A seed was planted, the doors were opened, and this businessman and his wife found themselves heading into the adventure of a lifetime.

By Harold Barrett

Some years ago, my wife, Sally, and I made a trip around the United States, visiting Apostolic Faith churches. In Brooklyn, New York, a young lady came to me and asked, “Brother Barrett, when did God call you to the mission field?” It is a long story, but I could tell her that it was when Jesus gave His disciples the Great Commission.

In 1915, three women from the Apostolic Faith Church went into the hills near Eugene, Oregon, to tell the story of Jesus to my parents. Although my father tried his best to be a Christian, he was disillusioned because of the defeat in his life. He was ready to stop going to church when these women told him that he could have victory over sin. They said, “When you pray, just be honest.” He followed their admonition, and prayed. God heard that prayer, and my father became a child of God. As a result, I was born into a Christian family.

Left his childhood faith

At fourteen years of age, I gave my life to the Lord. However, I failed to keep the faith and for twenty years I rejected God and lived in misery. For the most part, I thought very little about God or eternity. I wanted nothing to do with the faith of my childhood.

I married Sally, my high-school sweetheart, and we began our life together. She was a moral girl, but she did not have the kind of background I had. Over the next few years, four children were born into our home—three sons and one daughter. Sally and I joined a church, but they did not teach true salvation. The preacher told me that I was saved because I had confessed my sins, but I knew in my heart that I was not doing right. Still, we became active in the church. At one time, I was even the Sunday school superintendent!

Mother’s death makes an impact

When I was thirty-four years old, the mother I loved so dearly passed away. Shortly after she died, out of respect for my father, I went to church with him. That evening, I felt the Lord calling me. The minister who preached had the love of God burning in his heart, and as he spoke, tears rolled down his cheeks. At the close, he asked for those who would like to be saved to raise their hands. Mine felt as heavy as lead, but I put it up to indicate, “Pray for me.” One of the ministers came to me and said, “Harold, won’t you come and pray? God will help you.” That gave me courage, and I stepped out into the aisle. The altars were full, but they found a place for me to kneel and there I cried out to God to forgive the sins that had accumulated in my life.

The enemy of my soul reminded me of restitutions I would have to make if I gave my heart to God. They looked like a mountain, but I promised, “Lord, I will go back and straighten out my life.” Then Satan said, “Remember, your wife said she would leave you if you ever came to this church.” I knew my soul was hanging in the balance, and I told God, “If you will forgive me, I will take the way even if I walk alone.” There was nothing more I could pray, and in a moment of time, peace flooded my heart. God broke the fetters of sin and made me a new creature in Christ Jesus.

I went home to Sally, knelt beside her at the couch, and told her, “I am saved.” She began to weep, and said, “I will go my way, and you can go yours,” but God did not permit that. He began to speak to her heart about her own need of salvation.

Made restitution

The day after I was saved, I began to make restitutions. I had always considered myself an honest businessman, but I had some sins covered up. I had a new home, and had papered one of the rooms with wallpaper I had taken from a job. The next day I went to that man’s place of business and told him what I had done. He wasn’t a religious man, but he said, “If everyone were like you, we wouldn’t need any policemen in the world.”

The very next night after I was saved, God sanctified me. Oh, what a wonderful experience that was! It seemed like the heavens opened and filled me. I couldn’t say an unkind word to anyone. The change in me touched my wife’s heart. By the end of that week, she was in church.   The following Sunday night, she made her way forward to an altar of prayer, where she gave her life to God.   When we went home that night, we were truly one in Christ Jesus.

When I gave my heart to the Lord, I made consecrations to Him. I was determined to put my whole heart into the Gospel and to pay any price that God might require, and the Lord filled my heart with His Holy Spirit.

I prayed for the ability to intercede for souls. Then I was invited to visit the merchant ships and ask the crewmen to come to church. I was inspired by this opportunity, and we began inviting the men to our home and taking them to see scenic places around our city. Many times the Korean seamen would ask me if we had a church in their country. They would say, “Why don’t you come to Korea?” With four children to raise, I thought that was impossible, but God was planting the seed.

In 1960, our only daughter, Pam, was taken from us in a drowning accident. Our hearts were broken, even though we knew that we would meet her again in Heaven. How thankful we were for the work of the Lord during that difficult time; we focused our attention on working for Him.

An invitation to Korea

In 1965, Sally and I received an invitation from the Korea Shipping Company to visit their country, and in 1966, we made our first trip there, visiting seamen acquaintances all over the country. One night after we returned home, our pastor, Reverend Loyce Carver, called and wanted to meet with me.   He asked, “Harold, would you and Sally like to go to Korea as missionaries?” There was no hesitation in my heart, and I knew Sally’s heart too, so I said, “Yes.” God opened doors and provided in a wonderful way. We rented our home, gave my business to our sons, and were ready for the greatest adventure of our lives.

On our arrival in Korea, we were welcomed by radio, newspaper, and television agents, as well as many of the seamen who had visited us in Portland. They helped us find a house to rent in Pusan. Though newly constructed, it had no running water and no indoor plumbing. Still, it was our home, and the Spirit of God was present with us. Shortly after our arrival, the niece of a Korean seaman came to live with us, and she became our first convert. The lady who delivered water to our home every day was another whose life was touched in those early days. When she came to our door, we offered her tea and showed her kindness, and it was not long before she believed upon the Son of God.

Church services in an upper room

We began holding services in our home in a little room that was about ten by fifteen feet. We invited the seamen who came to see us and soon we had over seventy people attending! Many of them truly gave their hearts to the Lord. We found an army chaplain who was trying to learn English and he was our interpreter. God talked to his heart through my simple messages, and he was saved. For many years he was pastor of the church in Pusan.

When we outgrew the room, God gave us a rented location on the third floor of a building. Soon, we moved to another spot with more room and God continued giving the increase! When our Sunday school reached 600 children, we knew it was time to build a church. In ninety days, during the rainy season, the church was finished--a three-story building with a half-basement. On dedication day, every pew was filled. When I asked an older brother in the church to pray, you could hear the sound of weeping and praises unto God. We had our own church!

We began to publish our church paper in the Korean language. We printed 3,000 copies of our first edition, and I said to Sally, “How are we going to give out 3,000 papers?” Just a few years later, we were printing several million copies of each edition! We sent Gospel tracts into the 675,000-man army and they begged us for more. We preached to the soldiers at the Demilitarized Zone, and visited several prisons five to six times a month. The Word of God was being taught to many who had never before heard it.

The Gospel message spreads

God gave us the privilege of laboring in Korea for almost twenty years. When Sally and I left, we prayed that He would pour His Holy Spirit onto the people there so that they could use His power to reach others in the land of Korea. God answered that prayer in a wonderful way, and now seven churches have been established in Korea.

Sally and I returned home, but for sixteen years after our move back to Portland we returned for a few weeks of every year to Korea, Japan, and the Philippines. In 1992, Sally was called Home to Heaven. A few years later, God blessed me with another helpmeet, Opal, who was a missionary in her own right. Since then, she has walked with me on this highway of holiness.

I have grown old in the service of God. My stride has slowed and my eyes have grown dim, but love for the souls of men is still burning in my heart.

Harold Barrett was a minister of the Apostolic Faith organization until his death in May, 2005.