Pastor Sandra C. Barnes

Pastor Sandra Clemmons Barnes wife, mother, grandmother and educator, is First Lady and Executive Pastor of The New Life Church in East Orange, New Jersey where her husband Bishop David E. Barnes is founder and Senior Pastor.  “Pastor Sandra” as she is affectionately referred to by her church family serves her local church as head of the Women of Grace Fellowship, Director of Christian Education and teaches the adult Sunday school class.  She also serves as a trustee.  She successfully writes grants that benefit the ministry.  Under, the Lord’s direction and with her pastor’s approval she has launched a ministry, Pastors’ Wives In Fellowship (for) Encouragement also known as “Pastors’ W.I.F.E. Ministry”.

 

At 12 years old, the age of accountability, Pastor Sandra became a member of Bethany Presbyterian Church in Englewood, New Jersey.  In her early twenties she attended Central Presbyterian Church, Newark, NJ.  Pastor Sandra gave her heart to the Lord at a tent service at Deliverance Evangelistic Center, Newark, NJ.  She joined Holy Dove Christian Fellowship in 1983.

 

 Sister Barnes loves God’s people and is on assignment from God to “terrorize the devil” by teaching and preaching the word of God.  She “studies to show herself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)  She received first and second year diplomas from Life in the Spirit Bible School, Living Praise Church, Bloomfield, New Jersey.  Also, she graduated from Hawthorne Evening Bible School, Hawthorne Gospel Church, Hawthorne, New Jersey with a three year diploma and Foundational, Standard, and Advanced Church Ministries Certificates from Evangelical Training Association.

 

Sandra was an excellent student and considers herself a life-long learner. She was inducted into the National Honor Society in high school.  She continued her education at Virginia State University, Petersburg, Virginia, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English.  She earned a Master of Education degree in Urban Education from Rutgers’ University, Graduate School of Education, New Brunswick, New Jersey.  She has done further academic studies at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. 

 

Sandra is certified by the State of New Jersey, Department of Education as nursery and elementary school teacher, Teacher of English and as an education supervisor. Employed as a Master Teacher she received recognition from the Commissioner of Education as an Early Childhood Fellow.  Recently she became a member of the clinical faculty at the Center of Pedagogy, Montclair State University in the Network for Educational Renewal Program.

 

Pastor Sandra began her career as a professional educator in the East Orange Public School system as a reading teacher at Vernon L. Davey Junior High School.  She was employed by the Newark Public for more than thirty Schools as a language arts and English teacher, adult education instructor, coordinator of Even Start Family Literacy Program, and coordinator of the Title 1 Parent Resource Center. Recently she retired as a Resource Teacher/Coordinator for Abbott preschool programs as a mentor of novice teachers.

 

“Mama B” is the mother of three adult children; Aleshia Alston, Shaka Barnes and Maliaka Paul and godmother of Anise Robinson (AKA Che Che DaSupaStar) and spiritual mother/mentor to many.  She has eight beautiful grandchildren; Shaka, Assata, Shakur and Alonna Barnes, Naomi Byrd, and Elisha, Amina, and Jordan Paul.  She is married to her best friend and soulmate Bishop David E. Barnes, who calls her his “Nefertiti”.

 

Sandra thanks the LORD for all of her many blessings and boldly declares “Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things, which were told her from the Lord.”(Luke 1:45).