At a public meeting the day before Easter Sunday 1963 he experienced a spiritual awakening and rapidly became an enthusiastic witness for Christ, undertaking coffee bar evangelism among his peers and several other aspects of personal evangelism. His long held ambitions for a life at sea had given way to a desire to be a teacher, but the call from God to evangelism was increasingly hard to resist.

Knowing of a small lay team that had been established to undertake mission work in the local villages, he applied to join the team and started basic training in evangelism with studies on the Old Testament, New Testament, and homiletics to complement a very thorough background in Bible studies provided throughout his childhood in his local Baptist church. Participation in the team ministry was limited but during a ten day mission for a Salvation Army church, the keen eyed officer insisted that Barry should be the speaker at the main final Sunday meeting. The theme of that sermon was to remain a characteristic aspect of the rest of his ministry - a call to share in God’s mission.



The organisation rapidly grew into a full-time organisation conducting typically eight high profile outreaches each year for various denominations and in various locations across rural Britain. It developed a network of some 30 associate ministries and in 1972 Barry set up and provided the main teaching for graduates from independent Bible Colleges who felt called to work in rural ministry and mission. Soon followed invitations to speak at various theological colleges and conferences, and to write about rural mission. With an analytical mind, he pioneered research into church growth and church planting in rural contexts.

In the mid 1980s, his leadership role led to an invitation to join the British Institute of Management (now the Chartered Management Institute) and the opportunity to undertake a University Course in management. The timing was perfect. Barry had been reflecting on how best to use resources for mission in the light of the enormous challenges in the rural areas. The high profile outreaches were notoriously difficult for churches to follow up, and gave the impression that mission and evangelism could only be undertaken by ‘specialists’.

In 1982, Barry had played a significant part in setting up a national network for organisations and national Churches. Through this he knew that these resources were far too insufficient to halt the spiritual decline in the rural areas. If the villages were to be re-evangelised then this would have to be done through renewed village churches with missional culture. So it was that in 1988 a new organisation operating in a new way was born. Originally called Rural Sunrise it became today’s Rural Mission Solutions.

Among the first to realise the potential offered by the scope of Barry’s experience and knowledge was the Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth. A newly appointed bishop had called all the parish churches to engage in mission but the Diocesan Mission Enabler had no experience of rural parish life. Barry was invited to support and gave two years to working with rural parishes in Hampshire and West Wight. During this time he began to refine the processes for developing bespoke mission strategies based on the existing human and other resources.

So the embryonic Rural Mission Solutions (called Rural Sunrise initially) was able to offer the knowledge gained from working in diverse sizes and kinds of villages, together with theological reflection and skills in teaching and project management. But one other dimension should be mentioned.

From 1967 to 1989 Barry served as a co-minister of a multi-generational Independent Baptist Church during which time his pastoral and teaching skills had developed. The church developed credibility across the denominations. In 1990 a small village Congregational church facing a crisis of survival appealed for help. On a good Sunday the congregation numbered nine and included one young family with two young children. This provided the perfect opportunity for Barry to put into practise what he had been teaching other churches.

Fifteen years later, the church had grown to a regular congregation of around fifty, almost all from the village, had an additional youth congregation, had seen two young couples go into mission work abroad, started a monthly café church (fresh expression), and taken ownership of two closed village shops where it ran a church and community resource. While it grew it also gave support to the local Anglican church. At around 3% of the village community, it became a model other churches were keen to follow.

Appointments within the Congregational Federation also took place. He was first appointed as Chairman to the UK Southeast Area and was elected to the national Council and a member of its Mission and Society Committee. Later he was elected national President and later still appointed the equivalent of a national ecumenical officer. All of this enriched his ministry, increased his sensitivity when working with other traditions, and enhanced his credibility.

Today he provides general oversight of Rural Mission Solutions, teaches and trains, researches and writes, and is an enthusiastic advocate for rural ministry and mission. Under his leadership, Rural Mission Solutions was the first to set up webinars and other internet-based ministries. He still networks and is part of the team that is prepared to work with village churches, helping them to become truly missional with bespoke action plans that grow out of who they are, where they are and what they have. He is rightly what he is often called: “The Village Mission Man”