Barry is a firm believer in Non-Stipendiary ministry. "Members can't say that's the Minister's job - he gets paid for it". He believes firmly that the most important skill for a church leader is delegation. His vision for the church is every-member ministry. As Barry followed a non-stipendiary minister who had been at Arnold for eleven years, the church was already used to coping with a minister who has limited time.

Barry is a heating engineer who started his own business almost thirty years ago. Along with Christine, his long-suffering wife, he runs Drake Engineering Services . Barry is married, with three grown up children, Mandy, Martyn and Emma. "It would be nice to be a grandad", he says, and he gets quite broody whenever he baptises a baby.

 

Barry has been deeply influenced by the Charismatic movement; in spite of this, he is a traditionalist in many ways, especially as far as church music is concerned. He does, however share with other charismatic Christians a strong vision of the power of the Holy Spirit working in the world today. He trained at the ecumenical EMMTC ministry training course, and was ordained at Arnold in April 1997 (see picture on right).

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