He's got his hands clasped, smiles and sings while gazing at a point in the distance. This is indeed a Church of England vicar at prayer, but it is not a church service, Alpha meeting or Spring Harvest.

Rev John Barron is petitioning the four judges to put him through to the next round of The Voice.

The vicar for High Spen and Rowland Gill in the Durham diocese, a father of two teen girls and a 12-year-old boy, appears on the first show in the fifth series of The Voice this Saturday evening. He sings in front of the panel will.i.am, Ricky Wilson, Paloma Faith and Boy George in what will be the fifth and last series of The Voice on the BBC before it moves to ITV in 2017.

The 49-year-old, a former amateur musical theatre performer, sings This is the moment  from the musical Jekyll & Hyde. While many thought he had the talent as a young man to make it as a professional tenor, the call to ordination eventually proved stronger and after a brief period in management consultancy, he went into the church. But he has continued to sing throughout his life and ministry, using his gift to support charities and fundraising activities around the North East and beyond.

He had no idea he was in the running to appear on The Voice because his wife, Val, entered him secretly. He only found out when the producers got in touch months later to say he had been chosen for the first round.

Barron told Christian Today he had not done a talent competition for years although did a few as a child. I have always done singing, it has always been in the background. The judges on The Voice were incredibly supportive and encouraging."

Whatever happens on Saturday, he said, he will never give up being a vicar.

"Singing is part of what I am, it is part of what I do as a vicar. It is part of community engagement, of trying to grow our visibility."

His churchmanship is "generous orthodoxy". 

He said: "Jesus has given us all the ability to be children of God, to acknowledge that we are loved by God, to celebrate who we are and what gifts God has given us. This is just a case of using what God has given to reach out and be a blessing to the community."

Last year, he sang in a memorial concert for a church member with a local community singing group, The Gibside Singers, to raise money for Mothers' Union Prison projects. The previous year he and his eldest daughter Louise, who also sings musical theatre, held a Gala evening in St Barnabas Church in Gateshead West End to raise money to replace the church heating system.

Just before Christmas he did a cabaret evening in Stanley near his parish and raised £100 towards the Christmas Appeal for DePaul and Changing Lives.

He said: "As well as singing hymns in church each Sunday, I enjoy singing musical theatre, classical, folk & opera. I enjoy listening to a variety of music - I'm open to singing all genres.