“Everybody is somebody in Christ’s body,” is a motto I learned as a new Christian in 1999. It was drilled into my brain by my campus minister which simply reminded me that God has given me skills, abilities, and possessions which matter to kingdom service. Making a difference in this world for Christ does not just exist from a pulpit. Then, several years later I found myself at that same campus ministry in the role of a campus minister, chanting this motto again and again. This motto helped focus our ministry to take annual service trips with FAME. The experience helped our college students see how FAME leverages medical skills, education, and resources to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Hi, I’m Barry Reed, FAME’s newest staff member as Director of Mission Resources. After twelve years serving the kingdom as a Campus Minister at Western Illinois University, my family and I have relocated to Indiana to join the global impact of medical evangelism. Though Indiana has been a regular place of travel for our family, we have always lived in Illinois. I grew up just outside of Peoria, IL in the rural community of Farmington. Later, I attended WIU and completed a Bachelor of Accountancy. It was in those college years that God transformed my life and my career goals made a sudden change. Being a member of Campus Students for Christ (Christian Campus House of WIU), I was exposed to a variety of mission work, including church-planting. Following graduation, I was blessed with the opportunity to join a church-planting staff, specifically as Worship Minister. I began attending Lincoln Christian Seminary at this time, and later completed a Master of Leadership after transitioning to campus ministry.
My wife, Christi (Pim), and I have been married 15 years. We have three boys; Gavin, Cooper & Tucker. We have made Shelbyville, IN our new home where Christi serves in the elementary public school as a Behavioral and Life Skills Case Worker. We are huge St. Louis Cardinals fans. We spend a lot of time on the baseball field and basketball court. My favorite hobby is coaching my boys and their friends. However, as a family, we have also learned the beauty in sharing our home, and holidays with international students. God has brought some of our most special friends to us from across the ocean. From Russia to Brazil; China to Nigeria; there are homes we would find welcome to us because God has brought so many to us.
I will be happy to meet many who belong to the family of FAME, as volunteers in the warehouse, senders of medical supplies, or participants in a packing party, preparing medical supplies for a specific mission field. However you are connected to FAME, I’m honored to be joining you in this specific way as we all join together as somebodies in Christ’s body.