Barnabas Sunday
Passages (NIV): Isaiah 55, Psalm 18:19
Preacher: Mark Kingston
This Sunday looked a little different. We took time to hear stories from Barnabas Landing, one of our long-standing mission partners. Part of that partnership means taking time now and then to catch up, to give thanks, and to notice what God has been doing through them. But this wasn’t just a “mission update.” It was also a moment to reflect on what it means to keep trusting and walking with God over the long haul.
As we continue our series on staying close to Jesus, we’ve been paying attention to practices that shape faith over time. In recent weeks, we’ve focused on remembering and belonging. Barnabas Sunday gave us a chance to see those practices lived out rather than explained.
Through the videos and our conversation with Rob and Kathy Bentall, we heard what it looks like to walk with God through seasons of abundance and seasons of real need, and how remembering God’s faithfulness can steady us when things are going well and when they feel uncertain. We also heard honestly about God’s timing, which is often slower than we would like, never rushed, and clearer when seen over a long stretch of life. Again and again, their story pointed to faith being formed through shared life and long faithfulness, not quick results.
We also heard from Jonny Lochhead, the current Executive Director of Barnabas, as Pastor Laura spoke with him about the joys and challenges of the work today. For example, Jonny shared how Barnabas served 270 families through family camps last summer, and how in 2025 over 3,500 guests came through Barnabas for rest, retreat, and team building. It was a reminder that the same story of God's faithfulness continues in a new season and with new leadership.
Rather than summarising those conversations in detail here, we encourage you to watch them in the video below. Our hope is that, as a church, we keep noticing how remembering and belonging help us stay close to Jesus so that his good "fruit" - things like peace, joy, love and kindness - grows more and more in us over time.
We give thanks to God for Barnabas Landing, for the many lives shaped through it, and for his steady faithfulness over the 40 years since it began.
WATCH THE BARNABAS VIDEOS AND INTERVIEWS
Barnabas Landing - Video Update Part 1
