The Ongoing Gospel Work of Bro. Bobby Creiglow at 99.5 Years Old

By Sarah Wainright

At 99.5 years old, Bro. Bobby Creiglow is still on mission. His days of traveling the Amazon River and its tributaries may be behind him, but the Lord continues to use him to touch lives in remarkable ways.

Bobby and Betty Creiglow served in partnership with BFM as missionaries in Brazil from May 1960 to May 1993, and Bobby served as BFM’s Stateside Field Representative from 1998–2003.

Today, he resides in a nursing home in Lexington, Kentucky—and even there, God is still using him for His glory. In the time he has lived at the facility, four individuals have come to know the Lord through his faithful witness.

Witness in the Hallways
The first was Jennifer. Noticing his name engraved on the Bible sitting in his room, she grew curious. He gave the Bible to her, and in time, she began to show clear evidence of salvation. Another woman he witnessed to also professed faith in Christ. She is now in nursing school and still visits him from time to time.

One night, a young male nurse stepped into his room and, without explanation, knelt beside his bed to pray and said he had trusted Christ. Though Bobby has not seen him much since, he continues to pray for him.

Then there is Audrey, who is a great encouragement in his daily life. She passes through his room often to care for him and blesses him with conversation and fellowship. “Audrey is one who has really come through,” he says. “She has shown proof that what she’s got is real.” When asked what Bro. Bobby has meant to her, Audrey answered without hesitation, “He is a life-changer!”

Her journey to faith began years earlier when another patient started planting seeds of truth in her heart. By the time Bro. Bobby arrived, the Lord had those seeds ready for watering and Audrey soon put her faith in Christ. A special moment she remembers very vividly is traveling with Bro. Bobby down the hallway to pray with that same patient who had first spoken truth to her as he was nearing the end of his earthly life. It was a beautiful reminder of how God weaves every part of our stories together for His glory.

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.” -1 Corinthians 3:6-7

A Reputation for Faithfulness
Although Bro. Bobby spoke to only a handful of people about his past, word quickly spread among the staff and residents. They learned he was a man of God, a man of faith, a former missionary to Brazil—and that he would gladly pray for anyone. “The fact that everybody knows who I am and what I stand for has been an encouragement to me,” he reflects. “They still know who I am and why I am.” 

“I’ve tried to be a model patient,” he says, and it is evident that his character, interactions, and cheerful countenance only strengthen the words of hope he shares with those he encounters. He also offers counsel to doubting believers, frequently quoting 1 John 5:13 to assure them that God wants His children to know they possess eternal life. “He doesn’t want any doubts,” says Bro. Bobby, “If He gives eternal life, it’s eternal.” After one such conversation, a woman joyfully declared, “Now I know!”

“These things I have written to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the Name of the Son of God.” -1 John 5:13

It Never Gets Old
When asked whether sharing the Gospel ever gets old, Bro. Bobby immediately responds, “No!” with a bright smile. “It’s new every day. Anybody who sits down in that chair is going to get witnessed to.”

His door stays open—literally. Though there are not many new visitors, he prays that the Lord will bring more people his way. “Oh my, if I can just get somebody to listen for just a little while, they’re going to hear it,” he says.

Some he has witnessed to have not yet trusted Christ. But the four who have were ready and open—the Lord had already prepared the soil of their hearts and some seeds had already been planted. His role in these instances was simply to water. The fact that some of them have received Christ thrills his soul!

Led by the Hymn: “Wherever He Leads I’ll Go”
Bro. Bobby’s commitment to Gospel work began decades ago when another BFM missionary, Bruce Lunsford, led him to the Lord while they were living in Florida. He still vividly remembers coming up from the baptismal waters as the congregation sang Wherever He Leads I’ll Go. “I knew that was for me,” he recalls.

The hymn’s lyrics echo Christ’s call found in the Gospels in Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, and Luke 9:23:

“Take up thy cross and follow Me,”
I heard my Master say.
“I gave my life to ransom thee,
Surrender your all today.”

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.

“I’ve tried to live up to that ever since,” Bro. Bobby says, “and I still am.”

He did not have formal training or education, but he had what mattered most: full submission to the call of Christ. When the Lord stirred his heart for missions, the Lord opened the door to Brazil. “They were wanting somebody to go to Peru at the time,” he recalls, “but I never had the desire to go to Peru. It was always Brazil.” Everything fell into place in a way he describes as “the most natural thing.” His lack of formal training could not limit what God intended to do through a willing servant.

“It takes more than just saying, ‘Let’s go,’” he reflects. “The burden stuck with me…there has to be a commitment.” By God’s grace, he has remained wholeheartedly committed all these years, no matter where God has led him.

Advice for the Next Generation
When asked what counsel he would offer younger believers who desire to serve God faithfully, he shares two simple but searching questions:

• Where are you now?
• Are you doing what the Lord wants you to do now?

“If someone is not doing anything now,” he says, “they’re not likely listening to the Lord.”

Quoting Ephesians 4:11 from memory, he identifies himself within the group Paul calls evangelists. “Everywhere I have gone, I was preaching the Gospel. I still am, and that’s still my goal!”

Still Being Used
What keeps him motivated to share Jesus at 99.5 years old? His answer is simple and sincere: “I’m still alive and still being used!”

For Bro. Bobby Creiglow, that is enough. As long as God gives breath, God gives purpose. The command to preach the Gospel still applies. The promise that His Word will not return void still stands. And the same God who led him into the jungles of Brazil now leads his witness through the hallways of a Kentucky nursing home with the same power and the same grace.

Wherever He leads, he will go—because the mission hasn’t ended, and his heart is still wholly submitted to Christ’s call.