STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — From her earliest days in segregated Virginia, Barbara Joyce Yarbrough was taught by her mother a valuable lesson: Her life had value. Everything about her had value.

It was a message that was tough for many to accept at a time when she wasn’t legally allowed to walk up to a store counter and order an egg cream soda.

But, through strict discipline and abundant love, she was taught daily to respect God, the church — and herself.

Today, at 83, the 50-year West Brighton resident, known to many as “Miss Joyce” or “Joyce,” devotes her life to sharing that same message with the young people of St. Philips Baptist Church in Port Richmond, where she serves as the superintendent of the Sunday School Department. The role is just one of the dozens of other volunteer efforts she puts forth in her beloved church, which this year is celebrating its 155th anniversary, she excitedly shares.

“They’re going to be fine, magnificent when they grow up,” says Joyce of her students. “I tell it to them every Sunday before they leave Sunday School.”

She’s done it for the past 40 years, “without fanfare, without expecting or seeking remuneration, recognition, reward, or anything in return,’’ a church member told the Advance when nominating Joyce for the Staten Island Advance Woman of Achievement recognition.

First a deacon, and now ordained minister, she assists with delivering communion, visiting the sick, and offering a shoulder and a prayer to the bereaved.

She also sings in the church choir, is a member of the Missionary Ministry, the Women’s Ministry, the Senior Ministry and served many years with Progressive Nurses Ministry. She also proudly works with the Building Bridges Coalition of Staten Island, an organization aimed at fostering understanding and respect between different religions.

Challenges they face

The trials children experience today are very different from those she experienced in her youth. Crime, gangs, sex and drugs lure them from every angle today, she acknowledged.

But the message of self-respect and love of God is never outdated, said the mother of two, Barbara Lieba and the late George Jr.

“Some are not getting it at home, and some don’t listen,’’ she said. “I try to teach them that they can’t change just because they meet someone who’s doing the wrong thing. But they want to keep up with them.”

Her fellow teachers get discouraged at times, understandably, she said.

“I keep telling my teachers that they have to keep banging it into them,’’ she said. “Just one word sometimes can turn a child around.”

The Rev. Dr. Tony Baker Sr., pastor of St. Philips, said her skills as a communicator make her a great teacher. But there’s more to it than that, he said.

Looks for the best

“When you see love in action, you’re looking at Joyce Yarbrough,’’ he said. “She’s looking for the best in every situation, every person. She’s trying to see the best in them.”

The pastor recalled first meeting Joyce 29 years ago. When he walked in with his then-teenage children, “she snatched them up and hugged them,’’ he recalled with a laugh.

That’s how she’s always able to connect with young people, despite the age gap, he said.

“She embraces them and listens to their stories and their issues and tries to find a solution,‘’ he said. ”It’s not hard for her to relate to teenagers. They enjoy her.”

Joyce is a joyful, never-tiring servant of God, said the Rev. Terry Troia, president and CEO of Project Hospitality, who has seen her kindness in action.

“The grace of God pours out of her as she reaches to others,‘’ Troia said. ”She is a vessel which bears God’s love and makes God’s love possible in the lives of others. Always."

Joyce’s gift for teaching and living God’s word were obvious back in her childhood in West Point, Virginia.

At age 10, she was asked to teach Sunday School to younger children. “The little boys, they were so bad,’’ she recalled with a laugh. “I had to bribe them sometimes to make them sit. They weren’t really ‘bad,’ they were mischievous.”

Education appealed to her, so -- once she settled on Staten Island after moving north, first to Brooklyn, with her late husband, George, and her children -- she began working for the city Board of Education as a teacher’s aide at PS 18, West Brighton.

Encouraged by a supervisor, she headed to the College of Staten Island, studying at night while balancing her job and parenting her son and daughter, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees, and becoming a special education teacher.

In all, she put in 33 years for the Department of Education before retiring in 2006, working at PS 18, PS 57 in Clifton, and PS 52, Dongan Hills.

At PS 52, she was the sole Black teacher for 21 years, she said, teaching special education students in kindergarten and eventually fifth grade. Some of her alumni still come to the church to visit her, she said.

‘Helped me along the way’

“It makes me feel good,’’ she said. “When I go from this world, they’ll say they met somebody that helped them along the way.”

Growing up without much money in a family with nine brothers and sisters was not a disadvantage, she said. Quite the opposite was true, she said, noting that the entire family was required to sit together for dinner and breakfast — every day.

The children were required to be respectful and dress accordingly when leaving the house and attending church services, she said. “Always act like you’re somebody,’’ she recalled her mother saying.

“Other people would put us down ... but she made us feel like we were special. We were somebody.”

“I never knew I was poor until I left home,’’ said Joyce with a laugh. “We always had a meal. My father worked. My mother knew how to can food, so we always had food in the winter.”

Today, unfortunately, many are hungry, which is why she welcomes others into her kitchen, offering a hot meal and a listening ear on Sunday evenings.

“I always have something in the freezer,‘’ she said. ”I always buy extra, so if I really need to help someone, I have a backup.”

Sunday breakfast

At St. Philips, she hosts 10 a.m. Sunday breakfasts after Sunday School. Other church members make the eggs and grits, while she provides the bagels.

“People love her, because she always has a way of making you feel special,’’ her daughter told the Advance/SILive.com.

Though she admits she’s no wizard with money, giving to others is rewarding enough, Joyce said.

“It makes me happy,’’ she said. “I try not to be sad. I may have been a down a day or two ... but I just feel gratified just to be with people. I talk to everybody.”

Joyce lives the words of the Bible, the pastor of St. Philips said, quoting from the Book of Proverbs: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

The same reading came to others’ minds, too, when speaking of Joyce.

And Joyce doesn’t hesitate to name the source of her stamina, as she often is asked the question.

“I love the church, and I love the Lord,” she said with enthusiasm. “And he’s been so good to me. I’ve been down, sick, but I always come back.”

More about Barbara Joyce Yarbrough

Favorite restaurant? “Red Lobster, but now I go to a Chinese restaurant off New Dorp Lane.”

Favorite place to visit on Staten Island? “I go to Snug Harbor, to the garden and to special shows and events.”

Favorite song? Gospel music.

Sports fan? She likes the Mets and the Yankees. Originally a Yankees fan, her late son was a Mets fan, “so now I have to like the Mets.”

Favorite for lunch? Tuna sandwich.

Favorite season? Summer.

Least favorite season? Winter.

Cats or dogs? Dogs.

Where did you go on your last vacation? Virginia to see family.

If you could afford any car, which one would you drive? “I’d say a Mercedes, but it doesn’t matter as long as it runs.”

Do you have a nickname? Joycie.

What is your favorite thing to do in the summertime? Go to the beach.

What’s your favorite holiday? “Christmas. The children get so excited.”

What would you do if you won $10 million? “I’d pay my house off.”