When Providence Baptist Church, Rockford, celebrated homecoming June 4, it also marked a milestone in the life of one of its members. Standing before members of his home church with wife, Margaret, Aaron Barrett was recognized for 50 years in the ministry.
For Barrett, the long career as a minister began in a Montgomery boarding house in 1950.
“It was there that I definitely heard the Lord call me to ministry,” he said.
Ordained by Providence Oct. 21, 1951, Barrett first served as pastor of Union Baptist Church, Rockford. The ordination marked the beginning of a long career serving Alabama churches.
Lengthy career
Barrett later served as pastor at Providence on two occasions, in addition to pastorates at Sardis Church, Rockford; Corinth Church, Verbena; Verbena Church, Verbena; and New Harmony Church, Marbury. Barrett also served as pastor of Hurricane Creek Church, Graceville, Fla.
Barrett served as director of missions (DOM) with the Central Baptist Association 1964 to 1970, followed by service as DOM with the Fayette Baptist Association 1971 to 1987.
He delivered his first sermon in 1950.
Remembering his beginnings as a minister, Barrett shared how he was in a rehabilitation program offered in the years following WWII.
A victim of polio as a child, he said he was enrolled in a training program in which he was studying to work in radio and refrigeration repair. But Barrett said he soon learned God had other plans for him.
“I awakened out of a deep sleep, and the Lord called me into the ministry,” he said.
Because half of his time was spent in the pulpit and the other half was as a DOM, Barrett said it is hard to pinpoint the most satisfying aspect of his ministerial career.
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