This Year’s Legacy Families Feature
For over five decades, the Barnes family has woven their faith and resilience into the fabric of South Florida, redefining what it means to serve both church and community. At the heart of this legacy stands Dr. Bob Barnes, whose tenure as CEO of Sheridan House Family Ministries has not only uplifted single mothers and at-risk youth but also catalyzed a movement for stronger families across the region. His wife Rosemary, a powerful partner, has served alongside him, mentoring women through her weekly Bible studies. Rosemary’s family is rooted in a remarkable lineage, including five generations of pastors tracing back to renowned pastor and theologian R.A. Torrey, an American evangelist and the inaugural superintendent of Moody Bible Institute. Their daughter Torrey Roberts is his namesake. Today, their son Dr. Robey Barnes is lead pastor of City Rev Church in Pembroke Pines and a key voice in Church United, working tirelessly to foster unity among South Florida’s churches, collaborating across denominations to ignite transformation throughout the area. His wife Rebekah Barnes serves beside him, leading City Rev’s women’s ministry and shares a strong family legacy of pastors and faith-filled judges fighting for social justice as well.
Together, the Barnes family has built a legacy that spans generations and forged a multigenerational mission to uplift the vulnerable through faith and compassion. However, they are quick to say they had nothing to do with it. “We only had the privilege as couples of being here while He did this,” emphasized Dr. Barnes as he pointed heavenward. Pastor Robey agreed, “All any of us want to do is to tell a story that’s not our story but a story that honors God.”
Like a chess piece in the hand of God, Dr. Barnes has willingly moved from church to church, filling church pulpits as an interim pastor, sometimes for years at a time, bringing sound biblical teaching during tumultuous times of transition, all while continuing to direct Sheridan House Family Ministries. The extensive list of churches begins in 1984 with Flamingo Road Baptist Church (now Potential Church) and includes assignments at Bethany Presbyterian (now Rio Vista Church), Wayside Baptist Church in Kendall, First Baptist Weston, Boca Raton Community Church, First Baptist Perrine (now Christ Fellowship), The Worship Center, Sheridan Hills Baptist Church, First Christian Church, Christ the Rock Community Church, First Baptist West Palm Beach (now Family Church), Hollywood Christian Center, New Testament Baptist Church, Two Rivers Church and culminating with a three-year stint at First Baptist Fort Lauderdale. He has also mentored many South Florida pastors and is now affectionately referred to as “The Bishop of South Florida” by several evangelical pastors.
This is one of the factors that influenced his son Robey when he felt called to the ministry. While he remained rooted as a youth with his family at Sheridan Hills Baptist Church, which he said was “absolutely key,” Robey said his father was constantly serving in other churches from the time Robey was a very young boy. “So, it gave me a view of church that was very broad… all different kinds of churches, and Mom and Dad would enter a church usually at their most vulnerable point because they had just lost their lead pastor, sometimes for bad reasons, an affair, embezzlement, whatever. A lot of times these were some of the messiest years of that church’s experience. So I was at a healthy church… had Christian friends around me both at school and at church, was given great ministry opportunities and also saw the broader South Florida church through that. It was probably going to make one of two things happen: either I’d run the other way, or I’d run to it. And God by his grace called me to run to it.”
Robey met his wife Rebekah at Taylor University where he was drawn to her heart of compassion for the vulnerable. They were married shortly after graduation and moved to Louisville where she earned a Master of Social Work at University of Louisville, and Robey earned his Master of Divinity at Southern Seminary while helping at a church plant in Louisville. During the summers, Robey interned at a small church plant in South Florida. They were surprised when the founding pastor left and he was asked to be the interim and then lead pastor of West Pines Community Church in West Pembroke Pines, which is now City Rev. Robey was 24 years old and had never been on staff at a church full-time, so he was hesitant. But after much prayer and fasting, they accepted. That was 19 years ago. Rebekah worked as a children’s advocate at 4KIDS for five years then earned her LCSW while raising their three children and leading the women’s ministry at the church. City Rev has since grown from 100 congregants to a little over 1,000 on two campuses, with plans to open a third campus in Miami Springs through a partnership with the former Miami Springs Baptist Church.
However, Pastor Robey said he’s not concerned about the size of their church or the number of their campuses. “We’re convinced biblically that the vision for the local church is to see their city transformed. That’s where the name City Rev comes from. Rev comes from Revealing Jesus will Revolutionize the city. Our vision is to see South Florida transformed by the gospel, but that’s not something we can do alone. That’s something that we have to do in partnership.”
That’s why Robey is committed to the mission of Church United. “The most exciting thing happening is God has been unifying the Church in South Florida, which is a work of the Holy Spirit. Historically for South Florida that’s a miracle. What has been prayed over South Florida for generations is an awakening sweep through South Florida, and I believe we’re building on many generations who have prayed for that.”
Spiritual leaders
Eddie Copeland, executive director of Church United, said “When I think about the Barnes, I think about standing on the shoulders of spiritual giants. Bob has been a trusted voice to South Florida that I have so much love and respect for and the fact that he passed on that spiritual legacy to Robey, who now champions his own local church at City Rev and the broader Bride of Christ in the region, has been instrumental to the work of Church United.” As a member of their leadership team, Robey also represents Church United as a voting member on the executive board of the National Christian Foundation South Florida, advocating for the Church among donors and marketplace leaders. “He is our strongest advocate for why this work matters… and has taken it to the next level when it comes to his generation and peer group.”
And as a graduate of Westminster Academy in 2000, he was surrounded by peers who are now in ministry in South Florida: Rob Pacienza, lead pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, and his wife Jennifer Pacienza; Phil Leticia, associate pastor at Park Road Pres; Katy Mills, Executive Director of Communications at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale; Brad Schmidt, pastor of CityChurch Fort Lauderdale; and Ryan Brasington, worship pastor at Rio Vista Church, among others.
His parents were also influential. Copeland said, “When there has been brokenness at a church in South Florida, everyone turned to Bob Barnes to fill the seat until things can be fixed.” And one of the things that causes pastors to fall is their marriages not being strong, but Bob and Rosemary have modeled something very different in that regard. “There is no Bob Barnes without Rosemary and there is no Robey Barnes without Rebekah,” said Copeland, adding, “When we formed a Spiritual Advisory Council to strengthen pastor’s wives, Rosemary Barnes (along with Suzanne Sauder, of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, and Elizabeth Mitchell, of Boca Raton Community Church) lent her voice and her credibility to strengthen pastor’s wives and women in ministry in South Florida.”
In December 2024, Sheridan House Family Ministries celebrated Bob and Rosemary Barnes for 50 years of ministry while dedicating the new Barnes Family Training Center in their honor. Doug Sauder, pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale spoke during the ceremony, describing them as “pillars” of the spiritual community of South Florida. “It’s the combination of their character and their commitment to serve vulnerable children and single moms in a very consistent way… When I think of Bob Barnes, I think of the word vision, and he’s got a crazy faith. He does things when there’s no money in the bank and just trusts God. It’s a beautiful, reckless faith fueled by a deep burden that God gave him. And they both serve with an incredible amount of compassion, giving the glory to God,” said Sauder.
How it all started
However, Bob Barnes paints a very different picture of his youth, saying Rosemary’s family “initially had a hard time with me because I was a brand-new Christian and a mess.” Although Bob’s mother was a believer, she died when he was a young boy, so he says he was raised in a wealthy home. “Money was everything to my dad,” said Bob, adding, “He was furious with me going into the ministry.”
Bob’s life took a different turn when he met a beautiful girl named Rosemary at Maryville College outside of Knoxville, TN. “I had never been in the door of a church, and Rosemary wouldn’t go out with me. She just kept saying there’s no future for us.” When his fraternity brothers told him Rosemary went to their church, Bob decided to go too, but Rosemary wasn’t convinced. It wasn’t until Madalyn Murray O’Hair, founder of the atheist movement, spoke at their school that Bob recognized the condition of his heart. “I went to Rosemary, and she led me to Christ, but I had so much baggage to get rid of,” said Bob.
Beginning work in the public sector, Bob Barnes joined Sheridan House as executive director in 1974. The ministry was founded in Hollywood as a small boy’s home just six years earlier by Pastor Bill Billingsley, lead pastor of Sheridan Hills Baptist Church, and had wrestled with turnover in leadership almost annually until that point, receiving more than half of its funding from government sources. When Bob came on board, he left Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and began attending Sheridan Hills Baptist Church. They also made the decision to drop all government funding, saying “Either God gets all the glory, or we don’t do it!” Initially Bob admits, “It was a nightmare financially, and honestly God took years to change me.”
Since then, Sheridan House has grown tremendously by God’s grace and moved to a 58-acre campus they call “The Miracle on Flamingo Road.” The ministry supports families through Residential Boys’ Homes serving 24 middle and high school boys, a Single Mom Ministry to more than 250 families, including transitional housing for 20 moms, a busy Christian Counseling Center, providing more than 4,200 sessions a year and Family Resources such as the Parenting on Purpose Podcast with more than 10,000 listeners annually.
Ministry milestones
There were a few ministry milestones along the way that grabbed Bob’s attention.
In 1979, Rosemary was pregnant with their daughter Torrey, and Bob had been working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day at Sheridan House. After a medical emergency related to the pregnancy resulted in doctors fighting to save the lives of both Rosemary and their baby, Bob paced outside, praying and waiting for news. After learning they would pull through, a young nurse’s remark got Bob’s attention. “What is God trying to tell you?” she asked. Bob made his marriage and family the priority from that day forward.
In 1984, Bob was invited to speak for the first time from a pulpit at Flamingo Road Baptist Church (now Potential Church). He was so nervous that he threw up in the parking lot that first Sunday. However, as homes were springing up in the area, the church grew from 200 to 1,200 congregants during his time as interim pastor. “It was all God,” Bob says. “I’ve listened to those sermons and they’re horrible!”
After one of Bob’s speaking engagements, he was approached by an editor at Tyndale House Publishers to write a book about the subject. Single Parenting: A Wilderness Journey was published in 1984 and earned $500 in the first few months as the checks were being written to Bob Barnes. However, after being encouraged by the publisher to direct the book proceeds to Sheridan House, the book was discovered and promoted by family advocates such as Gary Smalley and James Dobson, from Focus on the Family, earning $100,000 for Sheridan House the next year. To date, the Barnes have authored 11 books on marriage and family, raising almost than $1.3 million for Sheridan House. “God was pulling me away from money,” recounts Bob.
The counseling center grew as Bob was finishing his doctorate at Florida Atlantic University. As part of his studies, Bob had to conduct counseling sessions for critique by a professor. He obtained permission to record counseling sessions at Sheridan House for review instead. As more and more people called for counseling, this grew into a Counseling Center with more than 11 licensed clinical therapists in 1988.
Then Rosemary recounts how the Single Moms Ministry began shortly after they started to receive groceries donated by Publix for the Boys’ Homes. When one mother asked if they had any groceries, Bob offered to carry them to her car only to discover she didn’t have one. “Do you ever get cars donated?” she asked. Bob said, “No,” and flippantly suggested she pray for one. The first car was donated to Sheridan House that afternoon, and Rosemary said to Bob, “You know you have a Single Moms Ministry now, right?!”
A trip to Miami to record a 30-second radio commercial for the Sheridan House Golf Tournament ultimately resulted in the development of “Family Time,” a one-hour radio talk show on WMCU, a popular Christian station at the time. Though he initially fumbled over recording the commercial, the morning host discovered Bob had a radio voice and invited him to do a weekly show. “The year Rosemary agreed to come on the show with me to talk about marriage, we were one of the top radio shows in South Florida,” he said. Bob and his daughter Torrey launched a weekly “Parenting on Purpose” radio broadcast on REACH FM in 2010, reaching up to 40,000 listeners per week and directing listeners to the ParentingOnPurpose.org website, visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors per year. The program continues as a weekly podcast today.
All in the family
Torrey and her husband, Adam Roberts both worked at Sheridan House serving as house parents in the residential homes for several years before they had two boys of their own. They met at Asbury College in Kentucky where Torrey graduated with degrees in psychology and English. Torrey interned at Sheridan House’s residential homes right out of college and “fell in love with working with teenagers.” Although their family moved to Myrtle Beach, SC, in 2021, Torrey continues to record the podcasts with her father via Zoom. Adam, who has a photography and video company, edits recordings of Rosemary’s Women’s Bible Studies to post online so women around the country can follow along. They are also active members of Ocean View Church, led by Pastor Terry Scalzitti, formerly an associate pastor at First Baptist Fort Lauderdale, where Torrey serves on staff as engagement director.
Growing up in a ministry spotlight, Torrey said she “never really felt the weight of it.” Although Bob often used his children as illustrations in parenting lessons, calling Torrey his “barbarian” or strong-willed child, Torrey said, “I actually find it funny because I was definitely the strong-willed child, Robey was the pleaser, and now I have two strong-willed boys of my own and no pleaser!”
Reflecting on her parent’s legacy, Torrey recalls how Bob’s impact also extended into many of the public middle schools and PTAs in the 1980s and 90s as he was called to speak on parenting at the schools the residential program served, including Attucks Middle School, Pines Middle School, Pioneer Middle School, Walter C Young Middle School, Indian Ridge Middle School and more.
“They are the real deal,” said Torrey of her parents. “Their love for each other and for Jesus is a thing to behold, and I don’t think you realize that until you’re an adult.” Two family traditions Torrey has carried forward with her own children has been reading a little family devotion at the breakfast table with the boys each morning and intentionally spending one-on-one time with each child.
When asked what he felt contributed to their family’s legacy, Bob said, “It’s relationship.” He recalled the many conversations they had while making the 45-minute drive to Westminster each day and evenings sitting at the foot of their bed to ask questions and just listen.
However, Rosemary emphasized, “We weren’t planning a legacy. We just wanted them to grow in their walk with the Lord day by day and poured into that. Now I see that in my grandchildren’s lives. They love Jesus, all five of them, and I just get emotional thinking about it. Day by day we want to see their hearts getting closer to Jesus and then let God do what he’s going to do.”
Reaping the rewards
In 2016 Rick Weber succeeded Bob Barnes as president of Sheridan House; however, Bob continues to conduct men’s Bible studies and serve within the spiritual community on a limited basis. Bob and Rosemary now attend City Rev Church, where Bob says Robey is “not my pastor because he’s my son. He’s my pastor because he gets it. He’s so deep that I sit at church on Sundays and people are laughing at me because I’m taking all these notes, and I’m getting emotional, and I’m just like – that’s my son!”
The first group of boys Bob worked with are all turning over 60 now, and Bob finds it rewarding to see those who benefitted from the ministry give back or serve the community. Some of the boys from the residential program became police officers. And several single moms have turned their lives around and come back to help out. Maria Lopez, whose son entered the residential program in 2014, benefited from the many resources for single moms. Today she is on staff at Sheridan House as an intern at the Counseling Center pouring the love she received back into the lives of youth and parents while her 21-year-old son attends college. One single mom they helped 30 years ago recently toured the campus and was so moved by Sheridan’s plans to build more transitional housing for single moms, that she and her husband pledged to fund two duplexes.
Jimmy Purchase, a pastor who oversees small groups at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, went through the residential boys’ program in 2001 when he was in middle school and now describes Bob as “a mentor, a coach and a friend.” Since being called to ministry, Pastor Jimmy said Sheridan House has been a part of his story. When Jimmy helped Pastor Jon Elswick plant Crossway Church, Bob gave them office space at Sheridan House. He’s also called on Bob for advice during moments of transition. “I’ve been the recipient of his generosity, of his ministry as a teenager then also as a pastor. Being on both sides of that has been instrumental for me.”
Rosemary said it has also been encouraging to see the Christian community roll up their sleeves and give so much of themselves to the ministry at Sheridan House.
Dr. O.S. Hawkins, chancellor of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and former lead pastor of First Baptist Fort Lauderdale in the 1980s, said, “God has blessed Bob because like King David he led with the integrity of his heart and the skillfullness of his hand (Psalm 78:72). I think those two things really characterize Bob: integrity and excellence. He’s been about both, and that’s why he’s finished so strong.”
Visit sheridanhouse.org for more information.
For more Good News, read the GOOD NEWS February 2025 Issue at: https://digital.goodnewsfl.org/2025/february/#1