Leroy Barber
Bio
Leroy Barber has dedicated more than 20 years to eradicating poverty, confronting homelessness, restoring local neighborhoods, healing racism, and living what Dr. King called “the beloved community.”
Leroy starts projects that shape society; In 1990, burdened by the plight of the Philadelphia’s homeless, he founded Restoration Ministries, to serve homeless families and children living on the streets. In 1997, he joined FCS Urban Ministries, to serve as the founding Director of Atlanta Youth Academies, a private elementary school, to provide quality Christian education for low-income families in the inner city.
He is currently the President of Mission Year, a national urban initiative introducing 18-29 year olds to missional and communal living in city centers for one year of their lives. Rev. Barber is the Pastor of a church plant, Community Fellowships Church; and on the boards of Atlanta Youth Academy and DOOR. Leroy was also chosen as a contributor to the ground-breaking book, UnChristian: What a New Generation Thinks About Christianity and Why It Matters.
Leroy is married to Donna and together they have three children, Jessica, Joshua and Joel.
Invite Leroy to speak at your event!
Leroy Barber's Blog
Reports / Jul 14, 10:38 AM
“When Moses sent them off to scout out Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and then into the hill country. Look the land over, see what it is like. Assess the people: Are they strong or weak? Are there few or many? Observe the land: Is it pleasant or harsh? Describe the towns where they live: Are they open camps or fortified with walls? And the soil: Is it fertile or barren? Are there forests? And try to bring back a sample of the produce that grows there—this is the season for the first ripe grapes."
"We went to the land to which you sent us and, oh! It does flow with milk and honey! Just look at this fruit! The only thing is that the people who live there are fierce, their cities are huge and well fortified. Worse yet, we saw descendants of the giant Anak. Amalekites are spread out in the Negev; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites hold the hill country; and the Canaanites are established on the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan."
Caleb interrupted, called for silence before Moses and said, "Let's go up and take the land—now. We can do it."
But the others said, "We can't attack those people; they're way stronger than we are." They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, "We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it's a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers."
This story from Numbers chapter 13 shows us two responses to God’s promise to the Israelites: one in which the spies say the land is too tough for us and that there are giants, the other saying our God is strong and will give us this land.
Team members have been living, working, praying and serving in Atlanta, Chicago, Camden, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Wilmington for the past year, and we have compiled a report of these cities that is much like the report for the land into which the Israelites sent spies. These cities have a reputation for being tough and dangerous, and the reports you hear from the media and “mission” trips are that the land is full of giants. I, like Caleb and Joshua, have a different report. These cities are flowing with God’s grace and goodness, and we have been able to find churches and partners to connect with in each city. We have met people who are full of God’s spirit even though their lives lack economic strength, people who work hard for $5.15 an hour, people who receive food stamps yet invite our team members over to share a meal. We have met people who want to see the light and life of Jesus spread throughout their neighborhoods, so they join with and look out for our team members as they walk the streets.
There are giants of racism, poverty, classism, environmental injustice, and lack of knowing Jesus, but we can defeat them because we have entered these cities not as spies but as servants. We have put in nearly 70,000 hours of community service and 20,000 hours of outreach. We have walked, talked, prayed, counseled, learned from, cried with and for our neighbors this year to continue our assault against evil and declare this land for the Kingdom. Whose report do you believe?
Turnaround Day / Jun 23, 09:42 AM
Mission Year is a place where we believe in the ministry of presence – that being a good neighbor means not only being available when someone is in need but also being there when someone is ready to give God the opportunity to work in his life. When someone is ready to turn it around, a good neighbor knows that God will be present and is ready to lead someone through that process.
This Sunday was already special because it was the day my oldest son would graduate from high school. It was destined to be a great day. I woke up like most Sunday mornings and headed out to get some quiet time in as I prepared for the day. I went to the backyard, opened my gate, and began doing some small odd jobs to prepare for the barbeque planned for after the graduation ceremony. Into the yard walks James.
James is a young man from our neighborhood who is the same age as my son. In fact they have hung out on occasion and even got into trouble together as middle schoolers. James was not graduating on this day; he dropped out of school a few years back and has spent a little time in juvenile. He has sold drugs in the neighborhood and probably dabbled in them a bit himself. James is however a very gifted young man. My mind flashed back to him winning awards in junior high school for academics and art. He is a very good artist and has won accolades for his talent. Something went wrong for James, and he started on a downward spiral that had him now living below his potential. How ironic that he entered my yard on this morning where his life and my son’s were completely opposite, the contrast marked by the day’s events.
James came into my yard and asked if I had time to talk. As we sat down he began to talk about his life and how he wanted to straighten it up. “I am ready,” was his statement to me. He had been sleeping on his mom’s sofa for lack of somewhere else to go. He and his dad had a fight, and he was no longer welcome at his father’s house. “I am tired of life like this, Mr. Leroy. Can you help me get things together? I am ready to know God. I feel like ending it some days, can you help?” James and I began to talk about a number of things about life and what it would take to get things back on track. This conversation ended with a prayer with James in tears asking for God to be a part of his life.
The incredible opportunity that is consistently before us at Mission year is to be present at moments like this, and as team members take advantage of these moments we see God’s grace played out. Your support gives us opportunity to be in these moments.
James has a long way to go to get things back to where he wants them, but this could be his turnaround day. The day you mark as the point where you make a change for the better, and all God has for you begins to enter your soul. I clearly remember my turnaround day. I was eighteen and angry at the world, destructive to myself and those around me, and God came into me like a flood. I pray this day was James’ day.
Finishing / May 23, 10:57 AM
“Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears” (Philippians 1:3-6).
I find myself encouraged by this verse because it is a reminder that we are all working together in this incredible ministry that God will in fact finish in his own way and in his own time. This time of year gets to be pretty hard for team members. As they realize that they only have two remaining months of their Mission Year, they are also a little tired as they face the summer. It has been a year full of activity. They have spent many hours riding on public transportation; Saturdays have been full of visits to friends and neighbors. They have read and processed many books through our curriculum and sat through hours of training. There have been times of joy as well as moments of sorrow as team members have celebrated life and persevered through challenges with their communities. Thankfully, I think Philippians gives us a bit of direction in how to support them as the year comes to a close.
Paul offers the Philippians a few things here – prayer, encouragement of their work, and acknowledgement of the big picture. First, prayer that God would continue using them in the ways he had been thus far. This was a joyful appeal because he knew they had been proclaiming God’s good news. Second, encouragement to continue because he knew what the Philippians were doing was extremely important in the Kingdom, and third, connecting their work to the big picture of God’s great work of bringing grace and justice for all. Paul had no doubt that this would become a reality. His belief was that God, who started this work, would in fact finish it well.
My hope is that you are indeed praying for us as we finish the year, that you would find a way to encourage our team members with a note or phone call, and finally, that you would give over the next two months, understanding that the big picture of God’s work goes on because you help support it financially.
Thank you for all you have done so far, and my prayers are with you as you do your part in building God’s kingdom.
Comment [1]
Cynicism vs. Hope / Apr 22, 10:32 AM
I was raised in a church where hope was the order of the day. My family was not rich. In fact, we struggled quite a bit financially as my mother worked to raise four boys. There was injustice all around, but there was hope. It was preached from the pulpit on Sunday and lived out in my mother each day as she prayed and sang God’s praises before me. My school teachers used it as motivation, and bible teachers pumped it into my spirit. The older saints, as we called them, prayed about it each week at prayer, and the deacons hummed it in their prayers. Hope. Hope for a better day or hope that God would meet the day’s need. Hope that there was a God and that he cared deeply for me and would make up for the pain and injustice I saw around me each day. In fact, I’ve learned more about hope from older people who have lived through racism and injustice firsthand than I have from privileged people who have barely struggled in their lives. I have seen hope work in my life. But still I turn from it much too often.
I turn to cynicism. Cynicism has taken the place in my heart where hope used to reign. I am still a dreamer, but I have compromised my dreams for cynicism more often than I care to admit these days. Cynicism floats around in my head most days as I look at the conditions of my neighborhood or if I think about the environment or the fact that so many of my brothers are in jail. I often spout off about what the “church” is or is not doing and how I think that Christians are falling short of the mark that Jesus set. I often justify my cynicism as being a critical thinker. I am beginning to think that cynicism might be the luxury of the privileged because if you are not privileged by race or power or money, then hope, not cynicism, is what you rely on for life. If you see no future and can’t connect your life to a bigger purpose, cynicism works like a poison, destroying your spirit.
Some would say that hope lacks substance, that it is a tool of the weak, but positive change cannot happen for a person in poverty or of less privilege if there is no hope. Hope is always the fuel for change; it refreshes the heart of weary people and gives strength to the oppressed. It is a reason to persevere in struggle. In fact hope may be a sign of strength, an instrument of the brave. Romans 5 declares, “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”
In many cases our team members arrive ready to serve and offer encouragement. However, some are surprised at how much we learn from our new neighbors about what it means to persevere through struggle, about hope. It’s a neighborly exchange where each learns from and encourages the other. With your support, we will not be disappointed.
Comment [1]
Environmental Racism / Apr 17, 01:35 PM
I recently was asked to write an article by Creation Care on environmental issues in our neighborhoods. More specifically, how certain local environment conditions impact our neighbors and the community at large.
