'New believers:' Through His Legacy, couple spreads Christian teachings worldwide

Rex Barker, a member of Lynwood Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau, believes in taking faith beyond the walls of the church -- and beyond the confines of the country. The founder of His Legacy Inc. travels abroad several times a year to spread the good news.

His Legacy is unaffiliated with Lynwood Baptist, but it is inextricably linked to Barker's foundation of faith. He started the organization more than 12 years ago and incorporated last year. Its mission statement gives a look at what he has been endeavoring to accomplish all these years: "to lead people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, to encourage and train others to do the same, and to promote, assist and encourage the Christian growth of the new believers; and to plan, implement and conduct activities leading to these results."

Most of the ministry's focus is Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, where he met his wife, Maria Luisa, a native Filipina, on a mission trip in 2009. They married there in 2010, and then married in the U.S. in 2011. She is applying for U.S. citizenship.

"She goes with me [on mission trips], and she's active. ... We have connections in the Philippines with her family and her friends."

It is those connections that make Southeast Asia the crux of their ministry.

However, they have traveled to other countries -- Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Mongolia, India and China, to name a few. "I've helped start a church on every continent except the Poles," Barker said. This is what His Legacy is all about: They travel, they minister and they see lives changed.

Barker said they pray what is known as the Prayer of Jabez, asking God to "enlarge their territory." God is answering: His Legacy has traveled to 26 countries in the past 12 years. For now, generally only Barker and his wife travel, but "part of our vision is to take people and to provide scholarships to those desiring to go," he shared.

"Our M.O.," he said, is "simply go places and tell people about Jesus. This year, in '15, ... I led 19,500 students, prisoners and others to receive Jesus." The majority of those who were saved -- who gave their lives to Christ -- were in the Philippines.

Barker explained their unconventional approach to reaching souls with the Gospel. The couple does not just stand inside a church and wait for people to come to them. Rather, they encounter people "on streets, in shops, in prisons, etc."

"In the Philippines, we did not have one single prearranged appointment. We go to an area, and when we see a school, hospital, prison, etc., the Holy Spirit allows us entry, and we stop." He went on to say how miraculous it was that they were always allowed in.

"We were not turned down one time. We did not have one request to visit turned down," he said.

Even those who do not travel overseas with the organization may help. His Legacy has planned its second golf scrambler fundraiser, which will take place at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 26 at Bent Creek Golf Course. More information about the fundraiser and traveling with His Legacy is available at facebook.com/pages/His-Legacy-Inc/666320473411970?fref=ts or by emailing Barker at rexbarker13@hotmail.com.