Heart and Spirit

About Me

Elder Barbara Jack received Christ as her personal Savior at a very young age and has always been very active and involved in church activities, with a passion for Sunday School and Christian Education.

She spent most of her youth growing up at her home on Jacksonville Beach, Fla. After finishing high school in Jacksonville Fla, she went on to Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee Ala, and graduated with a B.S. in Nursing. She continued to be active in her local church and, along with her husband, raised their four sons and worked in various areas of nursing until her retirement from the Newark Public School system in 2009 when she returned to her home state of Florida.

In 2001, she received a B.A. in Religious Education from C.H. Mason Bible Seminary and published her first book, Lilies, Birds and Stress: A Biblical Guide to Stress Management. In 2003 she became an ordained elder at Faith Tabernacle Church in Plainfield, NJ, under Bishop Herbert Bright, and continued to study toward a degree in Pastoral Counseling at Nyack College, NY, where she received certification as a professional member of the New York Christian Counselors Association and a professional clinical member of the National Christian Counselors Association.

In 2001, Elder Barbara founded Heart and Spirit Ministries, initially focusing on presenting life skill workshops in a variety of venues, teaching from a Biblical perspective, and providing services to needy children and their families in the Newark, NJ area. She also worked closely with the school system’s coalition for homeless students.

Elder Barbara began to see the unfolding of a childhood dream when she was invited to join the FTOM (Faith Tabernacle Outreach Ministries) ministry team traveling to Venda, South Africa and Blantyre, Malawi. It was on her second trip to Malawi in 2005 that she became aware of the needs of the school run by our host in Blantyre, Calvary Family Church.

The challenge was great, because her ministry was small with limited resources, but with a strong affirmation in her spirit, she had no doubt that this was from the Lord. Heart and Spirit Ministries continued to work with needy families at home, however upon her retirement from the school system, the ministry changed its main focus toward working with the staff, children and families of CFC Primary School in Blantyre, Malawi and surrounding villages. After getting government certification and additional teacher training, the name of the school was changed to CFC Montessori Academy.

Elder Barbara and her team visit the school once or twice a year, working diligently to improve the education and the quality of life for the children at the school. Many of our students are orphans living with extended family, or living with struggling single parents.

Elder Barbara currently lives in Ocala, Fla and oversees the missions program at her local church, She loves to travel and to do needlework and says one of her greatest pleasures is spending time with her sons, ten grandchildren and great-grand.

Follow Us On Facebook