Laura Belle Barnard (February 13, 1907 - March 9, 1992) was a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

, and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. She went on to write ''The Biblical Basis of Missions.''

Early life and education

Laura Belle Barnard was born in Glennville, Georgia, and attended South Georgia Teachers College, which later became known as

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hi ...

, in Statesboro. After attending South Georgia Teachers College, she transferred to Columbia Bible College, known today as

Columbia International University Columbia International University (CIU) is a private Christian university in Columbia, South Carolina. Divisions CIU has five colleges: the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Counseling, the College of Education, the College of Interc ...

, where she graduated with a master's degree in 1932. It was shortly after her graduation that she discovered her calling for evangelical mission work.

Career

Laura Belle Barnard became the first missionary in the newly formed denomination of the

National Association of Free Will Baptists The National Association of Free Will Baptists (NAFWB) is a national body of Free Will Baptist churches in the United States and Canada, organized on November 5, 1935 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Association traces its history in the United State ...

. The group was created when the General Conference merged with the Cooperative General Association of Free Will Baptists. In the summer of 1935, Barnard started her mission work in Kotagiri, South India. While working in Kotagiri, Barnard spent most of her time working among the " untouchables", the lowest known class in the antiquated

Hindu caste system The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic example of classification of castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, especially the Mug ...

. She studied the Indian culture and began learning the local

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...

. The church she worked in remains to this day. In the early 1940s, Barnard moved back to the United States and took up residence in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. There, she worked as a secretary and a professor of missions for a brief period of time at Free Will Baptist Bible College. Delayed by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Barnard eventually returned to India in 1945 and stayed there until 1957. During Barnard's second stint in India she partnered with the Woolseys (1947), the Cronks (1948), Zalene Lloyd (1948), Volena Wilson (1951), and the Hannas (1952) in establishing two schools, four churches, and work for various ministries. When she returned to the United States in 1957, she went back to school to finish her master's degree. Upon completion she took another job as a professor at the

Free Will Baptist Bible College Welch College, formerly the Free Will Baptist Bible College, is a private Free Will Baptist college in Gallatin, Tennessee. Founded in 1942, it is one of several higher learning institutions associated with the National Association of Free Will ...

. Barnard worked there until she retired in 1972. Over the years, Barnard wrote several books, including ''The Biblical Basis of Missions,'' published by

Randall House Publications Randall House Publications is an American publisher of Christian literature and church resources based in Nashville, Tennessee. Randall House has 11 departments: Administrative, Book Division, Training, Design, Distribution, Digital/IT, Editoria ...

; ''His Name Among All Nations,'' a theology of missions published in 1956; and ''Touching the Untouchables,'' her autobiography, published in 1985.

Personal life and death

Laura Belle Barnard retired where she was born, in her hometown of Glennville, Georgia. While there, she continued her work in various ministries. Barnard eventually received recognition from the Glennville Chamber of Commerce for her humanitarian work offering aid to Mexican

migrant workers A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers who work outsi ...

. She died from cancer in Glennville, Georgia, on March 9, 1992.

References

1907 births 1992 deaths Educators from Georgia (U.S. state) American humanitarians {{US-edu-bio-stub