Barry is a native of Washington state and committed his life to the Lord at the age of 17 as the result of being involved in a summer missions program in British Columbia. The Lord used a summer missions trip to several countries in East Asia to lead Barry to offer for service in Japan. Jan grew up in Idaho in a Christian family, but made a deeper commitment to the Lord while a student at Prairie Bible College in Canada. She felt an initial call to serve in China, but as God drew Jan and Barry together during their college years, they clearly felt God's leading to Japan.
The Potters served in Japan with OMF International for 28 years in a variety of roles including church planting and field leadership. They were involved in planting four churches in urban Japan as well as serving in media ministry. They have been on the US staff since 2006.
Barry currently travels to Asia several times each year to conduct training our missionary personnel as well as for local leadership. Jan runs one of the OMF Mission Homes, providing hospitality to many workers when they attend conferences and meetings at the US office. Barry serves as the US Vice President for Personnel, responsible for the care of over 300 field workers. Barry has a master’s degree from Wheaton College and a doctorate from Fuller Theological Seminary in Intercultural Studies. The Potters have 5 adult children and 11 grandchildren.
