The church is filled with hurting and wounded people, many of whom are pastors, spouses and leaders. The care for these groups has often been neglected.
Recognizing that churches can be not stronger than their pastors, in 1993, Dick and Dee Sochacki founded Barnabas Ministries of Michigan to bring some needed help.
Dick would meet with pastors one-on-one, while Dee led a group of intercessors in prayer support. Dick wrote, “Our vision has been to reach out and touch pastors and leaders who need encouragement because of the pressures they face in their position and call.” Dick transitioned to heaven in of 2017. Dee continues her prayer ministry.
Doug and Carolyn Schmidt have been ministering to pastors and spouses for almost thirty years while they have pastored Woodside Bible Church in Troy, Michigan. Doug accepted the role of Executive Director of Barnabas Ministries in 2017. As he transitions out of Woodside, he hopes to grow the staff, offering more services to ministry couples and churches. Through the networking and resourcing of the last thirty years, Doug believes that Barnabas can provide needed services to churches as well as pastors.