John Henry Barnes

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John "Johnnie" Henry Barnes , Indian name "Strong Heart" (in German about "Determined Heart"), (born August 16, 1927 in Pettus , Texas , † June 15, 1989 in Springfield , Missouri ) was the founder of the Christian Scouting Royal Rangers .

youth

Johnnie Barnes was born on August 16, 1927, the sixth of seven children on the family farm outside Pettus. In 1931 the family moved to Alvord, Texas. On May 17, 1940, he graduated from Elementary School in Nickelville . Alvord High School in 1946 . At school he was considered a good athlete. Outside of school he was heavily involved, including with the Boy Scouts of America . In the senior year of high school, he rejected his wish to become a park ranger . He joined a Methodist in June 1946Tent Mission Christian and felt a call to go into full-time church service. As a member of a Methodist Church, he studied from September 1946 at the Methodist Bible School in Fort Worth . In October of that year he received his license to minister in the Northern Texas Methodist Denton District. Between 1948 and 1949 he was a district pastor for two congregations in the Red River Valley .

The years after his studies

After graduating from college, Barnes missed deeper spiritual experiences with God and the Holy Spirit in the Methodist Church ; therefore he switched to the Assemblies of God (AOG). During this time he became a pastor in Lubbock, Texas. He and his wife, Juanita, became evangelists in the Assemblies of God. In 1956 he was pastor of the Electra, Texas ward. During this time he participated in organizations such as the Civil Air Patrol , the YMCA , the Boy's Club and the scouts.

As chairman of the North Texas Youth Work Region , he dreamed of a personal development education program that would meet the needs of Christian boys. In 1961 the leaders of the American community association Assemblies of God commissioned their branch of work for men to develop a concept or program for boys. The then Chairman Howard Bush delegated this task to Barnes.

Barnes moved to AOG headquarters in Springfield, Missouri in 1962 and set to work designing a program. He found the idea in existing concepts of scouting, whose own experiential pedagogy best suited the needs of adolescents.

Establishment of the Royal Rangers

Rev. Barnes designed the Royal Rangers' uniform and badge, the so-called Royal Rangers Emblem , wrote the manuals and organized the Royal Rangers Program in nine months. The idea for the name "Royal Rangers" did not come from him, but from Rev. Charles Scott. The establishment of the Royal Rangers in October 1962 attracted extraordinary attention and was very popular. The Royal Rangers are still the fastest growing branch of the Assemblies of God today.

In 1979, on the initiative of Paul Williscroft, Barnes was invited to Germany to present the Royal Rangers work at the Federal Conference of the Working Group of Christian Congregations in Germany (since 1982 Bund Freikirchlicher Pfingstgemeinden) and in various congregations.

In 1980 Johnnie Barnes met Richard Breite, who later became the German federal leader, in his community in Bremen.

So it was Barnes who in 1981 together with Fred Deaver and Dr. Jerry Shepert directed the first National Training Camp (NTC for short) at Naumburg Castle near Frankfurt am Main , which consequently marks the official start of the Royal Rangers' work in Germany.

From 1962 until his death in 1989, Barnes headed the Royal Rangers work in the USA, in the function of "National Commander" (federal director) and as head of the Royal Rangers International. Rev. Ken Hunt was appointed as his successor.

See also

Web links


personal data
SURNAME Barnes, John Henry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Barnes, Johnnie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American preacher, founder of the Royal Rangers
DATE OF BIRTH August 16, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Pettus , Texas
DATE OF DEATH June 15, 1989
Place of death United States