John’s Speaking Engagements & Events

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February 2024 Partner Update

Dear Partners in Ministry,

Here's our attempt at putting on paper the amazing things Bonnie and I see while traveling on the road representing the Lord through Discover the Book Ministries. We are seeing the Lord doing amazing things through us and each of you as we work together.

First, we see THE NATIONS being reached and discipled in the Word of God. This month, we had students from the USA, the UK, South Africa, the Netherlands, Indonesia, Denmark, Canada, the Bahamas, Azerbaijan, Austria, Zambia, and Australia. Those are the ones we heard from. According to Google, individuals took online Bible classes from 50 other countries, but we did not get a personalized update from them directly.

Next, we see RADIANT FACES reflecting newfound joy in the Lord. Bonnie and I keep a prayer journal of those we talk to, open and share the Word with, and pray over as we go from place to place serving. Just last week, we invested in over 40 people face-to-face. Those faces bring us such joy. One young man listened to God's Word on YouTube, was convicted, and called upon the Lord to save him. He then MOVED OUT from living with his girlfriend until they could get married. You should have seen both of their faces as they testified of the grace of God that SAVED them, then CHANGED them, and now is changing all of their FUTURE plans. God is in the business of touching everything we give to Him.

Finally, we see your PRECIOUS GIFTS arriving at our Oklahoma HQ. Those gifts are paying web designers in Oklahoma, and course designers in Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, that make class materials out of my messages for DTBMA. Those gifts also pay for online bandwidth, computers, studio gear, cameras, and travel expenses as Bonnie & I go from conferences to churches to Bible Institutes and small groups around the US and overseas.

That is what is filling our hearts this month. What a blessing it is to be alive serving God in this generation. Please pray for us as we spend March & April with amazing Bible classes and Prophecy conferences with hundreds of registered students.

The Lord is stirring hearts.
The Lord is transforming lives.
The Lord is blessing our partnership with each of you in ministry.

Our thanks from the depths of our hearts, we are yours because we are His--

John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

January 2024 Partner Update

Dear Friends in Ministry Partnership,

Bonnie & I are just finishing our month of teaching classes at the DTBM Studios. We now have over five thousand registered students taking our free DTBM Academy classes. This month we taught Paul's Epistles, the Life of Christ, and several prophecy updates.

The schedule of study, class preparation, and slide-making is such a blessing. But to add--Bonnie running the studio, and watching her praying for all the students as I teach is AMAZING. To get to partner in life and ministry with Bonnie is one of those huge blessings no one told me was coming!

Beyond teaching and counseling the classes we have another wonderful ministry to report--the SMALL GROUPS. In many of our classes, I end with three applications. The first is to start a small group to share the Word. After saying that almost every class we have taught for three years we are SEEING God doing great things.

  • Today I heard from Sweden. A student there said, "I did it". He has taken his notes, translated them into Swedish, and started a small group. This week he had 9 learning the Word with him--in Swedish! Pray for this wonderful work the Lord is doing there.

  • Yesterday we heard from students in Minnesota. They started a 52 Greatest Chapters Sunday School class in their church. At first, it was just them, the next week ten came, and this week they have 31. Wow, all are watching the class, doing the study all week, writing in their journal, and sharing their application prayer.

  • Daily we hear from someone, somewhere in the world who says the same thing--"I am starting a small group like you challenged me to do!" God is touching hearts all over the world. God is stirring people to get serious about His Word in daily life. God is using us--you who pray and give, and Bonnie & I as we teach and disciple to see ETERNAL life changes. That's what keeps us going each day as we serve.

Thanks for standing with us. We head to teach in Central America for a week and then back to teach God's Word to several hundred students over two months in Florida, South Carolina, New York, and Massachusetts. Can't wait to report all that God has done through us next month. What a thrill to serve Him in these Last Days.

With our love and gratitude,
John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

December 2023 Partner Update

Dear Partners in Ministry,

It is so hard to capture in one letter all that the Lord has done through us as we served in 2023, and through you as you supported us in prayer and finances this amazing year.

Often we never see what God is doing in the long term perspective. But this time, the Lord prompted a letter from one family He used us together in the partnership of the Gospel, to touch and transform their lives--that expresses all the ministry of 2023 perfectly. So this update will be a bit longer than usual. But, we wanted you to see all that this family wrote, so that you can rejoice as we have.

God is at work, transforming lives through this ministry as never before in all the 25 years He has used DTBM. What a thrill to offer ourselves as His servants afresh in 2024. Here's the note we got on January 1, at 4:06 AM:

Several years ago the Holy Spirit used you and your ministry to reach me when I was in total darkness and sin. I was a loveless person in the deepest despair. I was a drug-addicted homosexual, homeless, HIV positive, having practiced witchcraft, and for lack of better words completely destitute.

While in my sin the Holy Spirit reached me through your sermons on YouTube. Your videos would pop up in my video feed! Your teachings on homosexuality were eloquent and I understood my sin was not too big for God. Your teachings on drug addicts as people and sinners made sense to me, even while I still used drugs. He used you to reach me.

After many years of this lifestyle, I had overdosed on drugs and I could literally feel death all around. I cried out to Jesus, and begged him not to send me to hell. I knew I was going to go to hell. I knew I was destined for a place that was separated from him. I told him I was sorry for how I lived my life. I told him I needed him because I couldn’t save myself from hell.

And Jesus did save me. He transformed me. Today I am married to a beautiful woman and she is pregnant with my second child. She is HIV negative and both of my children are healthy and beautiful. Can you believe how good The Lord is? He is so good. He is amazing and wonderful. Today I have a career and we own our home. Jesus Christ restored me more than I could have ever known. But, what is most important is I have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I wanted you and Bonnie to know that your ministry reached me when I was in great darkness and the Holy Spirit used your words and led me back to Jesus.

Remember me in your prayers. I’m still learning how to guard my heart and mind from besetting thoughts. The wickedness of the flesh and devil is real some days and I find my mind is the area I have a most difficult time.

I’m so grateful to the Lord for you and Bonnie. I’m so grateful for you. Thank you, P.M.

Wow. God did all that. But God uses people to perform His work. God used us because you supported us so that we could serve together.

Thank you for standing with us in 2023. Thank you for helping us launch out into further ministry for the Lord in 2024. We now have over 4,000 students registered and eagerly taking courses online through the DTBMA Academy. God is at work, and we are amazed.

Yours Because His,
John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

November 2023 Partner Update

Dear Partners in Prayers and Financial Support,

The LORD did it again!

We are home and recovering from two months of living out of a suitcase, usually in someone else's home, washing our clothes in the bathroom sink, and eating whatever they place before us. All that we do so we can experience the JOYS of the GOSPEL.

Can we share just one HUGE blessing?

In our final 2 weeks teaching in East Asia, we found a coffee shop we could go to after class and work. Bonnie graded quizzes and the student's projects. I worked on the next day's classes and slides. We were at the same place 4 days a week for both weeks. The barista went from shy and distant, to warm and friendly as the days passed. Finally, on the day we were starting home, we told her this was our last day. We worked, packed up, and started to head out to the car. Boom--she ran to our table and in the best broken English she could muster she said she was Buddhist and wanted us to know she "felt great peace each time" we were in her shop.

That was all Bonnie needed. Out came her Bible and a Korean language Gospel tract (God's Simple Plan of Salvation). Just like we saw this happen in the UK, France, and Hungary as we traveled and taught--GOD OPENED a door for His Word. Bonnie radiantly shared the truths of salvation. This dear woman listened intently, smiled, took the tract, and hugged Bonnie. She now knew about Jesus--WHO ALONE GIVES UNENDING PEACE!

Thanks again for praying for us. We head back overseas in the New Year, but now it is time to work on all the classes due to be taught Lord willing in 2024. We are excited to see what God has planned for the days ahead. We pray that each of you reading this is investing your lives for the King of Kings, our Savior born as the PRINCE OF PEACE we are left here to share!

With gratitude,

John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

October 2023 Partner Update

Dear Ministry Supporters,

Your prayers and investments have greatly been used by the Lord this past month. Let me just share a few ways we have SEEN GOD'S FINGERPRINTS all over the people and places we have served.

First of all, we saw God at work in such unexpected ways as we witnessed. When we travel (and stay often with those we are serving or teaching--think in the dormitory buildings with students all around us)--we also look for places that are quiet, where no one knows us, and we can work and catch up. So, last week I was working on my Isaiah Devotional Journal. We do the same Bible studies as the students so that when they ask us "How do we do that?" we can just show them ours, what we found as truths and principles, and then how we applied those truths to our lives, in the application prayer.

So there we were reading away, marking down our studies, and drinking coffee when we heard in this faraway country, in a tiny coffee shop, in perfect English, "What are you studying? Is that the Good Book"? There stood a 60+-year-old man from Boston! Short story: After explaining we TEACH the Bible (which he called the Good Book) it again opened that great door for us to share Christ. He listened intently to the Gospel, asked a few questions, and took the tract with a promise to read. A few days later he swung by that same spot to see if we were there (and God orchestrated events so we were) and told us that he had read that Gospel tract and was thinking about it! God wants us to share His good news anywhere, everywhere, and with everyone.

Secondly, we get to see the power of Christ poured out in students' lives as we teach and disciple. Each week that we teach, we read the Devotional Journals, written out by the students as their Final Class Projects. This week we saw Proverbs, and those application prayers from NextGeneration Asians Training to Reach Asians were so touching to read. They spoke of their earnest desire to CONTINUE fleeing sin, as they grow in Christ. Their petitions to EXPAND their sharing of the Gospel, and a growing awareness that they NEED Christ to INCREASE their faith as they face a dark, hostile, and very closed culture all around them.

  • We are in the final two weeks before starting the long journey home for Thanksgiving.
  • God is so good.
  • His Word is so powerful.
  • Your prayers and investments are so appreciated.
  • We are so excited as we prayerfully plan on which teaching opportunities we will prepare for and launch off to next year, LORD WILLING.

Thanks again. Keep praying. See you someday in Heaven, or even sooner if some of you visit one of our Bible conferences we have been invited to teach at--in New York, Michigan, Indiana, or Florida in 2024.

Yours Because His,

John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

September 2023 Partner Update

Dear Friends & Supporters,

Bonnie & I send our love and gratitude to each of you. Your prayers, support, and encouraging notes have helped along the way for another month. Every need has been met, every expense covered, and every needed item for teaching provided. We thank God for your responsiveness to God's leading. It has been amazing to watch all our needs met these past six years on the road. We are excited to see these next four years of blessings ahead, Lord willing.

September has been a very long month of blessings. We are teaching Isaiah and Proverbs classes in 4 countries and LOVING every minute of it. So far we have survived the rail strike in the UK, which is hard when you are riding trains instead of flying. Now we are facing the bed bug infestation of London's Underground and Hotels as well as the super bedbugs of Paris. They tell us the only problem is once you get them they stay in your clothes and suitcases for a long time, so we are praying we can stay clear of them.

Ever think about all the places Paul and his team stayed as they did those missionary journeys? I bet they had all these problems we have and more.

On the teaching front, it is so timely that we are teaching Isaiah with all the struggles Israel is going through these days. It has opened countless questions, interactions, Q&As, and GREAT interest in deeper Bible study. So, that is all for now. We continue on the way, finishing up soon in the UK and headed to teach Isaiah all over again in France.

Keep looking up. The coming of the Lord is nearer than ever. He wants us to live in hope. The world is in fear and turmoil. We have the only antidote for sin--and we are to be sharing that Good News of the Gospel as often and widely as possible.

Until next month, we are yours because His,

John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

August 2023 Partner Update

Dear Friends and Partners--

August is always so special as we serve the Lord, training the NextGeneration. It is graduation month at one of the key ministries we serve. We invest 12-13 weeks a year teaching between Word of Life training centers and Bible Institutes in ten countries.

We were not able to get a picture of this year's graduation, but someone sent us instead a previous year's incoming class. What a thrill as you look at the image below:

Bonnie & I have prayed for, taught, and invested in nearly every face (and heart) in that picture. That is just a tiny glimpse of the amazing work God is doing in the hearts of young people. They want to serve the Lord. They want to invest in what lasts forever. They want to please the Lord with their lives.

Prayer Updates

1. The key prayer requests from August are for the students we taught, who we met with--who are going into restricted-access countries through sports and medical work. They are brave. We are praying for safety, wisdom, and fruit for the Gospel in many lives.

2. In September we are in the UK and that ministry is primarily encouraging bi-vocational pastors in tiny churches as they start home study groups. Many UK groups are using the 52 Greatest Chapters studies. One group asked us to do a challenge on evangelism for their group that goes out to the fall fairs and craft show weekends that dot the UK.

3. In October we teach in France & Hungary. The challenge for us there is to clarify doctrine for the students who live around so much skepticism about the Bible and Christianity. We are teaching Paul's Epistles, so we just pray God will powerfully use His Word.

4. Finally, we invest the first three weeks of November in Korea at the most amazing training center. We teach Proverbs and Isaiah plus that is where Bonnie has discipled more ladies than any other spot we've served. So strength, endurance, wisdom, and clarity from the Spirit for teaching. So many of the students from this campus go to limited access areas so it is a very strategic time.

Thanks for sending us, holding the ropes for us, supporting us, and interceding for us as we go on your behalf. God is doing great things and we are so grateful He is using us in these latter days of our lives.

With love and gratitude,

John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

July 2023 Partner Update

Dear DTBM Family,

You have prayed and supported us through another amazing month of ministry. We thank the Lord that every need has been met, every project funded, and every location reached as we travel and teach the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the days ahead we are starting the HUGE & EXCITING EXPANSION process of doubling the number of classes and courses on the DTBM Academy. Here is a quick snapshot:

We currently have 87 classes across 3 courses:

FTGC (52 classes)
Isaiah (15 classes)
Revelation (20 classes)

We are now adding 3 more Courses with 96 classes:

ROK (33 classes)
CLW (36 classes)
TRU (27 classes)

We are soon going to need a staff member just to oversee the Academy and the needs of these precious students. The DTBMA academy is a great thing to think about, pray about, and invest in as we see HUGE long-term opportunities for eternal impact.

Please pray for us as we travel and oversee our dear staff doing all that administrative & technical work to double our Outreach. As of this morning, we have 950 registered students taking those classes, using the syllabi and slides and GROWING in the Lord.

If you haven't tried out this new ministry site please stop by dtbma.org. It is FREE. If you register you have access to all the courses, all the class videos, all the notes, and all the slides I use as I teach around the world.

Thanks for joining us as we reach the Next Generation for Jesus Christ by praying and giving!

Yours Because His,

John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

June 2023 Partner Update

Dear Ministry Partners of DTBM,

This past month was astounding to us, as we watched the Lord at work.

The biggest blessing was the time serving the 400+ staff, students, and alumni at the WOL Philippines 50th Anniversary Conference. I was tasked with teaching "How to Rejoice When Serving at the End of Days". In this picture, you can see students from across the Indo-Pacific Region as well as staff and alumni who are all committed to reaching their generation with the Gospel of Christ. As we all know, as Jack Wyrtzen once said, It is the duty of EVERY generation to reach THEIR generation for Christ!

Just to prepare for that topic resulted in an immersion into the ministries of Jeremiah & Paul. As with any dive into God's Word, it ALWAYS transforms us as we study and apply those Divine truths FIRST into our life. We also were able to keep up our teaching schedule the rest of the month and watch God continue to save and transform lives as well as nurture and disciple others through us as His servants reaching the NextGeneration.

One current need is prayer for the work on the DTBM Academy. We are enrolling students and they are taking courses. The response and reports of lives transformed have made us want to add as many courses as possible for the students to experience.

Please pray for wisdom as to what courses and classes to add next to DTBMA and for how to prepare follow-up materials for those who are getting saved, and dedicating their lives back to the Lord. What amazing challenges to have in these Last Days.

Our thanks to God for each of you who pray, encourage, and support us each month as we travel through this Ten-Year Mission with DTBM, International. 

John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

May 2023 Partner Update

Dear Ministry Partners of DTBM,

This month Bonnie & I have been serving the Lord by teaching and training Next Generation students in East Asia. It has been fascinating to see the power of God reflected through His creation all around us. Last night the remnants of Super Typhoon Mawar's torrential rains were literally beating against the windows of our apartment here in the Philippines. By the way, they have their own naming system here in Manilla, and this storm is called "Betty" in the newspapers and TV weather reports. The lightning dances across the sky, the thunderous booms, and rain that hits so hard it sounds like hail against the glass.

As we teach live and studio classes, the Lord reminds us that all around the world there is such a need for solid Biblical doctrine to ground believers in truth--against the storms of deception and false teaching that grows in the last days. My classes this month have been mostly teaching the Book of Titus. Paul left Titus in Crete to set in order the saints in the truth. God has blessed us to be a part of His plan in our generation of training new believers in Evangelism and solid doctrine.

Thank you for praying for us. We soon head back to America and gather for our Annual Meeting with the Board of Directors of DTBM. We will be reporting on all the amazing ways the Lord is using the new DTBM Academy to train new believers in Europe, Asia, and Africa--as well as in North America. Please continue to pray for us as we travel and teach in the USA & Canada for July and August, before going back to Europe and Asia from September through November. Your faithful prayers and sacrificial gifts invested for eternity keep us going in ministry.

We thank our God upon every remembrance of each of you. With love and gratitude,

John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

April 2023 Partner Update

Dear Partners for Heavenly Investment,

If we could summarize these past weeks for each of you who partner with us by your prayers and financial support, it would be thus: you have gone with us these 10 weeks, two countries, five states, 135 classes taught (3 a day, 5 days a week for 9 weeks + 1 travel week).

NET ETERNAL RESULTS? Hundreds of NextGeneration students taught, discipled, challenged, counseled, and poured into... for the Glory of God. Thanks for encouraging us and keeping us going. Each of you are a BLESSING!

We now have 3 weeks to reload our suitcases, sleep in familiar surroundings, greet the saints of our local church, catch up with our children and prepare another 4 weeks of classes as we head to SouthEast Asia to challenge and train a few hundred FrontLine missionaries serving across some of the most densely populated cities and islands of Asia.

Then, as we pull our suitcases across the concourses of the 13 airports we fly through over the next month we will PINCH OURSELVES and say, “Can it really be possible that God has blessed us in these final years of our lives to still be USED BY GOD, to equip & train both FrontLine & NextGeneration servants of the Lord?”

What a BLESSING. Thanks for INVESTING in us as we go and serve!

With love in Christ,
John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

March 2023 Partner Update

Dear Friends, Investors & Prayer Partners,

We had the greatest month preparing and then teaching through the Last Week of Christ's Earthly Ministry. That week is called Passion Week (Palm Sunday to Easter/Resurrection Sunday). It was amazing to retrace and emphasize every element with our students. God heard your prayers and many were so responsive to the Lord's Word.

We also had one of the most spiritually encouraging ministry weeks of our year teaching for the first time to a Bible Conference--the 52 GREATEST CHAPTERS OF THE BIBLE. We shared FTGC week # 29-34 (from John 1 through Romans 1). It THRILLED our hearts to see hundreds and hundreds of eager, zealous students of God's Word. We heard so many encouraging testimonies of all that God is doing in their lives--using us as His servants teaching His Word.

Thanks for praying. We are in the middle of six solid weeks of teaching back and forth between campuses in Florida and New York.  Thanks again for being used by God to keep us going on this mission of training the NextGeneration.

With love and gratitude,

John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

February 2023 Partner Update

Dear Partners in Ministry,

It was a joy to teach an overview of Biblical Prophecy in Central America during February. As we normally report, the students we teach in person are amazing, very responsive, and a great encouragement to our hearts as we serve. But what is not normal is the impact of sharing those classes online. 

In February the online students taking the prophecy course called "Return of the King" were the most people we have ever had participating in one series. As we expand the new site DTBM Academy ("DTBMA"... with all the study guides for each lesson of each course) we see the Lord multiplying our shared impact.

We have had more questions and more requests for help, counseling, and resources than we can ever remember seeing. The uncertainty of the world around us has been used by the Lord to open many hearts to His Word.

During this month it has also been a joy to continue with our classes taught in Acts as well as prepare for March & April's classes at the Word of Life Bible Institutes in New York and Florida. Teaching through Acts is a great reminder that God wants to use average and normal people to accomplish extraordinary ministry for Him. The anticipation of Christ's coming and our calling to be witnesses is so clear as we weave Paul's Epistles into the Book of Acts.

Please pray for us as we continue to study and prepare each day. Also as we travel between those campuses and conferences these next two months.  Your love, prayers, encouragement, and support are how the Lord keeps us going. We thank our God upon each memory of all of you.

Your missionaries sharing God's Word with the Next Generation,

John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

January 2023 Partner Update

Dear DTBM Partners in Ministry--

Bonnie and I have had an incredible month of January serving. We couldn't teach, record classes, travel to conferences, and serve at mission stations without your prayers and support. Thank you for standing with us in every way.

Here is what the Lord has done through us, because of your prayers and investments.

1--PRISON MINISTRY: We have seen the Lord bless our prison ministry as several Christians who work in halfway houses that transition prison inmates back into society, are using our courses to disciple these men and women. We hear from them as they study, and are so blessed to be able to pray with them and rejoice in the ways the Lord is leading them into new lives for Him.

2--NEW BELIEVER FOLLOW-UP: We were able to go to our home church in Michigan where we were commissioned and sent out to missions in 2017. While there I taught three services and had many meetings with staff, missions team members, and so many dear saints we have known and loved since 2008 when we started serving there. But the most amazing part of the visit was getting to meet two couples who live next to Calvary Bible Church who were each SAVED during Covid, watching classes on YouTube. They thought we still were at the church across the street so they walked over and asked to meet with me. The short story is they were enfolded, disciples, and have become a growing part of that local church. We met with them shared Scriptures with them, and were overwhelmed to see again the greatest miracle of all that God is STILL DOING!

3--PAUL'S LIFE & LETTERS: We are still working each day preparing, teaching, and recording the classes for each chapter of Acts through Philemon. This current course is proving to be so exciting to do and then teach. Please pray as we labor every day on these 115 chapters of the New Testament. Our goal is to have the entire survey of the NT taught and captured for the DTBM Academy to make available to students globally, free of charge. We are making study guides, charts, and everything needed for the Lord to use these classes in many lives.

Well, that's enough for now. We head to the airport at 430AM in the morning and fly on these next three months of mission work. You are going with us because of your partnership. May the Lord richly bless each of you for your kind and encouraging partnership with us.

With our love,
John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

2022 Yearly Partner Update

Dear Partners in Ministry,

Happy New Year! Last year was full of ministry opportunity and thanks to your continued faithfulness and God's favor, Bonnie and I were able to teach around the world, seeing Pastors trained, Christians challenged with Scripture and the lost come to saving faith in our Lord Jesus.

Looking ahead in 2023, Lord willing, we will continue to develop class materials, lessons and teaching videos. We will begin our travel this year in February and be mostly on the road through July. After a quick turnaround, we will be back on the road all over the world until Thanksgiving.

We have exciting plans for the launch of Discover The Book Academy. With the Lords favor, we hope to launch that within the next month or so. The Academy will be free, and will allow you to access and view all the lessons in one given series conveniently from one site. We are planning lots of content, tools and resources to help you 'discover the book'.

We covet your prayers for provision, safety and success in ministry this coming year. It's all possible because of God's faithfulness and your continued partnership. We could not be more grateful or feel more loved and appreciated. May the Lord bless you richly for your faithful participation in our ministry work.

Thank you and bless you in Jesus name,

John & Bonnie Barnett
1Thessalonians 3:12-13 

December 2022 Partner Update

Dear Partners in Ministry,

As I type this thank you note for your continued faithfulness in supporting us and praying for us along the ministry road—my heart is flooded with so many faces and voices of those we have seen God transform their lives this year. We are seeing men and women, young and old come to Christ for salvation and start growing in amazing ways. In 2022 we heard from dozens and dozens of them. We have challenged, counseled, nurtured, and rejoiced with each of them. Most have found a local church where they have gotten baptized and are starting to become a part of an active body of believers.

One of the most stirring reports was sent by one of our students named Phil, that God used us to be a part of his radical transformation. Here is his testimony he wrote out and gave to me:

Several years ago the Holy Spirit used you and your ministry to reach me when I was in total darkness and sin. I was a loveless person in the deepest despair. I was a drug-addicted homosexual, homeless, HIV positive, having practiced witchcraft, and for lack of better words completely destitute. While in my sin the Holy Spirit reached me through your sermons on YouTube. Your videos would pop up in my video feed! Your teachings on homosexuality were eloquent and I understood my sin was not too big for God. Your teachings on drug addicts as people and sinners made sense to me, even while I still used drugs. He used you to reach me.

After many years of this lifestyle, I had overdosed on drugs and I could literally feel death all around. I cried out to Jesus and begged him not to send me to hell. I knew I was going to go to hell. I knew I was destined for a place that was separated from him. I told him I was sorry for how I lived my life. I told him I needed him because I couldn’t save myself from hell. And Jesus did save me. He transformed me. Today I am married to a beautiful woman and she is pregnant with my second child. She is HIV-negative and both of my children are healthy and beautiful. Can you believe how good The Lord is? He is so good. He is amazing and wonderful. Today I have a career and we own our home. Jesus Christ restored me more than I could have ever known. But, what is most important is I have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I love when he gently wakes me up in the wee hours of the morning just so I can pray and commune with Him. God is so good. I cannot wait to meet Jesus one day.

I wanted you and Bonnie to know that your ministry reached me when I was in great darkness and the Holy Spirit used your words and led me back to Jesus. Remember me in your prayers. I’m still learning how to guard my heart and mind against besetting thoughts. The wickedness of the flesh and devil is real some days and I find my mind is the area I have the most difficult time. But, I introduced your teachings to my wife and my mother and we watch your teachings now. In my personal reading, I’m in Isaiah. And I love your study guides online.

That is what God is doing through your investments in us as we serve.

We are scheduled to teach all during 2023, Lord willing. We are scheduled at training centers in the US, Canada, Central America, Europe, and Asia. All that is only possible by God’s grace. The empowering of the Spirit of God. The provision of all expenses by faithful saints like you, and your partnership praying for us each day.

Thank you in Jesus' Name for loving us, helping us, and cheering us along as we serve Him together.

Yours Because His,
John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

November 2022 Partner Update - A VIVID Reminder for Eternal Thanks

As Bonnie & I waded through the crowds at Denver airport this week and stood in line (it was full like the picture above shows), we were again reminded of one of the shared ministry gifts the Lord sent us. 

A smiling man pulling his bag walked straight up to us, hand extended. He looked us each in the eyes and said, "You led me to Christ and discipled me with your YouTube messages all through Covid." He then sweetly thanked us, turned, and melted back into the crowds.  I turned amazed, and said to Bonnie, 'Do you think that was that an angel, or a real person?"

After 10 weeks on the road, teaching 5-6 days a week across four countries we were full of joy and tired. The Lord reminded us there at DEN (one of our favorite airport codes that signal we're close to home) that we are TAKING PEOPLE with us to Heaven. But, the very next thought that flooded our hearts was that each of YOU is what makes it possible for us to lead more than 100 people to Christ over the last 36 months of Covid.

Your investment in supporting us financially and prayerfully makes us partners in taking these people to Heaven. Just like this man walking straight up to us at the airport, I believe we will each have similar experiences in Heaven when we meet those the Lord SAVED using US together in partnership--as His tool.

May your hearts be full of joy this holiday season. Remember what Paul said in 1 Th. 2:19-20, that we will share the joys of taking people with us to Heaven. It is a THRILL to see the Lord doing that through us as we serve in partnership with each of you!

With our love,

John & Bonnie Barnett - 1 Th. 2:19-20

October 2022 Partner Update

Dear Fellow Citizens of Heaven--

Thank you for helping us to serve here in Europe this month. This comment from one of our students captures what we love to do so much. The student said--

 Teacher John that class message was deep, it went straight to the heart, it was confirmation and the answer to my spiritual warfare. Now I feel comfortable, talking to the saints of God and the Lost. Thank you so much for helping me with this spiritual warfare, God Bless 

Bonnie & I live in student housing, walk almost a mile each way to the grocery store, carry our food and water back to the apartment, and then climb four flights of stairs to our place. When we open the door and walk into this totally different world than we ever dreamed of when we started on the mission field in 2017--we both smile, and one or the other says, "These are the BEST days of our lives!"

We love every challenging and tiring minute we are here because God is using us to touch so many students' lives.

Here are our three BIGGEST delights of October--

    1. TRANSFORMED LIVES--We taught several classes on "Denying Ungodliness by Grace" where we taught the students the daily disciplines of reading the Word devotionally, applying it to specific areas of our lives by prayer, and finding a small group to cultivate personal accountability.
    2. LIFE-LONG HABITS: One of our precious moments was when we explained, demonstrated, and testified about how "Scripture Memorization & Meditation" has changed our lives. I showed the students my verses cards I'm using here in Europe each day (they are picture files in Apple Notes of the dozens of worn-out, dog-eared cards I carried in the USA over the years). Then we showed them how to choose a verse, memorize a verse, and start to prayerfully meditate on that verse. The results are astounding when they see life-long struggles with specific sins start to fade as they apply the Sword of the Spirit to their specific struggle.
    3. EUROPEANS REACHING EUROPEANS--We were able to lead a "How to Share the Gospel" training session complete with marking the Romans Road in their Bibles, a demo on how to witness, and a long-term prayer strategy for reaching people around us with the Gospel. Then we launch them each week to go out and try to share what God has done in their life with someone this week. We also participate and have some wonderful witnessing appointments the Lord always gives us.

We all have been through an amazing month of global and local events. I just love reading the news over here in Europe that is so completely different than the news we hear in America. Praying for each of you who so faithfully stand with us over here as we serve. We hope to make it back to the States by Thanksgiving unless the Lord Returns--and then we will look for you in Glory!

Yours Because His,
John & Bonnie Barnett

Hebrews 13:20-21