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Leader's Spotlight

Triumph Through Tears: Deborah Barrett

By Lindsey Parsons

When I heard about Deborah Barrett, I was compelled to know more of her story. She has known more heartache in the past year than I have in my entire lifetime. Yet the joyful tone in her voice surprised me. How was she surviving–as well as giving hope to others? In the conversation that unfolded, she graciously recounted how God used tragedy to transform her into an admirable leader.

On the way to church on March 24, 2006, Jesus called beautiful 15-year-old Skylor to be with Him in heaven. The loss created a ripple of past hurts and sins that her mother, Debbie, could not keep from surfacing. Though she professed Christianity for many years, Debbie’s only hope was in truly surrendering herself to Christ and finding authentic faith. As she drew nearer to God, He “used this tragedy to break Debbie down to nothing and raise up DEBORAH, a mighty woman of God.”

Deborah’s turning point came after the initial shock of losing her daughter. “I stopped asking God why, and learned to ask Him what—what do You want me to do next? That is when I accepted Skylor’s death and began to move into God’s will.” Soon after, Deborah was named the Women’s Ministries coordinator at her church, Bethel Worship Center in Wetumpka, Alabama. Though shy and inexperienced, Deborah read the leadership resources provided by the Assemblies of God national Women’s Ministries Department. She quickly learned how to organize and kept in constant prayer.

Deborah has led Women’s Ministries in several Bible studies, and the women join for a quarterly potluck. But their main focus is on practical service to their church and community. They have organized teams for meals and decorating at church functions, showers, and funerals. Every October at the Single Mom Day, they provide haircuts, oil changes, pedicures, children’s activities, and food for moms and their children. They also host an annual Friendship Banquet and even travel to nursing homes. The women enjoy getting involved and using their talents. The group has increased to over 50 women.

Deborah has grown to be a leader outside her church as well. She wanted to love people the way Skylor had. Overcoming her desire to isolate, Deborah decided to step out and fulfill her daughter’s dream of missions in Africa. Her community in Titus, Alabama, rallied in overwhelming support, and Deborah and her husband Rodney used the donations to build a church in Kibwake, Tanzania this year. Through this, Deborah’s prayer became, “Lord, allow me to love these people like they’re mine.” She realized that she could no longer hide behind her walls. She let go of her insecurities and pain in order to “get real, be invisible, and realize that God loves them equally.”

Deborah found more healing as she ministered to other women who had lost children. She began to speak occasionally at small women’s gatherings. Soon her love extended beyond bereaved mothers, to women who don’t understand true forgiveness and total surrender. When requests grew more frequent, Rapha Ministries was born in February 2007.

Rapha Ministries is a non-profit organization that supplies cards and books to women who have lost a child or struggle to be free of their past. The ministry also connects Deborah with opportunities to speak to women’s groups and church congregations. She has ministered in women’s rallies, retreats, conferences, and several churches in many denominations. She also speaks monthly at a women’s prison, “where women have lost their identity because their past has led them there. They’ve lost their name and been given a number, but I show them that they are valuable to God and they’ve got to get a foundation in Christ, or they will end up right back there.”

Her main message is one of hope. To grieving mothers, Deborah says, “You can make it if you trust in the Lord. But you must choose to totally surrender everything, because once you bury a child, there is no more in-between.” She encourages them to “never forget, but you do have to move.”

This proactive mindset keeps Deborah pushing through her own journey of grief. She fully depends on God, and admits that leadership is still a challenge. “When I get up to speak, it has to be God, because I’m so nervous that I don’t know how the words will come. But that’s the way I want it to be, so that I’m sure it’s the Lord working, and not me.”

Recently, Deborah has taken a position as Bethel Worship Center’s secretary under Pastor Steve Funderburk. With her growing responsibilities, she decided to share Women’s Ministries leadership with two more women who contribute their talents. She is also pursuing Bible college so she can be more equipped to minister.

Deborah is exceedingly thankful for the support of Rodney, her husband of 14 years. “He’s really good about expressing his feelings. He prays and supports me; he knows this is God!” She also is grateful for two favorite Scriptures, “Proverbs 3:5,6 carried me through my hardest times, and 2 Timothy 4:7 was my daughter’s verse.” Most of all, she is thankful for the hand of God that carried her from tragedy to triumph. “Life is not about a happy wonderful life—God put us here for a purpose, and that is what we’re here to find out. I didn’t understand the reason I was born until Skylor died. But now my desire is to show these people the power of God by still living and loving them, even though my daughter is gone.”

Books recommended by Deborah Barrett for grief

Trusting God Through Tears by Jehu Burton
Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard
I Will Not Leave You Desolate by Martha Whitmore Hickman
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

Visit and support Rapha Ministries at www.raphaministry.net
E-mail Deborah Barrett: Debbie@elmore.rr.com
Bethel Worship Center (Wetumpka, AL): 334-567-5754

LINDSEY PARSONS is the assistant to the Leadership Development Coordinator of the National Women’s Department. She has been involved in a variety of ministries for discipleship, missions, addiction recovery, and evangelism. Lindsey and her husband Bryan live in Springfield, Missouri, where they also coordinate ministry to youth and young adults at Calvary Assembly.

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