Jim Hord
Born and raised in South Carolina, Jim became a believer at the age of 17 at a youth revival. He attended Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, and met his future wife, Barbara (Bobbie), while they were witnessing in the streets and jails of small Kentucky towns. They married in 1957. Soon after he graduated from college, Jim suffered a health crisis, and his condition was so serious that he was given just two years to live. However, God miraculously healed him, and he was able to finish his Master of Divinity degree at Asbury Seminary.
After several years of pastoring churches in Kentucky, Georgia, and Ohio, Jim and Bobbie felt God leading them to missions. After joining WGM, they were assigned to Honduras and arrived there in 1967. Jim dove right into the ministry, and during their 12 years in Honduras, Jim served as professor of theology and evangelism at the Tegucigalpa Bible Institute. He also was involved in directing work teams and short termers during their time on the field.
After returning to the United States in 1979, Jim took on new responsibilities as the Southeast Regional Director. At that time, this position included scheduling missionaries in churches in the southeastern states. Eventually, Jim became more involved in preaching at camps, churches, and special revival services, crusading for the cause of missions in any way he could. Eventually, he became a missionary evangelist, a role he embraced wholeheartedly.
In all his preaching, Jim combined the message of salvation with a challenge for missions. He always kept the urgency of the Great Commission before his audiences.
“He had an influence on a lot of people going into missions,” said Ruthie Bassett, WGM support staff retiree and former missionary to Haiti. “He talked me into going to Haiti!”
We thank the Lord for leading Jim and Bobbie to WGM, and we are extremely grateful for their years of service. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bobbie as well as other family members and friends at this time.
“So we fix our eyes on not what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV). Jim truly fixed his eyes on the eternal, and we rejoice that he is in God’s presence today.