Monthly Update from John & Bonnie

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February 2023 Partner Update

Dear Partners in Ministry,

It was a joy to teach an overview of Biblical Prophecy in Central America during February. As we normally report, the students we teach in person are amazing, very responsive, and a great encouragement to our hearts as we serve. But what is not normal is the impact of sharing those classes online. 

In February the online students taking the prophecy course called "Return of the King" were the most people we have ever had participating in one series. As we expand the new site DTBM Academy ("DTBMA"... with all the study guides for each lesson of each course) we see the Lord multiplying our shared impact.

We have had more questions and more requests for help, counseling, and resources than we can ever remember seeing. The uncertainty of the world around us has been used by the Lord to open many hearts to His Word.

During this month it has also been a joy to continue with our classes taught in Acts as well as prepare for March & April's classes at the Word of Life Bible Institutes in New York and Florida. Teaching through Acts is a great reminder that God wants to use average and normal people to accomplish extraordinary ministry for Him. The anticipation of Christ's coming and our calling to be witnesses is so clear as we weave Paul's Epistles into the Book of Acts.

Please pray for us as we continue to study and prepare each day. Also as we travel between those campuses and conferences these next two months.  Your love, prayers, encouragement, and support are how the Lord keeps us going. We thank our God upon each memory of all of you.

Your missionaries sharing God's Word with the Next Generation,

John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

January 2023 Partner Update

Dear DTBM Partners in Ministry--

Bonnie and I have had an incredible month of January serving. We couldn't teach, record classes, travel to conferences, and serve at mission stations without your prayers and support. Thank you for standing with us in every way.

Here is what the Lord has done through us, because of your prayers and investments.

1--PRISON MINISTRY: We have seen the Lord bless our prison ministry as several Christians who work in halfway houses that transition prison inmates back into society, are using our courses to disciple these men and women. We hear from them as they study, and are so blessed to be able to pray with them and rejoice in the ways the Lord is leading them into new lives for Him.

2--NEW BELIEVER FOLLOW-UP: We were able to go to our home church in Michigan where we were commissioned and sent out to missions in 2017. While there I taught three services and had many meetings with staff, missions team members, and so many dear saints we have known and loved since 2008 when we started serving there. But the most amazing part of the visit was getting to meet two couples who live next to Calvary Bible Church who were each SAVED during Covid, watching classes on YouTube. They thought we still were at the church across the street so they walked over and asked to meet with me. The short story is they were enfolded, disciples, and have become a growing part of that local church. We met with them shared Scriptures with them, and were overwhelmed to see again the greatest miracle of all that God is STILL DOING!

3--PAUL'S LIFE & LETTERS: We are still working each day preparing, teaching, and recording the classes for each chapter of Acts through Philemon. This current course is proving to be so exciting to do and then teach. Please pray as we labor every day on these 115 chapters of the New Testament. Our goal is to have the entire survey of the NT taught and captured for the DTBM Academy to make available to students globally, free of charge. We are making study guides, charts, and everything needed for the Lord to use these classes in many lives.

Well, that's enough for now. We head to the airport at 430AM in the morning and fly on these next three months of mission work. You are going with us because of your partnership. May the Lord richly bless each of you for your kind and encouraging partnership with us.

With our love,
John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

2022 Yearly Partner Update

Dear Partners in Ministry,

Happy New Year! Last year was full of ministry opportunity and thanks to your continued faithfulness and God's favor, Bonnie and I were able to teach around the world, seeing Pastors trained, Christians challenged with Scripture and the lost come to saving faith in our Lord Jesus.

Looking ahead in 2023, Lord willing, we will continue to develop class materials, lessons and teaching videos. We will begin our travel this year in February and be mostly on the road through July. After a quick turnaround, we will be back on the road all over the world until Thanksgiving.

We have exciting plans for the launch of Discover The Book Academy. With the Lords favor, we hope to launch that within the next month or so. The Academy will be free, and will allow you to access and view all the lessons in one given series conveniently from one site. We are planning lots of content, tools and resources to help you 'discover the book'.

We covet your prayers for provision, safety and success in ministry this coming year. It's all possible because of God's faithfulness and your continued partnership. We could not be more grateful or feel more loved and appreciated. May the Lord bless you richly for your faithful participation in our ministry work.

Thank you and bless you in Jesus name,

John & Bonnie Barnett
1Thessalonians 3:12-13 

December 2022 Partner Update

Dear Partners in Ministry,

As I type this thank you note for your continued faithfulness in supporting us and praying for us along the ministry road—my heart is flooded with so many faces and voices of those we have seen God transform their lives this year. We are seeing men and women, young and old come to Christ for salvation and start growing in amazing ways. In 2022 we heard from dozens and dozens of them. We have challenged, counseled, nurtured, and rejoiced with each of them. Most have found a local church where they have gotten baptized and are starting to become a part of an active body of believers.

One of the most stirring reports was sent by one of our students named Phil, that God used us to be a part of his radical transformation. Here is his testimony he wrote out and gave to me:

Several years ago the Holy Spirit used you and your ministry to reach me when I was in total darkness and sin. I was a loveless person in the deepest despair. I was a drug-addicted homosexual, homeless, HIV positive, having practiced witchcraft, and for lack of better words completely destitute. While in my sin the Holy Spirit reached me through your sermons on YouTube. Your videos would pop up in my video feed! Your teachings on homosexuality were eloquent and I understood my sin was not too big for God. Your teachings on drug addicts as people and sinners made sense to me, even while I still used drugs. He used you to reach me.

After many years of this lifestyle, I had overdosed on drugs and I could literally feel death all around. I cried out to Jesus and begged him not to send me to hell. I knew I was going to go to hell. I knew I was destined for a place that was separated from him. I told him I was sorry for how I lived my life. I told him I needed him because I couldn’t save myself from hell. And Jesus did save me. He transformed me. Today I am married to a beautiful woman and she is pregnant with my second child. She is HIV-negative and both of my children are healthy and beautiful. Can you believe how good The Lord is? He is so good. He is amazing and wonderful. Today I have a career and we own our home. Jesus Christ restored me more than I could have ever known. But, what is most important is I have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I love when he gently wakes me up in the wee hours of the morning just so I can pray and commune with Him. God is so good. I cannot wait to meet Jesus one day.

I wanted you and Bonnie to know that your ministry reached me when I was in great darkness and the Holy Spirit used your words and led me back to Jesus. Remember me in your prayers. I’m still learning how to guard my heart and mind against besetting thoughts. The wickedness of the flesh and devil is real some days and I find my mind is the area I have the most difficult time. But, I introduced your teachings to my wife and my mother and we watch your teachings now. In my personal reading, I’m in Isaiah. And I love your study guides online.

That is what God is doing through your investments in us as we serve.

We are scheduled to teach all during 2023, Lord willing. We are scheduled at training centers in the US, Canada, Central America, Europe, and Asia. All that is only possible by God’s grace. The empowering of the Spirit of God. The provision of all expenses by faithful saints like you, and your partnership praying for us each day.

Thank you in Jesus' Name for loving us, helping us, and cheering us along as we serve Him together.

Yours Because His,
John & Bonnie Barnett
Hebrews 13:20-21

November 2022 Partner Update - A VIVID Reminder for Eternal Thanks

As Bonnie & I waded through the crowds at Denver airport this week and stood in line (it was full like the picture above shows), we were again reminded of one of the shared ministry gifts the Lord sent us. 

A smiling man pulling his bag walked straight up to us, hand extended. He looked us each in the eyes and said, "You led me to Christ and discipled me with your YouTube messages all through Covid." He then sweetly thanked us, turned, and melted back into the crowds.  I turned amazed, and said to Bonnie, 'Do you think that was that an angel, or a real person?"

After 10 weeks on the road, teaching 5-6 days a week across four countries we were full of joy and tired. The Lord reminded us there at DEN (one of our favorite airport codes that signal we're close to home) that we are TAKING PEOPLE with us to Heaven. But, the very next thought that flooded our hearts was that each of YOU is what makes it possible for us to lead more than 100 people to Christ over the last 36 months of Covid.

Your investment in supporting us financially and prayerfully makes us partners in taking these people to Heaven. Just like this man walking straight up to us at the airport, I believe we will each have similar experiences in Heaven when we meet those the Lord SAVED using US together in partnership--as His tool.

May your hearts be full of joy this holiday season. Remember what Paul said in 1 Th. 2:19-20, that we will share the joys of taking people with us to Heaven. It is a THRILL to see the Lord doing that through us as we serve in partnership with each of you!

With our love,

John & Bonnie Barnett - 1 Th. 2:19-20

October 2022 Partner Update

Dear Fellow Citizens of Heaven--

Thank you for helping us to serve here in Europe this month. This comment from one of our students captures what we love to do so much. The student said--

 Teacher John that class message was deep, it went straight to the heart, it was confirmation and the answer to my spiritual warfare. Now I feel comfortable, talking to the saints of God and the Lost. Thank you so much for helping me with this spiritual warfare, God Bless 

Bonnie & I live in student housing, walk almost a mile each way to the grocery store, carry our food and water back to the apartment, and then climb four flights of stairs to our place. When we open the door and walk into this totally different world than we ever dreamed of when we started on the mission field in 2017--we both smile, and one or the other says, "These are the BEST days of our lives!"

We love every challenging and tiring minute we are here because God is using us to touch so many students' lives.

Here are our three BIGGEST delights of October--

    1. TRANSFORMED LIVES--We taught several classes on "Denying Ungodliness by Grace" where we taught the students the daily disciplines of reading the Word devotionally, applying it to specific areas of our lives by prayer, and finding a small group to cultivate personal accountability.
    2. LIFE-LONG HABITS: One of our precious moments was when we explained, demonstrated, and testified about how "Scripture Memorization & Meditation" has changed our lives. I showed the students my verses cards I'm using here in Europe each day (they are picture files in Apple Notes of the dozens of worn-out, dog-eared cards I carried in the USA over the years). Then we showed them how to choose a verse, memorize a verse, and start to prayerfully meditate on that verse. The results are astounding when they see life-long struggles with specific sins start to fade as they apply the Sword of the Spirit to their specific struggle.
    3. EUROPEANS REACHING EUROPEANS--We were able to lead a "How to Share the Gospel" training session complete with marking the Romans Road in their Bibles, a demo on how to witness, and a long-term prayer strategy for reaching people around us with the Gospel. Then we launch them each week to go out and try to share what God has done in their life with someone this week. We also participate and have some wonderful witnessing appointments the Lord always gives us.

We all have been through an amazing month of global and local events. I just love reading the news over here in Europe that is so completely different than the news we hear in America. Praying for each of you who so faithfully stand with us over here as we serve. We hope to make it back to the States by Thanksgiving unless the Lord Returns--and then we will look for you in Glory!

Yours Because His,
John & Bonnie Barnett

Hebrews 13:20-21

September 2022 Donor Letter

Dear Friends and Partners in the Gospel,

I’m sitting above the streets of Athens as I type this, in a study area provided by the mission we are serving with this week. We are here in Greece teaching through Paul’s Epistles. Our classes here in Europe range in size from 5 (that was our smallest ever) to 80 (that was our biggest ever over here).

But all of the classes are the same–the students want to study, they want to learn, they want to use the lessons in their lives, and they let us know how the Lord is at work in their hearts. When we started teaching over here more than five years ago, we just continued what we had done in the Word of Life Bible Institutes.

The homework for each class included a “Devotional Study” of the Book of the Bible we were teaching, with 3 sections.

  1.     They title the chapter in their own words.
  2.     They note all the lessons, truths, principles, and doctrines they can find.
  3.     They right an application prayer, asking the Lord to work in their life in some of the truths they just found.

The result is a long-term relationship that often starts with Bonnie (who is the one who collects, reads their projects, and gives them credit for the course to the various schools). When they continue this process, long after the class–they often write to us and explain the great things God is doing in their lives. What a thrill to see long-term life change from new believers and NextGeneration missionary students we have taught in now over 40 different countries.

Again we say THANK YOU. We thank God for burdening your hearts to pray for us and support us. We are enjoying the best years of our lives (and maybe the most tired years as we drop into bed and fall asleep so fast because the days are SO LONG, and SO FULL and SO RICH. What a blessing.

Yours Because His,
John & Bonnie

August 2022 Donor Letter

Dear Friends and Partners in the Gospel,

Bonnie the evangelist is at work again. When we taught here last time in 2019 we got to meet a father and his multigenerational Greek family. As we got to know them better we asked if we could share our testimony of how Jesus Christ saved us. It was the most amazing moment.

The father asked his entire family to listen. He sat in front and intently listened and asked questions. He didn’t call on the Lord that day but we left a Gospel tract, and have stayed in touch. Today we visited again. Had a warm welcome. Got to meet more of the family. And we gave them a Greek and English Gospel by John.

Praying & Planting. Praying & Watering. Praying & Waiting for God to give the harvest in His time. So far we have seen one Greek man come to Christ that we are discipling on this journey. The student have been amazing. We’ve even shown them how to mark the “Romans Road” in their Bibles. 

Thanks for sending us with your prayers and support. Thanks for standing with us by your partnership. We couldn’t serve here without each of you. 

What a BLESSING it is to live each day for ETERNITY!

Yours Because His,
John & Bonnie

July 2022 Donor Letter

Dear Partners in Ministry–

This letter is coming late because we just got to a spot where we found WiFi to mail it to our home office in Oklahoma–thanks for patiently praying.

We are sitting in far northern Canada at a Biblical Ministry training center where the electricity goes on and off, there is no WiFi (unless we drive 36 minutes to the nearest town), and we have to flush the toilet with a bucket of water (or there is also an outhouse), and boil the water that comes from the lake we are situated near. Again we thank the Lord that even hear we see such hunger for the Word, and thirst after Christ. Every challenge of travel (laundromats, staying in other people’s homes, and living out of one suitcase for six weeks) reminds us of how Jesus trained the disciples, and how Paul lived most of his ministry life. The joys are real, the challenges are constant, but the rewards are endless. Thanks to each of you who kept us going this month. Your gifts sustained us to get to each site, and your prayers energized us to teach each class, session, and group.

Some of you have been with us all five years since we were commissioned in June of 2017. Others of you have been only with us this month. All of you are such an encouragement to us each day. Our staff and Board Members in Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Colorado have always updated us on the notes, calls, and messages that you send to us along the road as we serve. Each touch we get from then for you is a thrill.

As we work this month on the road a special team is right now assembling the DTBMAcademy. This is such an exciting step for us. All of the classes I have taught will be available for free, in order from class #1 to the end with study guides and matching videos. The number one comment we get is that people can’t find the classes in order, so we are so close to having them ready and open for you to use. Also, we are starting to finalize the plan for next year with classes to teach in East Asia, South aia, North America, South America, and across Europe. We have come to the sad place that we now can’t keep us with the places inviting us to serve and have started to say we can’t come to more and more places. God is raising up so many NextGenertion students who want to know the Word. We are thrilled for all those we can train for the Glory of God.

Please pray as we are only home for 4 days before launching to serve in refugee centers in Nothern Europe as well as Bibe Institutes in southern Europe until Thanksgiving.

Until next month’s update, may the Lord bless your lives and hearts for your strategic partnership with us. Unless the Lord returns we hope to update you on what great things He will do here in Canada, then Nothern Michigan, and then across Europe & Asia over the next few months.

Yours Because His,
John & Bonnie

June 2022 Donor Letter

Dear Friends,

It is with great joy that I share with you what God has done. Each of you who have invested with us by your prayers and finances– ARE TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU TO HEAVEN!

Since the start of Covid, we have seen the Lord open so many hearts to His Gospel. We really noticed this two years ago by hearing from a woman on the London Tube, watching a clip on Hope who bowed her head right there on that subway and cried out to Jesus. She wrote me six months later and described how completely her life was transformed by God.

By June this year, we have heard from OVER ONE HUNDRED different individuals who have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. WHAT A BLESSING. They have sent us links to their baptisms, and their testimonies, and wrote out so many amazing stories of going from darkness to light. From hopelessness and despair to transformed lives of joy. From Christless to Christ-filled lives and walks.

They are from more countries than we could have dreamed of, across most of the States of the US, and from all ages of the spectrum.

Only God could have done that–one new saint each week for two years, and they continue to pour in. Please pray for us. We are in the midst of building the DTBM  Academy, an online portal where we will offer free courses that anyone can watch with all the class notes and instructions. We are also spending from August to November investing in classrooms and churches across Canada & Europe as I teach a summary of each of the 87 chapters in Paul’s 13 Epistles.

These are exciting and fruitful days for the Kingdom of God.

Thanks for being our partners, supporters, encouragers, and friends.  Looking forward to all that God has planned for these next months of ministry as you pray and give.

Yours Because His,
John & Bonnie

 May 2022 Donor Letter

Dear Partners in Ministry.

How can I summarize the first half of 2022? Maybe the word amazing? How about astounding? That is how we feel. We get to pour God’s Word into the lives of hundreds and hundreds of young people. We hear from them every day. We have so many discipleship moments with precious immortal servants of God in the classrooms, in the dorms, at church services, on FB, through texts & emails, and over YouTube comment replies–that it amazes and astounds us.

Just as one example. I just watched a baptismal service in San Francisco, at a Chinese Church where a young lady was baptized. Her testimony was that her boyfriend came to the Lord during Covid, and told her she needed to watch my message on John 10 the Good Shepherd. She did, God convicted and saved her, and now they both are part of a growing congregation of Biblically grounded saints in San Francisco. God is at work EVERYWHERE, even in places that have a lot of bad press in the news.

So, those are just some word pictures of these five months of ministry. Those many faces remind us of the open hearts, overflowing joy, and deep transformation we are seeing each place we get to go and teach the Word. Thanks for praying, we really feel God answering. Thanks for giving, you are keeping us going and supporting each of these mission campaigns of evangelism and discipleship.

We are home 3 SOLID weeks at our DTBM HQ in Colorado recording classes and preparing for our summer and fall conferences, then off to teach in New York, Michigan, Canada, the UK, Italy, Greece, Israel, and East Asia. Home Lord willing by Thanksgiving! May the Lord bless you richly for pouring your lives into us as we serve.

Can’t wait for Heaven when we all get to see EVERYTHING the Lord was doing through each of us.

Yours Because His,
John & Bonnie

March 2022 Donor Letter

Dear Fellow Workers with us in Christ–  

As the war in Ukraine fills the news we are having the greatest time teaching this week. Our topic is How It All Ends, and I am doing an expositional Bible study with almost a thousand students, showing them how to use the 52 Greatest Chapters of the Bible “Devotional Method”, to study Bible Prophecy for themselves. They are actually on the edge of their seats. 

The Lord sure is using these unusual times around the world to HEIGHTEN people’s interest in God’s Word. We flew in about midnight Friday and Bonnie told me I really needed a haircut, my last one was while I was teaching paul’s Life & Letters in Italy at Thanksgiving. So she made an appointment at a barbershop on the way to our next classroom here in Florida. The barber just moved here from Peru. Asked me what I do, and I said I’m here to teach HOW IT ALL ENDS. They said that they were afraid, asked God to help them find Him, and here was this person in their chair explaining God. Salvation. The Bible. How it all ends, and the only hope in Christ.

The Lord is at work. We are thrilled to serve Him because of your prayers and support. Keep praying, this is week ONE OF TEN SOLID WEEKS teaching in two countries and six states! What a blessing to serve, with our love–

Yours Because His,
John & Bonnie

February 2022 Donor Letter

Dear Prayer Supporters & Ministry Investors,

This past month shook the world in a way not seen for decades. The specter of nuclear war triggered by one misstep in the West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent a collective shiver across Europe and America. 

The impact here at DTBM was immediate. In the first week of the invasion we had a million different people     come to our site and watch 3 million Bible classes, Bible Q&A sessions, and Gospel messages. That was the biggest outreach we’ve ever seen. 

I’m still reading note after note: “God got my attention “; “I’ve asked the Lord to save and forgive me”; “my wife has started watching your messages with me each day and has gotten saved”. We are overwhelmed that God is using such horrible things as we see in this war to JAR people’s hearts, convict, and save some. 

All this happened as we are on an 11 week mission trip. In and out of the country navigating Covid rules. Bad weather events. Power outages. Teaching very enthused groups of also stirred students. What great times to serve the Lord. Even today we just finished teaching 4-5 classes a day in Florida, packed our bags and are heading to New York to teach a few hundred NextGeneration students there for two weeks. Life is sure full and rich. 

Right in the midst of these huge days of ministry we were suddenly made aware of how fragile our online ministry can be. We have started a process of splitting up our online ministries so that it will be harder for any attack to shut everything down at once. One dear saint just handed me a check to have four of our newest courses added to our new DTBM Academy site (DTBMonline.org) as a free standing separately hosted teaching site. The courses are in ORDER there with all the class lecture notes. Really amazing. 

Thanks again for helping us serve and making it possible for us to train the NextGeneration. Pray as we travel until mid-May. Get home to reload and then launch for an August thru November, three continents, six country teaching mission, Lord willing. 

Yours Because His,
John & Bonnie