University of Missouri

I was born in St. Louis, MO and grew up in a nominally Christian home. I was introduced to the Christian faith and baptized when I was 7 years old, but my faith dwindled until I got to college. During middle school and high school, I lived in what I refer to as my “wilderness years.” I transferred to Columbia to attend the University of Missouri (Mizzou) as a junior. During my time at Mizzou the Lord powerfully called me back to Himself! With the encouragement of my mentors, I applied to Covenant Theological Seminary to pursue my Master of Divinity (M.Div). In January 2015 I started attending Covenant, and shortly thereafter I started volunteering with the Youth at Covenant Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, MO. It was through this Youth Group that I met my lovely wife, Emily! I graduated from Covenant Seminary in December 2018, and moved to Prattville, AL to be the Assistant Pastor of Youth & Families at First Presbyterian Church. My heart for college students has really grown during my time in ministry and I relish the opportunity to serve them during this transformative time of their life, especially at my Alma Mater!!!

Emily was born in Asheville, NC and grew up in a Christian home. She has been a believer for as long as she can remember. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she got involved with RUF. After graduating, Emily served as an RUF Intern at East Tennessee State University for two years before moving to St. Louis to pursue her Master of Arts in Counseling at Covenant Seminary. After moving to Alabama, Emily worked in Auburn for a while as a Counselor.

While in Alabama, we had our first son – David Allen Barnes II and shortly after coming back to Missouri we had our second son - Michael Ryan! I love playing baseball (especially cheering on the Cardinals!), working out, bowling, hiking, and reading. Emily loves reading novels (Harry Potter is her favorite of all time), to watch HGTV shows, and playing with our two sons.