Barb Thomas is a newly-appointed missionary to the Texas-Mexico Border.
As a missionary in Laredo, Barb will use her skills and experience to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, tutor junior high and senior high students, assist with job readiness, and facilitate ministries the CCCU congregation in Laredo (Iglesia Evangelica Unión Cristiana) develops within the community.
Barb is passionate about reaching lost people. “Our time to reach lost souls is short, and the harvest is great. I am thankful for God’s leading during this transition and for this new opportunity to minister in a community that means so much to me.”
Click here to make a one-time or recurring gift to Barb's ministry.
Barb was blessed to be born into a Christian home to mission-minded parents. She was raised in the Plain City CCCU (Ohio), now known as Cornerstone CCCU. Barb shares, "I have wonderful memories of missionaries staying in our home or joining us for a delicious home-cooked meal. However, it wasn’t until I completed my college education that I fully dedicated my life to Jesus." Not long after, God called Barb to serve as a full-time missionary teacher at Christian Union Institute on the Texas-Mexico Border. She spent two terms as a single missionary there in the 1980s and 1990s.
Since her time in full-time missions, Barb has served in a variety of roles at her home church, including Missionary President and treasurer, Second Elder, Sunday School teacher, children’s church leader, and VBS director and teacher. Additionally, she was privileged to serve on a mission team to Mexico and twice as a short-term volunteer to El Sembrador in Honduras. In addition to her missionary career, God blessed Barb with two very different careers, one in Accounting at Wendy’s corporate office and one as an intervention specialist at Buckeye Valley High School.
In August of 2020, Barb sensed God’s leading to retire to be more involved in ministry. In 2021, she retired early to be more involved in missions, specifically within World Gospel Mission’s Member Health ministry. She was appointed as a Mid-Term Volunteer, and her ministry focused on supporting and encouraging missionaries. In 2023, the Lord renewed her call to church ministries in Laredo.
Why Laredo? Only 17% of the population in Laredo are Protestant. While approximately 57% of people identify as Catholic, Catholicism in Laredo is often mixed with pagan beliefs and superstition. Barb shares, “I pray for God’s help to open their eyes to the truth of the Gospel.”
Barb is actively building her support team. She needs prayer partners and monthly financial supporters to join her in this ministry. Follow the link above to make a recurring gift or special gift to her ministry. Barb is available to speak at services, personal meetings, special events, Sunday School classes, and small groups.
