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Without the support of many friends, Vineyard Ministries would not exist as it does today. With their prayers, vision, and continued encouragement, they make it possible to reach out and touch people worldwide with the peace and joy which only comes from knowing Jesus Christ and the Good News of the Gospel.
We are forever indebted to:
Tom & Beth
Freda & Zach
Norm & Joan
Jacquie & Marty
Milenko & Blazenka
Steven
Jim & Family
Karen & Darel
Bernie & Karen
Capital Memorial Church
And many other friends
Norm & Joan Barker:
In the 1970s, Norm and Joan received a book from a friend in California. They don’t remember the title or author of that book, but written inside was a quote from Fundamentals of the Everlasting Gospel by E.H. Sequeira, of the Ethiopian Union.
Norm and Joan working together.
Norm says that, from that short quote, a light bulb went on in his mind, and they wanted a copy of the book but didn’t know how to reach the author. In 1987 they attended meetings at Andrews University and heard someone mention that “Jack” was there. They introduced themselves and asked how to receive his books. They took the few copies he had, shared them with friends, and kept in touch. They wanted more but were told they were out of print.
Finally, in 1990, they persuaded Jack to let them print his books. They started with equipment in their home and the first printing of 2,000 Dynamics of the Everlasting Gospel sold out in three months. The next printing of 3,000 went in another three months.
Norm aligning pages for trimming.
Since then, they have printed more than 42,000 books and made 3,000 copies of tape albums. The most popular books are Dynamics of the Everlasting Gospel, Romans, Gospel in a Nutshell, and The Cross of Christ. Favorite tapes include Romans, The Cross of Christ, The Holy Spirit, 27 Fundamentals, and Gospel in a Nutshell.
They willingly contributed 12 years to this ministry, involving countless hours of untiring dedication. They are now on their third VW auto and have covered around 500.000 miles distributing and mailing materials.
What makes this special couple’s contribution even more amazing is that Joan became totally blind by the fall of 1996. They attribute this to possible chemical poisoning when formaldehyde may have destroyed her optic nerves. But to see Joan at work, patiently transcribing one sentence at a time, one would never guess that she is blind. Special software, “Outspoken,” aided her transcriptions of Pastor Jack’s sermon tapes on their Macintosh computer.
Norm supervising Joan.
Norm used his expertise and equipment to edit, proof, print, cut, bind, advertise, and market the products. They say that their greatest joy experienced over the years has been the enthusiastic response to Pastor Jack’s books. So many people have shared their stories of the joy, peace, and assurance received from studying the books and listening to the tapes.
Now that they have well passed their three-score years and ten, they have felt the need to pass the work on to others. So began Vineyard Ministries in 2002.
Norm placing book on spiral binding machine.
Norm and Joan, as we attempt to take up the work you have done so well and faithfully for so many years, we look forward to keeping in touch with you in your comfy home far away up in the northern woods of Canada.
May God give you the rest, peace, and comfort that comes from knowing your lives have been such a blessing to so many others.
Love, prayers, and a heart full of thanks,