Spread Joy - Becca Barry

As with any move, I immediately began searching for a strong church home. After bouncing around for about a year, one of my good friends introduced me to Harvest Church. The expository preaching and discipleship-focused mindset drew me in, and my decision was solidified once I began meeting the young men and women that make up the Young Adults Ministry. They have quickly become some of my very best friends, and I can honestly say for certain that God placed each of them in my life for a specific purpose. After much prayer, I chose to officially become a member of Harvest Church this past November! Since then, the Lord has opened door after door for me in terms of serving my church family. I get to hold babies once a month in the nursery, journey through the gospels with a small group of young women, and serve on the Leadership Team for the Young Adults Ministry. I am blessed to be a part of a multi-generational Discipleship Group, and have been poured into by older women in the church. Most excitedly, starting in the fall, I will be going through a nine-month program known as the Downline Institute offered by Downline Ministries. You can think of it as a seminary-like class that walks people through the Bible and explores various doctrines. Needless to say, I have truly found a church FAMILY here in Memphis, and I am so grateful. If God wasn't already rocking my world enough, I have been given the incredible opportunity to go on a mission trip to INDIA at the end of July! Four young women and four young men from the Young Adults Ministry will be journeying together to Hyderabad, India to work with the Banjara people group and local pastor that the Lord has led Harvest Church to partner with consistently. This is known as a "teaching trip," as our team will be assisting in a pastoral conference that will be occurring in the villages for over 70 indigenous pastors from the Banjara people group. The four men on our team will be imparting God’s Word to the pastors themselves, and then the four women on our team, including myself, will be leading the women and children. Not only will we have the opportunity to lead these women to better understand the gospel, but we will have the opportunity to teach regular subjects in the school, as well as the gospel, to the 400 children in the villages. We will also have the chance to gain experience evangelizing within the city, as well as take in the sights, sounds, and tastes of India. My degree from Mississippi State University is in Elementary Education, therefore this trip instantly tugged at my heart strings the second it was announced. It has been seven years since I have had the opportunity to go on a mission trip, and I had been talking to the Lord about my desire to travel again. After much prayer and encouragement from those around me, I felt the Lord calling me to apply for this trip. Needless to say, I was overjoyed when I found out that I was selected to be a part of the team and even more excited when I found out who else would be serving alongside me. I have no doubts that this will be one of the most incredible and admittedly challenging trips of our lives. Over the past few months, I have felt the Lord opening my eyes to the vastness of His love for me and the passions that He has instilled in my life. I whole-heartedly feel that my calling in life and personal mission is to SPREAD JOY wherever the Lord leads me, whether that is at home in Memphis, in my workplace, at Harvest, on a college campus, or to the ends of the Earth. This summer, I have the opportunity to spread the joy of the Lord to the people of India. Will you join my support team? Joyfully,
Becca Barry