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.
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Leroy Barber's Blog
Lifestyle of Perseverance / Jun 17, 04:57 PM
As we approach the end of our year, I like to compare our experience to that of a runner coming toward the end of their race. A good runner sees the finish line and turns on the burners to “kick it in.” We like to do the same. During the summer months, we begin to see incredible stories emerging from our work over the year. I would like to share a bit of Ashley’s story with you in hopes that you will be encouraged.
Isaiah 58:10 states that “If you offer your food to the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.” As I serve in the Logan neighborhood of north Philadelphia, I am starting to understand Isaiah’s message at a deeper level than ever before.
Logan is predominantly African American with a large Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrant population. I volunteer at Logan Hope School, where my roommates and I run the after-school program and I am their P.E. teacher. I also work at the E3 (Education, Employment & Empowerment) Center, tutoring teens as they prepare for the GED tests and help with life skills training, as well as helping in the guidance office at the City Center Academy (CCA) High School.
In the Logan community, I’m learning the true meaning of the verse from Isaiah, that if we help the afflicted then we shall experience personal healing and transformation. It’s not a one-way street, in which I do something for someone else, and they solely are changed; rather, it’s a two-way street in which both parties walk away changed.
It’s a process that gives both sides a new sense of dignity. And in impoverished neighborhoods, dignity is in short supply. That’s why I believe so strongly in the work I’m doing in Logan — but as I continually fall short of my fundraising goal, I worry that my role in this mission will be jeopardized.
Our Mission Year goal is to raise $12,000 for the year; unfortunately, I have only been able to raise approximately $3,000. To raise support, I have sent out letters of request, contacted individuals over the phone to ask for support, written letters of grant inquiry, hosted a chili dinner and movie night, partnered with Chick-Fil-A for a Spirit night, and sold water ice and baked goods in my neighborhood.
I have a list of approximately 75 people that I have asked for financial assistance — but only around 30 people have actually given money to support my Mission Year. The biggest roadblock has been reaching out for financial support to my family and friends and having them express that they just don’t have the financial means to help me. They do support me in the ways that they can — through prayer and encouragement — for which I am extremely grateful.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.” It’s easy to connect this to what Isaiah said: helping the afflicted helps you in turn. Therefore, my plea is this: please find it in your heart to support me. As you offer kindness to me, so I am empowered to offer kindness to my community — and who knows how many I will empower to pass that kindness on? As I learn to become a better neighbor and as I try to love harder and build deeper relationship with the end hope that if we all do our part — together we can and we will evoke radical change within society and within ourselves.
—Ashley Reese
Please join Ashley in her efforts to reach her financial goal by sending a gift. You gift to her or Mission Year will help us kick it in toward the finish of a great year.
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Team Member Update / May 18, 10:19 AM
Dear Friends,
I thought I would share with you the story of one of our incredible team members. I hope you get as inspired as I do when reading it.
Leroy Barber
Destiny Martin
It’s hard to focus on your day’s work when you’re worried about paying the bills. It’s hard to keep a sense of “calling” when you’re not sure how your bills will be paid. This is a lesson learned the hard way by many people in the southwest Philadelphia community I’m currently serving in with Mission Year — and it’s a lesson I’m having to learn personally as well.
I love the work I’m doing with Mission Year; I really feel that I’ve been called to serve the community where I’ve been placed. But this year, Mission Year fundraising has been harder than I ever expected it would be. Heading into my eighth month, I’ve only raised about $1,000 of my $12,000 goal.
I seek out support in every way that I know how: praying fervently, spreading the word to people I meet — plus, every month I send newsletters to family members, friends, associates, and church members. Yet responses are few and far between, and monthly giving commitments are even more rare.
Over Christmas break, I had the opportunity to speak to my home church about my role with Mission Year — what I’m learning, how I’m growing, and my need for financial support. At the end of my short talk, the congregation held an offering on my behalf and raised about $100. That $100 contribution was incredibly meaningful because my church consists of only 20-30 members, many of whom have so little to give but are willing to give what they do have to help others.
Almost all of the people in my church have received a monthly newsletter and have told me that they are proud of me; they’ve asked about my neighbors and teammates in Philadelphia and inquired about specific things that I’ve shared in those letters. The problem is not unwillingness to give; the problem is that the majority of people in my network come from struggling lower-income families, like me. It is because I grew up in this environment that I feel I truly have a heart for the types of communities served by Mission Year. But people cannot give what they do not have — and most of my acquaintances and family friends just don’t have the resources to support me financially.
I know that my parents would really love to give more to my Mission Year fund and are helping as much as they can, but as they are already covering most of the many medical supplies and doctor visits I need to treat my Type I Diabetes, there is little left over to contribute to my fundraising goal.
It’s hard not to get discouraged as month after month passes with so little money coming in—especially as I see my teammates reaching or even exceeding their fundraising goals while I struggle to bring in a couple hundred dollars. It’s hard not to feel that people simply don’t care about me or my work. But I remind myself that I am cared for by my home church family, even if they can’t express it through financial support.
Although I have few donations, I am grateful for each one that I have. I haven’t given up, nor do I plan to. I continue to seek out new donors and remain hopeful that fundraising will come in. In the meantime, I’ll keep sending out letters and waiting for their responses with an expectant heart.
Lifestyle of Solidarity / Apr 23, 03:27 PM
Solidarity: A union of interests, purposes, or sympathies among members of a group; fellowship of responsibilities and interests.
Dear friends,
Sandy calls me on the phone and asks if we can talk. She is a team member serving in one of our cities. Sandy is usually very upbeat, but her voice sounds almost monotone on the call. I suggest coffee, and she agrees.
I enter the coffee shop and greet Sandy; she gives me a hug, but her countenance is very down. She says, “Let’s sit over there.” At a small table in the corner of the shop, I order a green tea and she has water. I start with, “What’s up, how are ya?” and she begins to cry immediately. I am taken aback a little by her response, but then I realize there is something seriously wrong with Sandy. I ask again with a much more serious tone this time, “What’s up, Sandy?”
Sandy begins by admitting, “I am so embarrassed to tell you this story but I really need to, and I need you to listen and then respond once I am done.” Sandy is a great team member. She has established many relationships in her neighborhood. Sandy is always out getting to know people, she works hard at her service agency, and she sings with the choir at her church. She is loved by her neighbors and has a group of young girls in the neighborhood that love and trust her. What could be wrong?
She starts her story. Close to weeping, she begins to tell me that she has searched her family history and she has found some things out about her family’s participation in slavery and the Klan that are really ugly. She won’t look at me at this point because she is embarrassed by what she has found. She says, “I knew my family was quite racist when I came to Mission Year, but the level to which my family has hurt people is crushing. I don’t want to be white. I want to change my name, I want to hurt some of my relatives, and consequently I want to hurt myself. I can only imagine my neighbors’ grandparents and great-grandparents and hurt for them. I feel their pain. I don’t know what to do.”
In this moment of brokenness, I see that Sandy has become one with her neighbors. She has come to love them and not only love them, but feel with them. She looks at me and says, “I can never pretend to know how my African American neighbors feel and I imagine their pain is much deeper than I feel at this moment. I don’t know how you do it. I don’t how to continue. I cannot look my neighbors in the face. I feel so guilty for my family’s transgressions.” We went on to talk about a lot of things that afternoon that ended with us both in tears. We talked about forgiveness, and about restoration for her, her family, and the community where she serves. We talked about guilt and the need to find a way through feeling guilty and instead let this motivate you to live differently. We left with a renewed sense of call and vision.
Sandy is of course not the team member’s real name. She gave me permission to tell this story only if I keep her identity and her family’s identity anonymous. Sandy finished her year and now lives and serves among her neighbors. We talk on a regular basis, and she is doing well in her work, life, and family relationships.
Sandy’s story is one of many that I could tell that represent how our team members’ interests become one with the people they serve. Would you consider supporting this work with your financial support? Your support represents interest and solidarity with the poor of our cities.
Lifestyle of Offering / Mar 11, 10:43 AM
Dear Friends,
What do you think would happen if you gave a homeless man $250? Our team members in Houston recently found out.
They first met Don on a Sunday afternoon in the park. With friends at their church, Ecclesia, our team members spend many Sundays at a local park, sharing home-cooked food. It isn t a feeding program exactly, but more of a family meal with brothers and sisters who don t have homes. They call it Simple Feast. Don is a regular, never without his sketchpad and pencil.
Early in her Mission Year, Sarah noticed that Don appeared to be sketching her and her teammate Andy while they patiently listened to the long, rambling story of another Simple Feast friend. Later, he approached her and gently offered his drawing. It turned out that Don was not only a talented artist; he was a kind and thoughtful friend as well. Before long, Don was a regular at the Mission Year team’s house, stopping by to play a board game, share a snack, or just talk.
Since their church has an art gallery, Sarah and Andy eventually arranged for Don to display some of his drawings at Ecclesia. A few pieces of his art were sold, totaling $250 that went directly to Don. So what did he do? Don promptly donated it all back to the church. Really.
“When Don gave that money,” Sarah said, “I was so humbled that it brought tears to my eyes. I don’t think I would have done the same. I probably would have kept some of the money for myself, justifying it by the fact that art supplies cost money. But Don, who has so little, gave everything. It was so beautiful.”
On my last trip to Houston, I got to experience Don s generosity and what Sarah calls his incredible joy – for myself. He complimented me on our Mission Year team’s approach to outreach. “These young people really are my friends, and I thank you for sending them here. Keep up the good work!” Wow. I love it that our young people were able to draw this gentle man back into fellowship and remind him that he has something to give the world. And I love it that he showed them the truth that Jesus keeps trying to show us:
“Just then he looked up and saw the rich people dropping offerings in the collection plate. Then he saw a poor widow put in two pennies. He said, “The plain truth is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today. All these others made offerings that they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford she gave her all!” (Luke 21:1-4)
Your donations to Mission Year have made it possible for our team and their church to connect with a homeless man who literally offers all he has to the work of God. Our ‘small’ gifts, when combined with the extravagant gifts of the Dons of this world, make for a truly wonderful offering!
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Lifestyle of Love / Feb 19, 11:21 AM
The following story from Mission Year alum Emily Newlin is a great illustration of the kind of relationships – and the kind of growth – that your support makes possible. I hope you are encouraged by her experience as much as I have been. Thanks for all you do to keep our team members out there, loving their inner-city neighbors in the name of Jesus.
With Love,
Leroy Barber, President
Mission Year
When my teammates and I arrived in La Villita (Little Village), a Mexican neighborhood in Chicago, in September 2007, we were immediately welcomed into the Aldana family – 2 boys, 2 girls and their very sweet mother. The Aldana house was our refuge during our year. Still to this day, the Aldanas are our family.
My most significant relationship was with Sarai, the eldest daughter, who was a senior in high school at the time. We gushed together over Mr. Darcy from Pride & Prejudice, watched chick-flicks, spent time downtown, and talked about the future. Her life had always been spent in La Villita, but when it came to college, she wanted an adventure.
I told her about my alma mater, Southern Nazarene University, which is right outside of Oklahoma City. I shared with her about experiences and friends, and I told her to check out their website. Still, I was still surprised when she told me she wanted to go there. At first I was skeptical because the school was 13 hours from the Aldana home. But she asked for my help, and together we struggled through the application and financial aid processes. Then we waited.
Near the end of my Mission Year, I decided to move back to Oklahoma City. I knew that Sarai might still possibly go to SNU, but she was wrestling with leaving family and being completely on her own for the first time. Two weeks before I left, however, she told me that she was for sure enrolling. I could not believe it! I was going to have a little piece of Chicago with me in Oklahoma City!
Right away I called my cousin, who had just finished her freshmen year and was already buying new trimmings for a dorm room makeover for her second year. She gladly gave everything to Sarai that she needed to make her first dorm room cozy. My parents and grandparents pulled together funds and reserved a hotel room in OKC for Sarai’s mother and brothers that were driving her from Chicago and helping her move. It was so amazing to see my two families come together…and to see how excited everyone was!
When the day came for Sarai to move into the SNU dorms, I was right there…it was wonderful. I dragged them all over town, introducing them to everyone I knew and sharing my stories. It was one of the best days of my life (barely surpassed by the day before my wedding when I got a call from the Aldana brothers saying that they were waiting at the bus station in my hometown. They had come all the way from Chicago for my wedding…I could not believe it!).
Sarai soon found out what it was like to be on her own. She got her first job and was involved in clubs, running around with new friends, and working with professors to improve her grades. It was beautiful! Sarai was succeeding, and giving all the glory to God. And I got to be part of it. Since then, Sarai has transfered to The University of Illinois in Chicago and lives in the dorms there. It has been the right transition for her and her growth. I am so proud of her! I miss her, of course, but how great is it that she has a piece of my life in her heart forever, and I have a piece of hers in mine? That is what Mission Year is about, after all: living a lifestyle of love by sharing in life together.
