Speaking to Kentucky Today, butcher-turned-pastor Bobby Eaton explained how, thanks to God’s grace and help, he was able to turn hundreds of people in his Kentucky community toward Christ. That came when, more than two decades ago, he took over a small baptist church and decided to take action to grow the number of congregants rather than accept the secularization of society and the church’s decline.
That came when he decided to fill the pulpit at the Poplar Grove Baptist Church, as its normal pastor was suffering from cancer. Arriving at the small church, Mr. Eaton saw that only about two dozen people showed up for the Sunday service, which surprised him because there were numerous subdivisions quite close to the church, indicating there was a population that could come to church but just wasn’t interested.
So, he decided to take action. Explaining how he turned the church around to Kentucky Today, Mr. Eaton said, “I told my wife, ‘That church should be running 150.’” Continuing, he added, “I took Poplar Grove as a bivocational pastor and the Lord started blessing. We hit all those neighborhoods. We’ve just kept growing and growing, even though there aren’t many kids in those subdivisions.”
Fortunately, he succeeded. In the 23 years Mr. Eaton has been running the church, not only did he succeed in filling the church up with the 150 people he thought should be there given the community’s population, but he doubled that: according to Kentucky today, now there are about 300 congregants every Sunday and there is a 40-member choir.
Then, estimating that he managed to lead a few hundred people to God in the years he has helped churches in his Kentucky community, Mr. Eaton said that it is God who should get the credit for that success. He said, explaining his background and that God is the one responsible for his success, “It’s all God. I was a butcher who ran a meat market for 31 years.”
He also added that he learned from his dad how to deal with people, something that helped him tremendously in life. He said, “My dad was marvelous dealing with people. My dad was a great Christian man who was tough as nails. He let me hang out at the store and I watched and learned.”
Further, he explained the tactics he uses to help get people thinking about the Lord and Christianity, Mr. Eaton said, “I’d say, ‘What if your grandson asked you to be a Christian?’ I’ve also used pictures in the hospital room, too. ‘Look at how spiritual they seem to be? Do you ever think about spiritual things?’ My goal every morning was to get in every room, every day. I couldn’t wait to get there some days. It was never a job because I had the chance to serve and minister.”
But, regardless of all that, it’s still God who is ultimately responsible for any success, Mr. Eaton said. Emphasizing that again to Kentucky Today, he said, “It’s nothing we do anyway.” Powerfully, he then added, “It’s all God. Always has been.“