Rob had been praying for eight months for “a vision for his whole life.” One fall day at Keats Camps Rob felt he received an answer to that prayer with a vision of family and adult retreats at the farm where Barnabas now stands. Rob and friends prayed on the Barnabas site that weekend that if this vision was of God, that He would “preserve it, protect it, and bring it about in His perfect timing.”

After a series of miraculous open doors, Barnabas Family Ministries Society is officially established in 1986.

After the first Barnabas brochure appeared in the Focus on the Family magazine in April of 1987, Barnabas held the first pilot conference in Whistler. Cliff Stunden spoke to a group of 40 guests plus staff on the subject of parenting. This was an encouraging beginning to Barnabas conferences!

The “pioneer” family conference that was scheduled for August of 1988 had low registration making it financially difficult to run out of Whistler. After much prayer and scrambling to prepare the farm, we welcomed our first guests to the property.

After fighting against the Keats Island bedrock, the foundation was laid for our first accommodation building, the Carriage House. The Carriage House was built in modular panels in Richmond and then assembled over the course of a weekend by a team of 60.

During a time of financial difficulty, Rob felt as if God was nudging Barnabas to pursue our next accommodation building. After a great deal of prayer from the Barnabas community we felt that we should move ahead with our second building if the funds were provided. By July of 1998 we had raised enough funds to get the building to lock up and construction began in September.

While hosting an Arrow Leadership residential we broke ground on our third accommodation building, Applegate Inn. Applegate Inn has become a beloved space for smaller groups to enjoy great conversation in front of the roaring fire.

After decades of waiting, we finally felt like God was leading us to begin building our largest project yet, The Station. You can read more about our latest project on the Station Page.

Rob and Kathy have been married for over 40 years and they have two adult children, Sharon and Steve.

Rob has two seminary degrees and has been in Christian ministry since the early 1970s.  He has served with various camping and conference ministries and with Young Life.  In 1972, the vision for Barnabas was birthed in his heart.  However, it wasn’t until 1986 that the vision became reality and Rob became the founder and Executive Director of Barnabas Family Ministries. Rob passed on the baton of leadership to Jonny Lochhead in September 2022.

Rob loves to listen and encourage the guests who come to Barnabas.  He also enjoys driving the ski boat and teaching guests to water ski.

Kathy graduated from University of Washington and has a background in elementary education and music.  She served with Young Life along side Rob before Barnabas was formed.  Kathy loves to welcome and serve each guest.  She gracefully uses her artistic abilities to create an atmosphere of rest, inspiration, beauty and community.

The Lochheads came to Barnabas Landing in January 2021. Jonny is Barnabas’ new Executive Director. He has a background in business and also studied theology at Regent College, where he met Melissa. Melissa is our Pastoral Care Director, and primarily supports the emotional and spiritual well-being of our staff, as well as being pastorally available to our guests through the year.

Eli, Joel, and Annabelle are enjoying exploring the beaches of Keats island after spending too many years playing in snow during their former years in Alberta. Melissa’s (other) loves include reading, gardening and preparing meals for her dear ones, while Jonny has a particular penchant for British chocolate and modern-classic German automobiles!

Phil is our Property Manager, overseeing development, construction, and maintenance of our facilities. Evelyn handles the office administration, working with details for associate groups and our retreat guests. They came on staff in January, 2008. Phil worked as a contractor for many years in commercial and residential construction and helped develop and supervise various government projects. Evelyn was a library technician for 15 years, and both served in various capacities in their local church.

Their two sons are married and made them proud grandparents of three entertaining teenage girls and two adorable little boys. They enjoy camping and riding ATVs with family into wilderness areas that few have opportunity to explore, international travel, reading, and spending time with friends.

Vanessa has been at Barnabas since the summer of 2012. She is currently the Executive Chef and has over 20 years of experience in the culinary world. Vanessa is married to Will who has a counselling practice in Gibsons. Vanessa and Will enjoy island life, living here full time with their kids Kai, Poppy and Teddy.

Thomas Sanz is the Project Manager for construction of The Station, our new central building set to be complete this coming year. He also assists our Property Director as needed with projects throughout the property. Thomas graduated from UBC with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and has been working full-time at Barnabas since 2014. He also has a passion for photography and exploring the outdoors – both of which are well fulfilled at a place like Barnabas!

A couple of summer staff veterans who were naively unaware of each other when they were on staff together way back in 2008, Kim and Christoph are now happily married and happily farming at Barnabas full time. Over the last half of a decade Kim has applied her passion for growing food onto Barnabas’ small vegetable plot, expanding it into a joyful mess of animals, gardens, and greenhouses. Just when the mess was getting too extravagant for one person to handle, Christoph came along, innocently assuming that he had just signed up for one summer. They got married in January of 2019 and haven’t stopped weeding since. Feel free to swing by the farm to help them weed and join a rambling conversation about the joys of following in the footsteps of Jesus, the Great Gardener.

Jon and Alpha have been around Barnabas for many years. Alpha started at Barnabas as an intern in 2011, stayed on as Head of Housekeeping and spent a number of summers in the General Store and the Kitchen. Currently, Alpha works as our Executive Sous Chef where she loves to exercise her culinary creativity. Jon began on Rowing Club in 2005 and spent summers as Teen Leader and Summer Director. Jon now works as our Hospitality and Experience Coordinator which involves planning and hosting groups, acting as Summer Director, screen printing, and keeping our technology up to date. Jon and Alpha enjoy living year-round on Keats with their adorable kids, Paisley and Oban.

Emilie Simkins is a construction worker on The Station project, our new central building set to be complete this coming year. She first joined the Barnabas housekeeping team on a part time basis in 2017 and moved to full time work on the Station crew in 2019. Many of the small details you see in the building are a result of her diligent work. Emilie is a lover of animals, plants and all things nature. Born and raised on the Sunshine Coast, she is the person to talk to for tips on all the local hikes and hangouts. She is also a fire fighter with the Gibsons volunteer fire department, and runs a small jam and preserves company on the side.

James Simon is the lead carpenter for The Station, our new central building set to be complete this coming year. We call him a carpenter because we had to give him a title but he really can do anything when it comes to construction. With an eye for detail and an artistic spirit, James’s signature saying is “just make it perfect”. His interests and talents range widely, with education and experience in forestry, land and food systems, and high end wood carving. James lives in Gibsons with his wife Erin and daughter Fleur.

Bill and Cathy are excited to be part of the Barnabas staff. They have been coming to Barnabas as both guests and volunteers for about 20 years. Now they anticipate being here for much longer stretches of time and contributing in various ways to serve and bless both the staff and guest. Bill and Cathy grew up in Alberta, spent a few years working in Manitoba and most recently have lived in Chilliwack BC for the last 22 years. They have been married for 29 years and have one adult son, Kyle. They have both recently retired from their respective careers: Bill worked for Farm Credit Canada. Cathy worked as a facilitating teacher for homeschooling families. They enjoyed their careers and now look forward to how God can use them in new and fresh ways at Barnabas. As a couple they enjoy spending time outdoors, reading and their evening games of Scrabble.