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Pastor Barry McGowin started Mount Calvary Independent Baptist Church in the dining hall of Chelsea Elementary School in September 1997.

Pastor McGowin was saved as a young teenager in a revival campaign. At the age of 29, in the middle of a successful secular career, he surrendered to the call to preach the Word of God. He graduated from Ambassador Baptist College in Lattimore, NC, in 1994. During his college years he served as youth pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church in Shelby, NC, under Pastor Ron Lesley. He served as the youth pastor of Mountain View Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama from 1994 until relocating to Shelby County in 1997.

Pastor McGowin strives to preach God's Word and not man's wisdom. He wants to see lost people come to Christ, and God's people faithfully serving Him and living victorious, fruitful lives. He believes that the way to accomplish this is by the faithful preaching and teaching of the Word of God.

Pastor McGowin and his wife Karen have been married for 27 years and have five children.