Our Pastor
So built we the wall, and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
Nehemiah 4:6
Rev. Willie C Barnes
Humble Beginnings, Hard Work,
Hopeful Future, Heavenly Calling
The life of Willie C Barnes began in 1954 in Munford, Alabama. Born and raised on the land his grandparents farmed, he received the foundation for hard work, compassion, and perseverance. Unbeknownst to him, it would also one day serve as the place he would recall fond memories, giving vivid analogies of farm life and biblical principles to the congregation in which he would stand as Pastor.
The Barnes family relocated to Orlando, Florida, and Pastor Barnes successfully matriculated through Maynard Evans High School after very successful academic and athletic journey. In 1977, Reverend Barnes graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering. That same year, his career began with an appointment as a Design Engineer at Martin Marietta Electronics and Missiles Systems where he worked for 15 years. He answered the call to ministry in 1986 and was ordained in 1987 by the late Rev. L. W. Wilson, Pastor of Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church of Orlando, where he served as the Associate Minister.
In October of 1987, Rev. Willie C Barnes was called to Pastor the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church of Eatonville, Florida. He continued to work as both Electrical Engineer and Pastor, until 1991, when his tenure at Martin Marietta Corporation came to a God-ordained end.
For more than 30 years, Pastor Barnes has led Macedonia to birth more than 40 ministries that have impacted the congregation as a whole and the community at large. He serves as an Honorary Deputy for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and serves as the 1st Vice Moderator of the First South Florida District Association. He previously served as Chaplain for the Orlando Magic, president of African American Council of Christian Clergy (AACCC), and president of the Baptist Ministerial Alliance of Orlando.
Pastor Barnes is recognized as a pillar of the community, and equally respected as a man of the clergy. His compassionate nature and unselfish outreach into the community has inspired the Macedonia Church to be the place where “Love Makes the Difference.”
He is married to the former Anita Louise Lomax and the father of three Latitia, Anissa and Antonio (deceased).