ATLANTA (ABP) — Don and Karen Barnes teach English in China, but they call themselves “tentmakers.”
The term harkens to the Apostle Paul's vocation that allowed him to minister to new Christians as he worked. As professors at Guangxi University, the Barneses also try to reflect Christ through daily interactions with students and colleagues.
As “affiliates” of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Barneses are self-funded but have access to benefits provided to CBF global missionaries, including physical, emotional and spiritual support and training opportunities. They also work with other CBF personnel in China.
“As tentmakers, we are trying to do what the Lord wants us to do, which we believe includes helping the local church here in China,” Don Barnes said. “By being a part of the CBF community in China, we have the opportunity to be a part of something more and to be something more than we could be as individuals. We feel we are participating in the broader spectrum of what God is doing in China.”
The Barneses work full time teaching English and chemistry. The university has 30,000 students and is located in Nanning, the capital of the south China province of Guangxi. Along with their salaries, their apartment is paid for by the university, allowing them the freedom to be in involved in other ministries.
For example, each semester the Barneses invite more than 400 students to join them outside of class in small groups where they can practice informal English.
“We are similar to people in the U.S.,” Karen Barnes said. “We serve in our church and hope to live our lives in such a way that people will ask us what we believe. We are very up-front about the fact that we are Christians who are in China because we feel that God is calling us to share what he has generously provided to us with the people of China….”
The Barneses, who moved to China from Alexandria, Va., also join with three other CBF personnel to teach free English classes at their church in Nanning, one of two Protestant churches in the city. Each Sunday night they lead classes on dialogue and Bible stories from the New Testament. At the first class last fall, more than 150 people packed into the classroom for a lesson on the verb “to be.” The Barneses used “God is love” as their text.
The church also sells copies of a bilingual New Testament. Since 2003, the church has sold about 700 copies. One 16-year-old girl who bought a New Testament from the church returned a couple of weeks later and told the Barneses she was ready to become a Christian. They introduced her to the pastor, and since then she has been baptized, become a leader in several of the church's ministries and expressed interest in attending seminary.
“There is a need for dynamic young people who are excited about the Lord,” Karen Barnes said. “It's not uncommon to see more and more young people speaking up and going to church. God is doing work. In addition, there is a real need for older Americans — like us — who are willing to share their life-learned skills with the Chinese on [a] short-term or long-term basis. The door of opportunity is wide open right now.”
The Barneses, who have served in China since 2002, have also seen the ministries of Christians in the United States come to fruition in China. They met another young woman who returned to China after studying public health in the United States. After meeting Christians there, she became a Christian. When she returned home and shared her experience with her family, they became Christians and started a church in their home.
“The church is growing in many ways and many places,” Karen Barnes said. “Not only the people who are sharing the gospel in China are making a difference, but the people in the states who are sharing the gospel with international students and guests are making a difference, too.”
The Barneses' work is at the heart of CBF's global mission vision and values, said Matt Norman, the Fellowship's personnel selection manager.
“These values call us into relationship where we actively walk alongside believers like the Barneses and churches around the world in an effort to bear witness to the truth of the gospel,” he said.
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