Barry’s Testimony
On January 19, 2014, I became a genuine, Biblical Christian. I firmly and wholeheartedly believe that Jesus Christ – God the Son in human flesh – died in my place, satisfying the debt owed for sin I committed; that Jesus was buried – and He was raised to life 3 days later. I believe that God the Holy Spirit has given me a new heart, making me a new creation, sealing me, adopting me, and shaping me increasingly into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that this is according to the loving Plan of God the Father.
As a child, my parents raised me in a Christian cult – the Church of God (7th Day). I was exposed to the Bible, believed in God and – in my own strength – tried to be justified according to the Ten Commandments. By my later teenage years, I went my own way.
In my middle twenties, I was self-deceived that I had ‘accepted Jesus as my Savior yet failed to fully appreciate that He was likewise my Lord. Somehow, I masked the truth from others (and even myself) hidden by clean moral living and mere human religion. I studied the Bible and the Christian faith. I was active in a local assembly. I even served in leadership roles – all the while not being genuinely born again. I failed, a victim of many of the errors that plague the Church today; and missing God’s resources that belong only to those who are genuine Christians. Again, I went my own way.
For over 16 years, I didn’t step into a church building – except for weddings and cast my vote. In my journey, I attained a reasonably successful life. Beautiful children. An amazing, loving wife. A good career. Academic achievements. Some success in athletics. I was a ‘good person’ – or so I thought.
However, on January 19, 2014, God broke into my life. He revealed His mercy and grace and changed me into a different person. Born again. The Holy Spirit exposed my sinful heart, deeply convicting me of my rebellion against Him. God opened my eyes to the truth, grace and beauty of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In love and without any merit on my part, He offered me the greatest trade in the world – my sin, death and deserved punishment for the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ – Who Himself paid my debt in full on that terrible Cross.
With tears mixed with inexpressible joy, I turned from sin and submitted to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. Since then, I have deeply enjoyed walking with Him, studying of His Word, in prayer, serving where I could, and searching for a Biblical local assembly. It took about 4 years until I fully realized that all my previous attempts at religion were frauds. I needed to obey our Lord’s command and was baptized by immersion at a local church.
At the end of 2015, I retired from my job as a senior manager at a major corporation.
Since Retirement
Since retirement: Since 2016, Barry Foster has focused on developing, deepening Biblical and theological knowledge in preparation for service in the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has encouraged and coached other Christians, informally and formally taught individuals and classes on the Bible and life application and shared the Gospel as opportunities arose. He developed a small Christian international social media ministry where he communicates regularly, calling for submission to Christ Jesus, repentance and a return to Biblical principles. Barry currently serves as a reformer, evangelist and church planter at Remnant Bible Church in the Puget Sound area of Washington state.
Education: Barry’s educational accomplishments include regionally accredited degrees of Ph.D., M.A., M.B.A., and B.A. His Ph.D. dissertation examined the barriers that negatively impact practicing servant leaders in the corporate environment. Prior to understanding the value of regional accreditation, he had earned unaccredited M.Div. and B.A. degrees.
Family and Hobbies: Married to Sue for 23 years, Barry has five children and four grandchildren. He has been active in various recreational and competitive sports since his early teens, including wrestling, football, softball, racquetball and tennis. Since retirement, he plays pickleball regularly during the week.
Christian Ministry, Development and Ongoing Service
Summary Biblical Christian | Jan 2014 – Present
- Accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in January 2014.
- Structured and completed equivalency studies, modeling the earlier Master of Divinity program.
- Completed certificate studies at the Institute for the Christian Life, The Master’s Seminary, Los Angeles, CA, 2020. Completed certificates include the following:
- Bible Knowledge Certificate
- Christian Living Certificate
- Shepherding Care Certificate
- Sound Doctrine Certificate
- Church Leadership Advanced Certificate
- Conducted depth studies on various subjects debated or impacting current church thinking and practice, including systematic theology, gender roles in the church, the cessationist -continuationist debate, Eschatology, Creation, Noah’s Flood, climate change, the invasion of modern paganism into church thought and practice, social justice, Wokeism, individual depth studies on all sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament, Church history, modern cults and religions, etc.
- Kept abreast of current world, nation, state and local events and trends that have implications to the Church Militant and Biblical End of Days prophecy. Assessed the teachings of various Christian thought leaders, local churches and movements.
- Met one-on-one with individuals holding to aberrant teachings in loving, gentle dialogue in the attempt to help each better understand Biblical, historic Christian teaching.
- Visited over 100 local churches to understand – firsthand – the level of faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible and the historic Christian faith – once for all entrusted to the saints.
- Developed functional skills using Logos Bible Software for personal and public ministry use.