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As a pastor, Victor Barnard inspired his congregants with his charisma and apparent devotion to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
“I had never met anybody that I thought loved the word of God as much as Victor Barnard did,” said Ruth Johnson, a former member of Barnard’s River Road Fellowship.
“He was a pastor; he basically took personal care in people, invested into them, and tried to bring the best out of you,” said David Larsen, a former leader of the River Road Fellowship, which consisted of about 10 to 15 members.
Larsen said he helped Barnard set up a so-called “shepherd’s camp” in the mid-1990s in Pine County, Minnesota, to help bring more people into the church. Several of his congregants, including Johnson, moved to the rural area about 100 miles north of Minneapolis to be a part of the camp.
“We sold our homes and the funds went into renovation and things that needed to be rehabbed,” Johnson said. Some congregants who had experience in construction and electrical work helped set up the camp, she said.
Pine County Sheriff Robin Cole said the congregation “kept to themselves.”
Barnard also traveled across the country trying to recruit new members into his fellowship, including Linsday Tornambe’s parents in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia.
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