Full-Time Barnabas

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~4 min read

Hi there. Welcome to Well Lit Soul. Where we seek God, face darkness, and shine brighter. Today’s blog is called: Full-Time Barnabas.

Great news everyone! I did it! I finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up! Drumroll please! It’s a full-time Barnabas. And you may be asking yourself, “who or what is a Barnabas” and “what does that even mean?”. Great question, I’d love to tell you.

Barnabas was a Levite who worked with the apostles to spread the good news of Jesus’ resurrection and support the new congregations that were being formed throughout the first century. His parents gave him the name Joses, but through his work with the apostles, they gave him the name Barnabas which means Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36). You can see a lot of his work throughout the book of Acts, specifically Acts 13:43 which says:

Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

So, what does that have to do with me and the new path I want to pursue in life. Well, I want to be a full-time encourager. To support people as they build and grow their faith. I’ve always been somewhat of a cheerleader and hype-woman for the people around me, but I want to channel that energy into cheering people on in their walk with God. Especially when they feel they are walking alone.

And you may still be asking yourself, “what does that even mean or look like”? And that’s a totally fair question. Full-time Barnabas isn’t exactly an option you find at career day. The honest answer is, I’m still figuring it out. But I started by creating Well Lit Soul, which currently provides three offerings: one-on-one life coaching, group education opportunities, and social media content. The life coaching will be focused on spiritual life with an emphasis on re-igniting one’s inner light. The education opportunities will be workshops, retreats, and seminars for women and young ladies groups. And the social media content will be more of these blogs and other encouraging posts.

Now, these offerings are fairly common, but what makes Well Lit Soul different is that I don’t want individuals to have to pay for my services. Largely because it feels, for lack of a better word, “gross”. I can’t imagine someone reaching out in such a vulnerable time when their soul is so fragile and I have this ability to support them but before we get started, I give them my rates. It feels like it strips away all of the compassion and sincerity in that opportunity for connection. I think about content creators like @SBmowing and @aurikatariina who provide transformational services for those in need completely for free. They use their skills and platforms to serve and I want to do the same.

So, the next question is, how will I make money if I’m not asking clients to pay me? I have two approaches for that. The first is to connect with local congregations and faith-based organizations and meet with their leadership to find out if they have members who might benefit from working with me. If they do, then I would ask them to either sponsor individual coaching or have me facilitate a workshop, seminar, etc. for their women or young ladies’ groups. The second is the start of what I’m calling “The Barnabas Fund” where people who are willing and able can donate to support the work of Well Lit Soul in general or gift coaching sessions for themselves, a friend/family member, or a stranger.

So, the work of Well Lit Soul will largely be donation based. And that is a risk, because I don’t know how all of this will unfold. I don’t know what the future holds. But I do know the need is there and I’m willing and ready to step out on faith into the unknown. Because I am confident the Lord will provide, because as Romans 8:28 says:

All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

And when things do work out for His good, I will have no choice but to give God the glory. Because none of this will have happened based on my knowing, understanding, or control. It is all His plan, His will, and His kingdom. I just need to be ready to serve when He opens the doors. 

Connection Question: What are some ways you are able to serve God? How can we partner on helping each other serve Him more? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to connect with you about it.

P.S. The comments should be working now. Thank you to those who let me know about the technical issues!