Alumnus Spotlight: Joe Barnard, BA '05

Joe Barnard’s journey from Covington, Louisiana to the Scottish Highlands began with a surprising detour. As a high school student, he took a gap year in Dingwall, Scotland, where he studied the Bible at a theology college in a town of just 5,000.

“Late in high school, my faith started to matter a lot more to me,” Barnard said. “I wanted to take a gap year and study the Bible, and somehow that led me to a little start-up theology college in northern Scotland. Looking back, it is a bit comical. If you asked a youth pastor in the Bible Belt where to study the Bible, you would not expect him to say Scotland. But that is where I ended up, walking hills with sheep, reading old Scottish sermons, and discovering that what thrilled me most was the chance to preach and teach God’s Word.”

That experience sparked his desire for ministry and eventually brought him to Baylor’s Honors College where he enrolled as a University Scholar. His studies stretched across philosophy, political theory, literature, and languages, while relationships with professors provided a foundation for lifelong learning.

“As a University Scholar I picked the best professors I could and mixed in Greek, Spanish, and Arabic. What I wanted was breadth. I wanted to drink deeply from the wells of Western culture and come away with tools that would help me handle Scripture faithfully and communicate it clearly. Baylor gave me that.”

Among his mentors, Barnard points especially to David Lyle Jeffrey. His influence, Barnard says, shaped both the depth of his scholarship and the breadth of his faith.

“I came in with sincere faith, but it was somewhat narrow and maybe even shallow,” Barnard said. “Dr. Jeffrey was the kind of teacher you could trust to guide you into unknown territory. He loved the Lord Jesus and the Bible, but he also knew how to walk students into big, sometimes unsettling ideas. He showed me that my faith stretches back 2,000 years and beyond, that the Christian tradition is wide and deep, and that even when reading someone like Dante or Augustine or even a pagan writer you can mine for gold. That vision of conviction and generosity has stayed with me ever since.”

After graduation, Barnard stayed in Waco to work at Live Oak Classical School while continuing to learn from faculty mentors and local pastors. He and his wife, Anna Coutant Barnard, BBA ’05, later moved to Scotland for graduate study at the University of St. Andrews. What was meant to be a nine-month stay became nearly a decade of ministry in the Highlands.

“Someone handed me a slip of paper and said, ‘Call Kiltarlity. They are desperate, they will take anybody,’” Barnard said. “They could not pay a pastor, but they had a house. I thought I was just filling in for a couple of years, but it turned into an eight-year pastorate. It was a place where the gospel seemed nearly forgotten, but slowly the congregation became stable and alive again.”

Out of that ministry grew a burden for young men. Barnard noticed how few were present in Scottish churches, and the problem became a focus of his work.

“One of the greatest needs here is helping men, especially young men, learn how to grow spiritually,” he said. “I began to ask how you set them up to thrive in a modern world where so many are drifting. That question led to Cross Training Ministries, which I started during a brief return to the States and now continue alongside my work as a pastor in Edinburgh.”

His latest book, The Road Back to God, emerged from those concerns.

“Right now, something unprecedented is happening,” Barnard said. “For most of history, men have lagged behind in spiritual interest. But today, more young men than any other demographic are curious about faith. Some are drawn to Islam, some to Stoic philosophy, some to Christianity, but they are asking questions. My book is written for that friend who is open to thinking about faith but has not yet met Christ. I wanted to create a pathway that takes them from curiosity to real understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.”

For Barnard, Scotland itself has become part of the calling. He sees in its history both the roots of global mission and the possibility of renewal.

“This little country has been used globally in surprising ways,” he said. “From Celtic missionaries in the early church to the global mission movement of the 18th and 19th centuries, Scotland has punched above its weight. Now it may be one of the most secular places in the world, but I believe if the church here finds a way to be faithful, it could once again become a lighthouse. To make even a small difference in that would be a life worth living.”

Today Barnard and Anna are raising four children, ages 10 to 17, in Edinburgh. Their oldest is preparing his Baylor application, bringing Barnard’s journey full circle.

“When it comes to college, we often get caught up in courses and career tracks,” he said. “But what really makes an education are the people. Finding one or two mentors who truly care can shape a lifetime. For me, those relationships have lasted decades, and their impact is still bearing fruit.”