Introducing the Barnie Awards

In a tradition that started with our Decade of Grace celebration in 2016, we've enjoyed giving out special awards during the past several Members’ Meetings. Any good award needs a creative name, so we've named them the Barnie Awards after Barnabas, who was a missionary companion of Paul. His name means “son of encouragement.” These awards allow us to recognize people who encourage the elders and our congregation in a variety of ways.

Here are this summer's Barnie Award recipients:

Excellence in Leadership: Hannah Glosson

Hannah is so gifted and is so high-character, that we immediately think of her for too many things. We have to remind ourselves that she’s already so busy. She knocked it out of the park with Kamp Karis. We wanted to recognize her specifically for this.

Exemplary Faith: Jacob and Kelly Mitchell

I’ve said many times that, either we’re going through a trial, we’ve just gone through a trial, or we’re about ready to head into a trial. It’s something we’ll all experience as humans, and especially as Christians. Some believers, though, inspire us. They set examples for us. They make us think, “Hey, if something really hard happened to me, I know I could make it.” Jacob and Kelly Mitchell have had a hard couple of years. It hasn’t been perfect. I know they’ve thought, “Why us?” or “No, God!” at times, but they’ve held on. They’ve trusted Jesus with their lives and with Allie’s. And they’ve encouraged us so much!

Best Cheerleader: Dan Glosson

This man wins this award for two reasons. First, nobody proclaims what God is doing in and through Karis in our community more than Dan. Second, nobody comes up to people in our church and encourages them to keep going, to keep fighting, to keep trusting, more than this boy from Burk County, North Carolina. What a Barnie this dude is!

Sacrificial Service: Naomi Ballard

This woman puts in countless extra hours in service to our body. This includes all kinds of random acts of kindness for Karis members. It also includes things like watering the flowers at Westside, doing work on the Nook, and serving with Karis Women and Karis Kids. What a servant!

Hospitality Award: Anna Hulbert

Dr. Anna (literally, like in her car) brings more people to Karis than maybe all the rest of us combined. She shatters the stereotype that you have to have a big house to be hospitable. She’s out in our city, reaching out to folks, particularly internationals. When people walk through our doors on Sundays, she also makes people feel welcome. She’s so good at this, that the elders asked her to help out with our new membership class. Great job, Anna!

Kamp Karis Volunteer of the Year: Shalonda Farrow

Shalonda jumped in and served as the Kamp emcee, but she also made each kid feel loved and valued. This lady put in a ton of work and left her heart in the building that week. We’re sure glad Shalonda is back!

So many people in Karis serve both within our church family and out in our city. We are so thankful for all of you!