Welcome
Barry Lucas Executive Director
I was born in Holland, MI, the second of seven children. When I was a young boy my family moved to the tiny town of Skandia, near Marquette in the Upper Penin-sula. I grew up in rural conditions, enjoying the wide open spaces of farm fields and the adventures of seemingly endless acres of forest. Living in the U.P. left a few other marks on me as well, among them that I can be perfectly happy without long, hard winters, and a diehard passion for the Green Bay Packers. I was raised in the church, but didn’t come to personal faith in Jesus until I was a teenager, at a Bible Camp to which some school friends invited me. Soon after I began to wonder what God wanted me to do with my life. A conversation with my grandfather planted the seed of going into Christian ministry, a seed that sprouted about midway through my college years at Northern Michigan University. I changed my course of studies to prepare for seminary, and after graduation went to Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, KY. Upon graduation I returned to the U.P., where I began serving my first church and stayed there seven years. The church was small, and I worked several other jobs over the years to make ends meet: announcer for a Christian radio station, general laborer for a building contractor, and motorcycle mechanic. In 1993 I went to Hungary as a missionary with OMS International. While there I met Denise, who had come from England with OMS. After four fruitful years of mission work there, we returned to the UK where we were married in 1998. Shortly thereafter we moved to Allegan, MI to begin as pastor of the First Congregational Church, where we have served for the last 18 years. During that tenure, Denise be-came an elementary school teacher in the Allegan Public schools, and we adopted two children, Lydia, 10, and Billie, 5. I also became acquainted with Love INC dur-ing this time, as our church took on the Appliance Pantry ministry, and several of our people became teachers and mentors in the Life Skills program.I am excited about working with Love INC, and have already enjoyed getting to grips with the day-to-day relationships and responsibilities. My admiration for Love INC is hard to overstate, and I am extremely impressed with the knowledge, skill and heart of the people I’m working with. I look forward to seeing the Kingdom of God grow through the ministry of Love INC and its partner churches, and I covet your prayers as I learn my part in making that happen. To God be the glory!
I was born in Holland, MI, the second of seven children. When I was a young boy my family moved to the tiny town of Skandia, near Marquette in the Upper Penin-sula. I grew up in rural conditions, enjoying the wide open spaces of farm fields and the adventures of seemingly endless acres of forest. Living in the U.P. left a few other marks on me as well, among them that I can be perfectly happy without long, hard winters, and a diehard passion for the Green Bay Packers. I was raised in the church, but didn’t come to personal faith in Jesus until I was a teenager, at a Bible Camp to which some school friends invited me. Soon after I began to wonder what God wanted me to do with my life. A conversation with my grandfather planted the seed of going into Christian ministry, a seed that sprouted about midway through my college years at Northern Michigan University. I changed my course of studies to prepare for seminary, and after graduation went to Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, KY. Upon graduation I returned to the U.P., where I began serving my first church and stayed there seven years. The church was small, and I worked several other jobs over the years to make ends meet: announcer for a Christian radio station, general laborer for a building contractor, and motorcycle mechanic. In 1993 I went to Hungary as a missionary with OMS International. While there I met Denise, who had come from England with OMS. After four fruitful years of mission work there, we returned to the UK where we were married in 1998. Shortly thereafter we moved to Allegan, MI to begin as pastor of the First Congregational Church, where we have served for the last 18 years. During that tenure, Denise be-came an elementary school teacher in the Allegan Public schools, and we adopted two children, Lydia, 10, and Billie, 5. I also became acquainted with Love INC dur-ing this time, as our church took on the Appliance Pantry ministry, and several of our people became teachers and mentors in the Life Skills program.I am excited about working with Love INC, and have already enjoyed getting to grips with the day-to-day relationships and responsibilities. My admiration for Love INC is hard to overstate, and I am extremely impressed with the knowledge, skill and heart of the people I’m working with. I look forward to seeing the Kingdom of God grow through the ministry of Love INC and its partner churches, and I covet your prayers as I learn my part in making that happen. To God be the glory!
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