The Ministry Collaborative is excited to announce and welcome The Rev. Dr. Amy Valdez Barker as our ministry’s Congregational and Pastoral Formation Curator! In her role with The Ministry Collaborative, Amy will draw on her decades of experience of working closely with pastors and congregations to help TMC expand and deepen our efforts to nurture individual leaders and their ministry contexts toward growth in faithfulness, wholeness, and imagination. She will be instrumental in working with facilitators, developing content, running workshops, and coming alongside pastors in all areas of our work.
Amy brings to TMC two decades of experience in religious education and church mission. As the former Executive Director of Global Mission Connections at The General Board of Global Ministries she was responsible for leading five regional offices and two global offices in leadership development and scholarships, as well as overseeing the placements and supervision of 200+ missionaries. Prior to that, Amy served as the Chief Connectional Ministries Officer for the Connectional Table of The United Methodist Church, responsible for coordinating the mission, ministries, and programs of The United Methodist Church.
In addition to her executive leadership roles, Amy has been a practitioner in the area of youth ministry education, strategic visioning, and leadership development through church and conference positions.
She has taught courses at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, Drew Theological School, an online learning community, through BeADisciple, and is the Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Education and Mission Innovation at Candler School of Theology.
Amy has many academic and writing interests which she carries out through teaching at Candler School of Theology and writing regularly for Sparkhouse and 1517 Media. She is passionate about the Lilburn/Gwinnett County community and has gotten involved in bringing the community hope in the form of ART from the HEART through Citizen Exchange, an Old Town business in Lilburn.
The Ministry Collaborative’s Executive Director, Rev. Mark Ramsey, commented, “Amy Valdez Barker is the right person at the right time to join our team as we seek to build our capacity to support ministry across our growing network. Her deep faith and keen insight have impressed everyone on our staff team. Her capacity for creative, out-of-the-box thinking and entrepreneurial approach to ministry resonates deeply with TMC’s core values and will be an incredible gift to the pastors we work with. Amy’s ability to fully grasp both the broad landscape of ministry and culture as well as the nuts-and-bolts challenges of everyday ministry leadership is truly exceptional. She will offer insight and guidance to ministry leaders in the TMC network and beyond who are urgently seeking partners who not only can help them chart the complex world in front of them but who can also walk with them as they navigate whatever lies ahead.”
Amy states, “I am looking forward to working with TMC and engaging with facilitators and cohorts to bring about experiential learning opportunities that will challenge and deepen the gifts and skills for TMC collaborators across the network.”
Amy has two children, Ashtin who is a student at UGA and Tre who is a student at Parkview High School. She is happily married to Richard Barker who is an IT Specialist at Bethesda Elementary School. They live in the Nantucket Neighborhood in Lilburn.
Please join us as we welcome Amy to The Ministry Collaborative team!
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