost lost all hope, but then came your help which reminded me that God does not forget” – the words of a Syrian Christian survivor of the earthquake that devastated southern Turkey and northern Syria in 2023. Barnabas Aid helped over 7,000 believers in its aftermath, providing food, water, blankets, tents and more.
Christians around the world suffer in many ways. Some are persecuted or discriminated against because of their Christian faith. Others suffer in natural disasters.
For 30 years Barnabas Aid has served the persecuted and suffering Church. We believe that our calling from God, as a ministry, is to help especially the family of believers (Galatians 6:10), and within the family of believers to help especially those who are suffering because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Practical aid – given from Christians, through Christians, to Christians – is the heart of Barnabas’s work.
Barnabas now helps 300-400 projects in about 50 countries each year. Since the ministry began, we have funded an estimated 5,000 projects across 109 countries. Only the Lord knows how many lives of poor and persecuted Christians have been saved.
What does Barnabas do?
Food for hungry Christians. Water for thirsty Christians. Medicine for believers who are sick. Shelter for converts thrown out of the family home. Bibles for Christians who fled violence leaving everything behind. Practical care for the families of those in prison for the sake of the Lord. Loving Christian schools for Christian children who are despised by mainstream society. Discipleship for new believers. Trauma counselling for Christian survivors of war and conflict. Living costs for pastors, church-planters and local missionaries, bravely serving Christ in hostile situations. These are just some of the ways Barnabas Aid is helping our suffering Church family.
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
(Galatians 6:10)
We also focus on ministry training for Christian leaders in places of pressure and persecution. The Shepherd’s Academy (TSA) is Barnabas’s own training wing for grassroots leaders. TSA is not just about Bible knowledge, but also about ministry skills and formation of a Christ-like character. (www.shepherds.academy)
How does Barnabas help?
Mainly we help by sending money. We channel financial gifts from our supporters around the world to churches and ministries on the ground in places of poverty and persecution. They use the money to fund their projects to aid suffering Christians.
But sometimes we send food, blankets, clothes, medicines, PPE or other items donated by our supporters, which we load into shipping containers and transport by land or sea to needy Christians. These are our food.gives and medical.gives projects, which began in 2021 (www.food.gives). With God’s help and yours, we have already sent 173 containers, providing 79,590,000 portions of food, 50 million pieces of PPE and many other kinds of aid.
Prayer is just as important as practical aid. So we provide a range of prayer resources: daily, monthly and annual.
Hope and aid for the suffering Church
Practical aid creates hope and spiritual encouragement. Suffering Christians are greatly comforted to know that the aid comes from fellow-Christians.
“People were happy that Christians in other lands thought of them… People praised God and thanked Barnabas for coming to help them even though they were in remote areas not known to the world,” reported our project partner in Chad, when we provided maize after catastrophic flooding in 2022.
God, you, Barnabas and the suffering Church
It is a wonderful privilege to serve the suffering Church. We are so thankful to the Lord and to our supporters for making it possible.
Find out more about the ministry at: www.barnabasaid.org
We strive to keep our overheads low – currently 12% globally, which means 88% of the money donated to Barnabas is available to help suffering Christians. The 12% (which covers running costs, raising awareness and prayer resources) comes from donations to our General Fund. Any financial gift which a donor directs to a specific project is used 100% for that project and its expenses; nothing is taken from it for our overheads.
