Called to Encourage
THE PROGRAM:
Named after Barnabas, the "Son of Encouragement," who reached out to early Christians with the apostle Paul, Operation Barnabas is an offshoot of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s (LCMS) Ministry to the
Armed Forces.
THE MISSION:
Like the program’s namesake, congregations working with Operation Barnabas reach out to support their pastors who are about to deploy or have just returned from deployment as chaplains in the U.S. Armed Forces Reserve.
"The deployment of a congregation’s pastor can be seen as both a challenge and an opportunity," says Program Manager Mike Moreno (pictured). Moreno visits deployed LCMS chaplains—as well as their spouses and congregations—and listens to their needs and challenges.
"Many people are not familiar with the issues of military life," he says. "We seek to normalize the experience by speaking about issues such as the emotional [aspects of] deployment."
THE FUTURE:
Moreno plans to develop a support network for all Lutheran reservists and their families, not just chaplains.
"We will train district facilitators who will, in turn, train congregations to deliver care to their members. This will enable all congregational members to participate in the care of military families nationwide," he says.
TO LEARN MORE:
Contact Mike Moreno at michael.moreno@lcms.org.
Did You Know?
You can help! Thrivent Financial for Lutherans representatives will be given the chance to donate to Operation Barnabas at their annual field conferences in 2008. Thrivent Financial members can make a donation by phone at 888-930-4439 or visit catalog.lcms.org/GiveNow and click on LCMS World Relief and Human Care, then Operation Barnabas.
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