What Barnabas Aid does

Barnabas Aid is an international Christian ministry that channels donations and prayer support from Christians in Western donor countries to persecuted and suffering Christians in regions including South Asia, Southeast Asia, West Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and the Middle East. The organization is structured with Barnabas Aid International — a non-stock corporation incorporated in Virginia, USA, recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) (EIN 47-4235863) — acting as the umbrella entity overseeing national offices in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and New Zealand. The UK entity (Barnabas Aid Ltd) is a registered UK charity (1092935) and Companies House-registered company (4029536). The ministry provides practical aid (food, water, medical care, shelter), spiritual resources, and awareness programming; the operating model is best described as 'From Christians, Through Christians, To Christians.'

The core operating surface consists of a donations platform — Stripe-processed, accepting GBP, USD, AUD, NZD, BRL, EUR, and MYR with PayPal and Gift Aid support — paired with a publishing and engagement engine that produces a bimonthly print and digital magazine, a bi-monthly prayer diary, a monthly Prayer Focus Update, junior and children's resources, Vimeo-hosted country-specific videos (Laos, Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe), and a 'Soldier of Faith' original music anthem. The technology stack is conventional non-profit tooling rather than proprietary technology: Snipcart handles e-commerce for resources and merchandise, Campaign Monitor manages email, GA4 and Microsoft Clarity provide web analytics, and YouTube serves video. No public or partner-facing API is documented. Distribution channels include the website (barnabasaid.org), email newsletters, the bimonthly magazine, organic social media (Facebook, Instagram, X), Vimeo, in-person events worldwide, and a retail partnership with Just Cards for Christmas cards.

The revenue model is donations and charitable contributions rather than commercial; there is no pricing model, no commercial customer base, and no disclosed revenue. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on awareness-driven supporter acquisition and recurring donor relationships managed across the multi-channel engagement stack. In 2024 the organization underwent a significant internal crisis following 102 whistleblowing accounts alleging bullying, controlling behaviour, and intimidation by prior senior leadership, prompting leadership transition (Colin Bloom as International CEO, Michael Hewat as Chairman) and the commissioning of an Independent Safeguarding (Learning & Culture) Review.

Name

Barnabas Aid

Legal name

Barnabas Aid International

Website

https://barnabasaid.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Barnabas Aid is an international Christian ministry that delivers practical aid, prayer resources, and financial support to persecuted Christians worldwide, funded by donations from supporters across national offices in the UK, US, Australia, and New Zealand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Faith-based Humanitarian Aid

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Humanitarian Aid & Relief Ministries (BPAGAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG)

Keywords

• Christian charitable aid
• Persecuted Christians support
• Religious freedom ministry
• International Christian charity
• Faith-based humanitarian relief

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Barnabas Aid receives donations from supporters worldwide who contribute to help suffering and persecuted Christians. Donors can give to a General Fund for greatest need or specify particular projects or countries. The organization accepts donations in multiple currencies (GBP, USD, AUD, NZD, BRL, EUR, MYR) and via PayPal internationally.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Barnabas Aid is an international Christian ministry that channels donations from Christians, through Christian partners, to persecuted and suffering Christians worldwide. Its core activity is delivering practical aid (food, water, medical care, shelter) and spiritual resources (publications, prayer tools, video content) to believers facing persecution, funded by voluntary donations from individual Christian supporters.

Product overview

Barnabas Aid operates as an international Christian ministry offering a unified platform of resources and services to support suffering and persecuted Christians. The core offering includes a bimonthly magazine and various prayer publications (Prayer Diary, Prayer Focus Update, Junior Prayer Journal) distributed digitally and by mail. The ministry also provides children's resources (Activity Pack, Fundraising Pack), video content about persecuted churches, music (Soldier of Faith), and Christmas cards through a retail partnership. A donations platform enables supporters to contribute financially to the ministry's work. The product portfolio functions as an integrated content and giving ecosystem rather than a modular software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Barnabas Aid Magazine A free bimonthly magazine for Christian supporters that includes news and features on the persecuted Church, project updates, and stories from the suffering Church.
• Prayer Diary (Barnabas Prayer) A bi-monthly prayer diary designed to help Christian supporters pray daily for suffering and persecuted Christians.
• Prayer Focus Update A monthly resource for prayer groups containing the latest prayer and praise points for persecuted Christians.
• Junior Prayer Journal A quarterly prayer journal for children aged 8-15, featuring prayer points, reflections, activities, and information about persecution by country.
• Children's Activity Pack A free resource for parents, carers, and church leaders with puzzles, games, and activities designed to engage children aged 5-11 with Barnabas Aid's mission.
• Children's Fundraising Pack A leaflet designed to inform and inspire young people to raise awareness and funds for the suffering Church.
• Praying for the Persecuted Church A booklet helping groups and individuals pray knowledgeably for persecuted believers in 40 countries.
• Video Resources Vimeo-hosted video content featuring country-specific videos about suffering churches (Laos, Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe), Barnabas stories, and supporter stories.
• Soldier of Faith An original song anthem contrasting the freedoms enjoyed by Western Christians with the severe persecution faced by believers elsewhere, created collaboratively.
• Christmas Cards Charity Christmas cards sold via the Just Cards partnership, with 10% of each customer's payment donated to support the ministry's work with persecuted Christians.
• Online Donations Platform A secure online donation platform accepting UK Pounds, US Dollars, Australian Dollars, New Zealand Dollars, Brazilian Real, Euros, and Malaysian Ringgit, with Gift Aid support for UK taxpayers and options for general fund or project-specific giving.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Barnabas Aid InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBarnabas Aid International is the umbrella organization that oversees and serves the Barnabas Aid Family of ministries. It provides overall framework and strategy for the mission to serve the suffering and persecuted Church, including collective decision making, accountability, and purpose. The board is made up of the four chairs of trustee boards for national offices plus the International CEO.
• Just CardsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership for Christmas card sales. When customers select Barnabas Aid at checkout on Just Cards Direct, 10% of their payment is donated to support the ministry's work with suffering and persecuted Christians.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Christian Aid: Large UK-based Christian international development charity focused on poverty and injustice globally — broader humanitarian mandate and much larger scale, but competes for the same Christian donor in the UK fundraising market.
• Tearfund: Major UK evangelical Christian relief and development agency with a similarly faith-driven donor base and prayer-letter supporter engagement model, though broader in scope than Barnabas Aid's persecuted-Church focus.
• Compassion International: Large US-headquartered Christian child sponsorship and humanitarian organisation — significantly larger in scale and breadth, but competes for the same cause-driven Christian donor and uses similar magazine and prayer-update supporter engagement.

Direct peers

• Aid to the Church in Need: International Catholic pontifical charity supporting persecuted and suffering Christians worldwide, including prayer and information resources — competes for the same 'support persecuted Christians' donor segment across the UK and globally.
• Release International: UK-based Christian charity serving persecuted Christians globally through partner projects, advocacy and prayer support — a closely comparable mission with overlapping UK donor base and similar magazine/email engagement model.
• Open Doors: The largest international ministry specifically serving persecuted Christians worldwide, with comparable country-level programming, prayer resources and donor-driven funding model — the most direct head-to-head competitor for Barnabas Aid's cause and donor base.
• Voice of the Martyrs: US-headquartered ministry serving persecuted Christians through practical aid, Bibles, and awareness resources, with similar print magazine, prayer focus and country-specific project appeals — directly comparable in mission and donor proposition.
• Christian Solidarity International: Switzerland-based Christian human rights organisation focused on religious liberty and persecuted Christians, overlapping in field advocacy, country-level programming and Western Christian donor fundraising.
• International Christian Concern: US-based religious freedom advocacy and aid organisation for persecuted Christians, sharing Barnabas Aid's persecuted-Church focus and donor-driven funding model with overlapping prayer, advocacy and aid programmes.

Emerging players

• Middle East Concern: Smaller specialist ministry focused specifically on Christians in the Middle East, with overlapping prayer, advocacy and field-partner model — a narrower geographic niche than Barnabas Aid but directly comparable in mission and supporter profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/barnabas_aid
• Facebookfacebook.com/BarnabasAidOfficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/barnabas-aid-international

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Barnabas Aid