MEMORIAL WORSHIP SERVICE FOR BOBBY CREIGLOW
25 July 1926—4 June 2026
[NOTE: We conducted a memorial worship service for my long-time true friend, Bobby Creiglow, on 12 June 2026. I have included a brief order of service, link to his obituary, and link to a FB live-stream recording at the end. Here is my loving, personal tribute contribution…]
Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”
So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the new world [regeneration]], when the Son of Man sits on the Throne of His Glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And there is no one who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.” [Matt 19.27-29; Mk 10.28-30; Lk 18.28-30]
Bobby and I talked about these verses numerous times over the years. Bobby lived by this self-sacrificing rule of Kingdom economics all his life. When Jesus called Bobby into service, Bobby forsook everything to follow Jesus. Bobby never kept anything the Lord ever gave him. Either he used it in the service of the Lord—or he gave it back to the Lord or to one of the Lord’s servants to help them. At the end of his life, Bobby would say, “The Lord has been faithful to every word of His promise. He’s given me back much more than I ever gave Him—and I’m looking forward to seeing what more lies ahead!” Now, he knows…
********************
Bobby charged me to preach the Gospel here during this service. “I want you to give them one last Gospel witness for my sake.”I told him I would—but also, that even this would not be his ‘one last Gospel witness’by any stretch of the imagination.
Because all the witnesses to the Gospel that Bobby gave during his lifetime here will continue to go on. That’s the way Gospel witness ‘seed’ grows: it dies in the ground and germinates, sprouts up, and bears fruit—and then that fruit also becomes seed that bears yet more fruit … and on and on from one generation of fruit to another.
The Gospel witness that Bobby has given for these 67 years in all the places where he’s been have not only borne fruit when and where they were given, but they continue to bear fruit as those who received it pass it on wherever they go. And it goes on and on until Jesus comes back.
I guess that may be at least part of what Revelation 14:13 means:
“Then I heard a voice from Heaven saying to me, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes! says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”
Bobby’s works will continue to follow him into the successive generations until we all arrive and stand together in that united praise chorus of the redeemed that John foresaw in Revelation 7:9-10:
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the Throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the Throne, and to the Lamb!’”
That was Bobby’s mission and message … and many among that great multitude on that day will have heard the Gospel of the Lamb of God from Bobby Creiglow.
We are also told that all of the activities of Heaven—and there will be many—are all summed up this way in Revelation 14:4:
“These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.”
But you will not be among the followers of the Lamb there …
if you do not first follow Him here, in this life.
And that’s what the Gospel is all about. And that’s the story of Bobby’s life. We can’t give Bobby’s testimony apart from the Gospel of salvation he believed and the Christ he followed.
Bobby was born in sin and separated from the favor of God just like every human being has been … ever since Adam disobeyed God, and fell into sin, and brought upon himself and all of us the just condemnation of our sins and the curse of the Holy wrath of the Holy God.
“But God—” in His gracious Providence brought Bobby under the influence of a Baptist pastor in Sanford FL … a preacher of the Gospel by the name of Bill Stevens. Pastor Stevens befriended Bobby and witnessed the Gospel to him.
One night in January of 1956, Pastor Stevens sat at their kitchen table and told them again how Christ had died for their sins, was resurrected, and that he needed to trust Christ and be saved.
Bobby repeatedly told me:
“I was convicted of my sins as he quoted Proverbs 14:12: ‘There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.’ He warned me if I continued on my way that seems right to me, trusting in my own goodness to make me right with God, I’ll die in my sins and be separated from God forever. But Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I trusted Christ, and God saved me from my sins!”
And that night, both he and Betty put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Bobby was baptized in a city lake in Sanford FL on the 29th of January. And, yes, even in Florida, the water is cold in January. But Bobby wanted to publicly profess his faith in Christ as He commands.
And here’s his life’s testimony … anyone who’s ever hung around Bobby long at all has heard this story over and over … this became his credo for the rest of his life.
I’ll tell it as he would tell it:
“The church congregation had gathered on the bank of the lake to sing as I was baptized. As Brother Stevens brought me back up out the water, and the water ran out of my ears, the first sound I heard was them singing, ‘Wherever He leads, I’ll go.’ I determined then and there, that wherever Jesus leads me, I will go…”
1. “Take up thy cross and follow Me,” I heard my Master say;
I gave My life to ransom thee, Surrender your all today!
Chorus
Wherever He leads I’ll go; Wherever He leads I’ll go;
I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so; Wherever He leads I’ll go.
2. He drew me closer to His side, I sought His will to know;
And in that will I now abide, Wherever He leads I’ll go…
3. It may be through the shadows dim, Or o’er the stormy sea;
I take my cross and follow Him Wherever He leadeth me…
4. My heart, my life, my all I bring To Christ who loves me so;
He is my Master, Lord, and King— Wherever He leads I’ll go.
It was as simple and committed as that. And that’s what Bobby did for the next 67 years. And the Lord did call him—and Bobby went every time and every where from that moment … until the day he died from here last Thursday.
He started immediately by assisting Pastor Stevens. And then, one day, Pastor Stevens said, “Bobby, you’re preaching next week.” That was news to Bobby—he’d never preached before. But he did, and he continued preaching and serving in his local church there. And even helping plant a church in another part of their city.
Bobby was always the missionary.
First, it was to Florida.
Then shortly after that, it was to Brazil. Here’s how that came about. Bobby was also influenced by another brother by the name of Bruce Lunsford. Brother Lunsford was a missionary in Brazil, supported through Baptist Faith Missions. Very quickly, through their association, the Lord laid the burden on Bobby’s heart to go to Brazil and carry the Gospel there.
So, Bobby met with Hafford Overbey who was the Executive Secretary of Baptist Faith Missions. Brother Overbey said: “You’re not ready yet … go and start a church, get some experience, and then we’ll talk about Brazil.”
So, Bobby did just that. He and Betty moved a few miles away to a community called Gotha FL and began visiting around among the neighbors, witnessing the Gospel, calling on them to repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘And the hand of the Lord was with him, and a number of them came to the faith.’ (Acts 11:21).
Bobby led in the formation of Park Ridge Baptist Church and became their pastor. And Park Ridge is still one of our partnering churches. Those works are still following him…
So, Bobby and Betty were sent by Park Ridge to Brazil through the support of Baptist Faith Missions in 1960. Bobby would spread the Gospel throughout Brazil for the next 33½ years.
He started out in Manaus for the first year to learn the language and get oriented. By this time, he had partnered again with Bruce Lunsford—this time in Brazil. Brother Lunsford had been laboring down in the interior—in Cruzeiro do Sul, State of Acre.
Brother Lunsford wanted Bobby to come with him to Cruzeiro do Sul and help him—and Bobby agreed. Except that Brother Lunsford was afraid of flying. So, yes! Bobby agreed to get on a steam ship … and for the next sixty days, they made their way downriver—some 1000 river miles—to Cruzeiro do Sul. He and their family would serve in Cruzeiro do Sul for seven years—living in a houseboat down on the river.
Then, after serving the Lord there, Bobby re-located to the State of Matto Grosso, evangelizing and establishing churches in Cuiaba and Varzea Grande—and in numerous surrounding cities and towns.
They returned to the States in 1993, and Bobby continued to be a missionary…
- as a pastor in Plant City FL;
- then serving in a church in Winter Haven FL;
- before moving here to KY to serve in churches in Richmond and Science Hill;
- until, following Betty’s death in 2009, he came here to Lexington in 2010 to labor alongside me in the church where I was pastor;
- and then finally coming here to New Life in 2017.
Also, during all this time after coming back to the States, Bobby remained active in missionary outreach as he partnered with Baptist Faith Missions as Field Representative and on the Council of Directors.
Bobby was always the missionary.
During the years of his pilgrimage here, Bobby was my friend; Brother in Christ; confidant; ministry partner / helper / counselor / encourager; travel companion; evangelism role model and example—and my all-around best buddy.
I have known who he is from the beginning in 1960 when I would see his pictures and read his reports in our newsletter—The Mission Sheets. Then, I had my first face-to-face encounter with him when we both preached at the Clarksville Baptist College conference in 1973. Our first conversation there was a warm, personable, humble, transparent affirmation … from a brother who was at that time twice my age. But that was the Bobby we all came to know and love. Then he made furlough visits to my first pastorate in NC. And, I would see and talk with him on numerous occasions at our Missions Conferences.
But it was in 1998 that we really bonded with one another. Baptist Faith Missions commissioned us to go together to Memphis TN to work with a videographer there to produce a missions promotional video. We rode that trip together, roomed together, collaborated together—and the bond was set.
From that day on, we were friends who stick closer than brothers (Proverbs 18.24). The Lord gave us a relationship very much like a David and Jonathan brotherly love for one another. We became ‘familiar friends’ (Psalm 41.9)—just very comfortable to be with one another. A ‘familiar friend’ is one in whom you can confide … a brother you can trust with your deepest fears, weakest foibles, and your greatest failures. And we did.
To say we grew familiar and comfortable with another is an understatement, really. In fact, we became so comfortable with one another … [you know how we say, “You can let your hair down” with your comfortable friend] … well, Bobby wouldn’t just let his hair down, he would take his hair clean off. He wore a toupee during a season of his life until he got tired of it. So, when we would travel together, we would go to our room for the night, and Bobby just took his hair off! That is comfortable!
We knew and shared each other’s lives transparently, trustingly, and faithfully—from the heart out.
But, Bobby was always the missionary.
During these last few trying years as his strength began to fail, it was my privilege to care for him. I would take him to his numerous doctor’s appointments for weekly check-ups, regular infusions, and frequent blood transfusions. And we would visit and talk—countless hours, all told. It was always about the Lord, about his years of missionary service, about Baptist Faith Missions and our missionaries, and especially about witnessing the Gospel of Christ and seeing people saved.
But, he would often grow weary of the physical burden. More than one time, we would be riding together in the car, and he would be silent. Sometimes, just slumping in his seat. I would ask him, “Bobby, what’s going on?” And he would just reply, “I don’t even know why I’m here. I don’t know why I’m still alive. I don’t know why the Lord is keeping me here — I just feel like I’m no use to anyone … not even the Lord.”
And I would always say, “Well, Bobby, I sure don’t know … but what we both know is that the Lord is all-wise, all-merciful, and all-good. And the only thing I can tell you is that God knows why you’re here and what He still wants to do with you. Surely, there’s somebody else He wants you to witness to.”
But, Bobby was always the missionary.
And his final field of missionary service was Sayre Christian Village. He became too weak to live at home anymore, so he moved into Sayre in August ’23. And from day on, Bobby witnessed to everyone who touched him and served him. Bobby not only touched people’s lives by his gentleness, kindness, winsomeness, quick wit, and personable humor—but Bobby impacted and influenced people’s lives. And some of them for eternity. Bobby captured their hearts. And he did it all in the Name of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. All of them loved him. And some of them listened to His Gospel witness, and God prepared their hearts to receive it … and they confessed their faith in Jesus Christ.
I told the administrators of Sayre in some of our early-on care plan meetings: “I know you all have a staff chaplain here at Sayre—but I’m telling you that Bobby Creiglow over on Unit 3 is the unofficial chaplain of Sayre Christian Village.”
Bobby’s memory and legacy will live on there. Unit 3, especially, will never be the same now that Bobby Creiglow has lived there. 310 will always be “Bobby’s room.”
Bobby longed for the day when he would see His beloved Savior face-to-face. It would take the same numbers of hours to repeat the conversations Bobby and I have shared—especially here over the past couple of years. And we don’t have that time right now.
But, I promised Bobby back at the beginning of this last final weakness that I would walk with him every step that I could on this side of the valley of the shadow of death. But there would come the time when no one of us could walk with any farther.
And when that time came, he wouldn’t need me, anyway.
We often talked about the actual physical death experience: “What’s it like to die? What will I experience? What will I feel?” Of course, I would always say, “Bobby, I don’t know. Nobody’s ever died and then come back to tell us what it’s like [at least with credible Scriptural authority]. But what I can tell you with assurance is that, according to Psalm 23:4, there’s going to come a time when you’re going to walk away from us. And, as you descend into the valley of the shadow of death, we’ll call for you, but you won’t answer us. But, you can be sure—and we can be sure—that when that time comes, the further you walk away from us, the nearer you will be walking into the Light of the Face of Jesus Christ. He will be with you…and you will be with Him … And you won’t be alone; and you won’t be afraid.”
And then we would quote together:
“Yea. though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup [of joy] runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.”
And that’s the way it went down last Thursday.
And we would talk about our hope of Glory and the hope of Heaven. We would speculate the best we could from what is revealed in the Word of God about what Heaven is going to be like: What will it be like to see Jesus face-to-face for eternity? What will we doing—what kind of activities—as we “follow the Lamb wherever He goes”?
Again, we would have to confess that all we know right now is what we can see ‘darkly’ through the mirror of the Word of God. But we know it’s going to be unimaginably glorious!
And Bobby would quiet down, and shake his head in worship, and say, “God is so good! God is so merciful! God is so faithful—and to think He would want me, and love me, and choose me in Christ before the foundation of the world!”
Some of my friends from our church had a family member in Sayre a couple years ago … I had told them about Bobby, and they dropped in to meet and visit with him one Sunday when they were there. They took some pictures and sent them to me the other day. In one of those pictures, Bobby is sitting in his wheelchair beside his Bible that he had on a reading stand behind a magnifier. I was curious what Bobby was reading that day, so I zoomed in on the page. And, wouldn’t you know! …he was reading John, chapter 17. And sure enough, down in the bottom right-hand corner of the magnifying glass, is verse 24:
“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My Glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
God sent His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a missionary into our world—a whole world lost in the darkness of sin. God sent Jesus to seek and save those who were lost and bring them back Home to His Glory to be with Him!
Jesus Christ lived the only perfect, sinless life that’s ever been lived. And then, He died on His Cross as a Substitute for sinners—in our place. In other words, He took upon Himself the blame for the sins we have committed … and suffered the punishment that we would suffer if we keep our sins to ourselves—which is the hell of God’s holy and just wrath against our sins … and eternal separation from God.
But when, by faith, you trust Christ to be your Sin-Bearer and Savior, then God graciously forgives all your transgressions by the merits of Christ’s death … and credits to you the perfect obedience and righteousness of Christ.
And, in that transaction of love and faith in Jesus Christ, Christ promises to bring you Home to Glory to be with Him!
That’s where Bobby is!
And Bobby would say to everyone of you whom he loved and prayed for: “Be there!”
——————–
Just a couple love-notes here before we go…
We all want to express our profound and heartfelt thanks to all of you who not only took care of Bobby, especially during these past four years, but you loved him as you ministered to him.
- To Dr Scott Pierce & all the staff at St Joseph Hematology Oncology—From the beginning, Dr Pierce treated Bobby not only with the skill of his hands and medical expertise—but also with his heart. For 3+ years, he diligently researched, tested, and pursued every option available to Bobby until the last one was exhausted.
- And to all the loving personnel, nurses, and aides at Sayre Christian Village—you all loved Bobby, and Bobby loved you. You took care of him, kissed on him, ate his chocolates, and you were his final home and among his final family here. I don’t want to get started naming names, but just from my personal interactions: Amanda, Melissa, Cindy, Spence, Jennifer, Christina— and especially Audrey, whom Bobby affectionately called “Mama” because she mothered him.And a special heart-felt thanks also Bobby Duncan, our faithful transport van driver. Bobby drove us numerous times to our Dr’s appointments. Bobby was not only our driver—Bobby was our friend.
In Bobby’s place, and with Bobby’s voice, I’ll tell you all one more time:
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you all!”
——————–
“Wherever He Leads, I’ll go“
Please join us as we conclude this memorial service by singing together Bobby’s ‘life’s missionary song and testimony’ … and as we sing it together, please consider this your invitation and challenge to personally answer Christ’s call to follow Him. It may be by your repentance from your sins and personal profession of faith to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior—and be saved from your sins. Or, it may be to make a total, unreserved, unconditional commitment of your life to follow Him in service: Wherever He leads, you’ll go.
Here is the link to the FB live-stream recording of Bobby’s memorial worship service…
Here is the link to Bobby’s obituary…
~Dave Parks 