In March 2010, Fr. Barnabas Powell was ordained as a priest into the Orthodox Christian Church. Since his ordination, Fr. Barnabas has been a parish priest in the metro Atlanta community 10+ years. Additionally, Fr. Barnabas is the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries, is the author of A Faith Encouraged: A Devotional Guide to Being Orthodox on Purpose and developed a video series A Journey to Fullness: An Introduction to the Fullness of the Original Christian Faith.  Fr. Barnabas’s work has allowed many individuals to explore the Orthodox Christian faith, resulting in many to convert to Orthodox Christianity.

After achieving his ten year anniversary as an Orthodox Christian priest, Fr. Barnabas became eligible to apply for the Federal Student Aid’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. This initiative allows those who work full-time in various sectors, such as non-profits, to have their student loan balances forgiven and paid off in full.

However, while around 80% of federal loans are qualified for the PSLF program, Fr. Barnabas’s student loans were made under a (limited-time) student loan category that no longer exists. Newer federal loans, labeled as Direct Loans, meet the requirements. Unfortunately, Fr. Barnabas has non-Direct Loans and does not qualify for the PSLF program.

Therefore, we hope to raise a minimum of $70,000 to pay off his student loan balance (the student loans were obtained to pay for his master’s degree in Theology at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.) Anything raised above the $70,000 will provide for a down payment for a house.

Thank you for your consideration on a monetary donation and above all thank you for your continued prayers for Fr. Barnabas & his family.