Barbara “Bobbie” Hord

Barbara “Bobbie” Hord exemplified a life that pointed others to Christ. With a gentle, quiet spirit and willing hands to help wherever she could, Bobbie traveled the country and the world with her husband, Jim, always with the goal of sharing the gospel.

Her childhood in Union, South Carolina, was centered on a local Methodist congregation where she helped with Sunday School and developed her piano-playing skills. She dedicated her life to Christ there as a senior in high school and chose to attend Asbury University to study Christian education. While a student, she met Jim Hord. They were married in 1957.

Jim went on to earn his seminary degree, and Bobbie worked various secretarial jobs and taught school to support the family during that time. They pastored churches in Kentucky, Georgia, and Ohio.

Meanwhile, they added to their family: James, Amy, and Lisa. After several years, Jim and Bobbie began to sense God leading them into missions. “Even though I am not a preacher or a very good public speaker, I feel I could be of service to my Lord, if only by living my life so that others could see Christ in me and by my daily contact with people,” Bobbie wrote in 1965.

In 1967, they arrived in Honduras as missionaries with World Gospel Mission. Jim served as professor of theology and evangelism at the Tegucigalpa Bible Institute, a school for pastors and lay leaders. Bobbie served in a variety of support capacities, helped with work teams and short-term volunteers, and raised their three children.

Bobbie related a story in a 1970 article in Call to Prayer magazine (now The Call) about a young woman named Mercedes who called their home. “At first I thought she was wanting to make an application to the Bible Institute, but as she went on, I realized she was making a prayer request. She needed someone to pray with her. She wanted to be saved. I tried to counsel her over the phone…but she did not feel she was quite ready.&rdquo

Bobbie assured the woman that they were available any time she needed to talk. “As I hung up the phone and returned to the jigsaw puzzle the children and I were working, they naturally asked who was on the phone. After telling them as much as I thought they would understand, Amy said, ‘Well, Mommie, can’t we pray for her right now?’ So we four joined in prayer right then for Mercedes, and we shall keep on praying for her. Won’t you join us in praying for her and the hundreds like her in Honduras who want so desperately the peace that only God can give?”

In 1979, Jim and Bobbie returned to the United States and Jim began serving on the WGM support staff as Southeast Regional Director, and later, as missionary evangelist. They traveled across the southeastern states, and Jim spoke at camps, churches, and special revival services with Bobbie often playing the piano.

After their retirement from WGM, Jim and Bobbie continued to reach out with the love of Christ through their local church and community organizations. Bobbie’s friends and family all over the world may rejoice that she is now celebrating with her Lord and Savior. John 15:8 (NKJV) testifies of her life: “By this my Father is glorified, that you will bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples.”