Bob Trenbeath

Bob and Marge Trenbeath were both raised on rural farms during The Great Depression, tutored in the knowledge of agriculture and survival. Although they grew up hundreds of miles apart, they would eventually unite under God’s incredible plan and serve with World Gospel Mission around the world.

Bob was born on November 24, 1925, and raised just one mile south of the Canadian border in North Dakota. He was the second youngest of six boys, and they helped to run the family farm with their parents. 

In 1942, at age sixteen, Bob accepted Christ as his Savior. A preacher held out one quarter in his open palm and used the coin as a way to represent God’s eagerness for Bob to grasp and claim His Word. Bob took the coin, and the physical transaction paralleled the transformation that happened inside Bob’s heart. That day, Bob began a journey that would eventually lead him to WGM and to his future wife.

After graduating from high school, Bob began to feel God calling him into full-time Christian ministry. He considered attending Bible college for further training; however, he now faced the prospect of being drafted into the military during World War II. Bob knew many of the men on the draft board. They were tough, no-nonsense farmers, and he knew they very seldom allowed ANYONE to be exempted from the draft.

Driving down the highway one October evening in 1945, Bob felt the Lord tell him to go to the draft board—which was meeting that night a short distance away—and to personally appeal to be reclassified.

As he stood before the draft board, with his knees shaking, Bob declared that he wanted to pursue a Christian education to enter missionary service and go wherever God led him. The board reviewed Bob’s plans and gave him full exemption from military service, but only if he could get accepted into an approved college with a Christian ministry degree program within 10 days! That would take a miracle, as most colleges had already started classes that fall and it was too late to enroll.

Bob applied to study at Chicago Evangelistic Institute, an approved Bible college in Chicago, Illinois, and was immediately accepted. Even though the semester had already started, he was allowed to make up the missed classes. Bob was able to begin classes within the 10-day deadline. He could see God’s hand guiding him.

When Bob walked into the administration building for the first time, he laid eyes on his future wife, who was also there to prepare for missionary service.

“I basically walked in the front door and met my wife,” Bob says with a laugh.

Bob and Marge both graduated from Chicago Evangelistic Institute in June, 1949, and were married a short time later on July 22, 1949. During this time, Bob and Marge felt a calling toward education. As the desire to teach grew, they hoped one day to do this as missionaries.

 Bob and Marge moved to Greenville, Illinois, where Bob trained as a teacher at Greenville College. After Bob graduated with a teaching degree, they applied to be missionaries with World Gospel Mission and in 1952 were assigned to Kenya, Africa.

The Trenbeaths flew to Kenya in 1953—a time of political upheaval shortly after the Mau Mau uprising. They were assigned to work with the Kipsigis tribe in a fairly safe area. In his job as superintendent of secondary education, Bob managed over forty schools. Bob would travel, supervise and train indigenous teachers in each school. Marge cared for their four children at home, as Bob was gone for extended periods of time.

In 1960, Bob needed to return to the States because of health reasons. After his recovery, World Gospel Mission thought it best for them to stay in the U.S. in case Bob needed further medical care.

In 1961, Bob and Marge were transferred to the Texas-Mexico border. After Spanish language training, Bob served as principal and teacher at Taylor Institute, an elementary school for Spanish-speaking children in McAllen, Texas. Bob and Marge also taught at the Mexican Border Bible Institute in La Feria, Texas, for several years. This was a Bible school for older college-aged students.

In 1971, Bob and Marge moved to Peoria, Arizona, to work at Southwest Indian School, an elementary and high school that served children from Native American tribes. Bob taught middle school classes and also served as Assistant Superintendent and Field Treasurer. Bob and Marge continued their ministry at Southwest Indian School until their retirement in 1988.

Although they had retired from missionary service with WGM, the couple continued to serve wherever they could. Church activities and an expanding family kept the Trenbeaths busy.

After Marge's passing on October 27, 2022, Bob lived with his children and grandchildren in Arizona for the next three years. Bob went to heaven to be with Jesus on October 11, 2025, at the age of 99 years, 10 months, and 17 days—almost 100 years old!

From the farmlands of America to the fields of Kenya to the Mexican border to the Sonoran Desert, Bob and Marge Trenbeath served together in an amazing journey of God’s will—sharing the love of Jesus around the world.