Bobby Haley was recently named “The Heart of Kentucky” by the members of Berea First Baptist Church, Greenville, recognizing his leadership in coordinating mission trips to Kentucky for 40 consecutive years.?
Todd Deaton“The people of Bell County are so loving and receptive. Appalachia has a drawing power,” Haley says. “I have been asked many times why this ministry has lasted so long,” he adds. “The only thing that I can say is, ‘It is of God.’?”
Haley’s mission ministry in Kentucky dates back to 1969 when he served as youth minister at Spartanburg’s First Baptist Church.?”Several years earlier, our pastor, Alastair Walker, had been pastor of the First Baptist Church, Middlesboro, Ky.,” explains Haley. “When the director of missions of Bell County, Kentucky, contacted Dr. Walker and asked him if a group from Spartanburg could come and help conduct Vacation Bible Schools, I jumped at the chance,” he recalls.
When he retired and joined Berea First Baptist, Haley brought his love of Kentucky missions with him.?
Haley stands in front of Victory Missionary Baptist Church, where volunteers had just finished building a new sign.“My heart for missions was as strong as ever, but I did not know if there would be another chance to lead another trip,” Haley recalls. “In a conversation with Ronald Vaughan, pastor of Berea First, he asked me if I was interested in leading a mission trip with the Berea people.”
Haley has been leading trips at Berea for seven years now, involving about 250 volunteers in Kentucky mission trips. This year, Haley took 45 adults and 20 youth to conduct six mission Vacation Bible Schools and three church construction projects.?
In all, during his 40-year ministry, he estimates that 2,000 people have participated. Besides Kentucky, Haley has been on mission trips to West Virginia, the coast of South Carolina, Brazil, and Jamaica.
Most of the churches in Bell County are small mountain churches with about 50 to 60 in membership, according to Haley. In the last several years, the construction projects mainly have involved repair work on churches and homes. For example, one team built a storage shelter for the director of missions.
“We have installed sheet-rock, put a metal roof on a church, painted, done electrical work, built a picnic shelter, added rooms to a small church, and made repairs on several houses,” he lists. Even more significantly, in the last several years more than 50 professions of faith have resulted.
“There have been so many rewarding experiences,” Haley nods. “But I guess to sum it up: It is to involve others in missions, to minister to the people in the different missions areas, and to see others come to Christ” – along the Way.