The Hills Are Alive With Seth Barnes
A moment from five years ago that felt so brief began to burn in my heart years later. It was around my eighth grade year, and I needed some volunteer hours, so the first thing that came to mind was to hit up the church. They were having a Christmas event for kids whose parents were either incarcerated, in jail, and/or incapable of raising them. They had a feast for these kids and a whole night of fun – a time of great community, great food, and what turned into a great basketball game after. I was about their age, yet knew nothing about what it might have felt to be in their shoes. This night sparked something in me that only ignited a year & half ago – what was just a night to get volunteer hours turned into the night that would change my heart. I now have a passion like no other for youth and their pain from this world. Heartache from various sources such as abuse – physical or emotional – abandonment, rape, fatherlessness, and there’s more. I’m called to make a difference in not only the world but in the life of the youth today.
The lies from the world and the lack of confidence seized this dream and passion of mine, until the day I met Seth Barnes. Seth Barnes is the Founder of Adventures In Missions, which the World Race is an entity of. My squad had the pleasure of going to spend the day with Seth Barnes at his house. It was a treat to get to go off campus for a bit, so as you can imagine it was a pretty big deal to us racers. When we arrived, Seth came out to introduce himself and shared a bit of his story. God has worked in his life over the years and has used him to create, build, and lead disciples. I was toward the back when Seth was sharing his story & at one point all of a sudden I was experiencing this excruciating pain on my feet. I decided to investigate. In an instant I yanked my socks off and leaped to the sidewalk realizing I was standing in a massive ant pile. After a great story of how God has moved in his life plus the trauma from the angry ants, he then brought out a bin of balls and games that we could put to use. Before we all dispersed his last words were “the only rule I have is to have fun!”, boy did we do that! Some tossed a football or a frisbee around, played some cornhole, or just sat on his beautiful porch to soak in the scenery. Seth also took some groups to go hiking and on those hikes lives were deeply impacted.
We were walking down his driveway and Seth asked the group, “Are there any starters here?” I wasn’t sure what he meant so he expanded on the question, asking if we had dreams or the intent to start something. That’s when he gave me the opportunity to share. A desire in my heart is to build & create something that can impact kids and teenagers in a drastic way. Two years ago the idea of planting a dream center came to my mind and had my heart churning. Creating a space that is welcoming and safe. Providing a place that will get kids thinking, serving, and experiencing God’s love. A building that would be designed to attract this generation, having space for things such as a laser tag arena, basketball court, trampolines, video games, tutoring, you name it! As well as a sanctuary, a place to gather, sharing wisdom, peace and love. In our short time together, Seth taught me what leadership looked like and that our dreams could simply be our reality. One thing that Seth let our group do was lead the way. We each got to lead for a bit where we happened to hop some fences, cross a creek, fight off some thorns and dodge a snake but we got to our destination- a beautiful grassy hill. It was like the scene in Sound of Music as we were walking up the hill, hence the title. It was a great experience that has inspired me to be a starter and do big things for the Kingdom of God.
In another blog I will be sharing a prophecy that I received during my time in Foley Alabama that confirms this dream, so get ready for the next few blogs!!
For you! Down below in the comment section share some of your dreams? Has God put anything on your heart?!
It’s been a couple of years and we met again this afternoon on my porch. It’s so encouraging to see the way God continues to use you, JP! Keep pressing in. You are a starter and you’re going to make a difference in the kingdom!