TIFTON — The Easter season means many things for many people. For Dennis Barnard, it means it’s time to hit the road.

For nine straight years, Barnard has been bearing his cross across the state of Georgia around Easter.

“I found Jesus when I was 50, or rather he found me,” said Barnard.

He says he felt a pull soon after to do what he’s been doing for almost a decade now, but it took him some time to answer the pull.

Each year, Barnard picks a spot to start and starts walking back home to Glennville, sometimes starting on the Alabama border, sometimes up in middle Georgia. This year he started around Dawson.

Along the way, he carries a tall wooden cross with a wheel at the base of it and some padding for his shoulder.

Some knee trouble this year has Barnard partnering with friends and members of his men’s group at church, with different people helping share the load on different days.

When he was coming through Tifton Monday, Daniel Smith was traveling with him.

The two of them would leapfrog, one of them driving ahead while the other shouldered the cross.

Along the way, they stopped to talk with anyone who wants to talk (during this interview, they were stopped by four people on foot and had several quick conversations with drivers who rolled down their window and offered words of encouragement).

They are usually stopped by two kinds of people: fellow believers who encourage them and people who need to talk, get something off their chest.

“It’s just about that black and white, either one or the other,” said Smith. “They’ll tell you everything: testimony, confession. It’s easier in some ways when you don’t know somebody to talk. You’re not going to see them again, so you don’t have to worry about them judging you.”

“It breaks the ice,” said Barnard. “It gets people talking.”

For Smith, a vice-president of quality assurance, the walk is a chance to help his friend, but also a chance to meditate on his own faith.

“It’s a time for me to focus—intently focus—on what He did for us,” said Smith. “I feel like in my heart I’m living God’s will. I don’t have to wonder if I’ve done His will today,”

Smith is quick to take the focus off himself.

“This is his ministry,” said Smith. “I’m just a layperson. I’m not a preacher. I’m just helping.”

There are other people who plan to meet Barnard along the way, to help him shoulder the burden for a day.

About a week after Easter, Barnard will make his final stop at his church, Glennville United Methodist, to meet with friends, family and fellow believers and share the story of his journey.

Barnard plans for two weeks every year, but it’s hard to say the exact day and time he’ll get there; the more people who stop and talk to him along the road, the longer it’ll take.

That’s fine with Barnard. Getting back home will be nice, but it’s not the point.

“It’s about the journey and the people you meet,” said Barnard.