Much of God's work is done by Christians who humbly
serve God because of their love for him, and not for recognition.
It was my privilege to meet such a man while holding a Gospel
Meeting with the Mason County church of Christ in Maysville, Kentucky,
this past summer. It was a privilege to meet brother Bernard Horsley
and his good wife, Joy.
Brother Horsley was born in Carter County, KY,
on October 23, 1931, to the late Harry Horsley and Dorothy Horsley
who, at the age of 94, still lives in Knoxville, TN. He was baptized
on August 8, 1954, in Flatwoods, KY. He graduated from high school
in Olive Hill, KY, and then served four years in the Air Force.
He graduated from the University of Kentucky with both bachelors
and masters degrees in agriculture. He taught high school for
twenty-seven years in Kentucky and Ohio.
While teaching school in West Union, OH, he preached
part time for the church there; but he longed to devote fulltime
to preaching, and, at fifty years of age, he took steps to do
that. He arranged for a preacher to take his place in West Union,
sold his farm, and moved to Searcy, AR, to enroll in Harding University.
He told Joy that he wanted to "devote fifteen years to the
Lord's work" before he retired. He attended college for twelve
straight months and graduated in 1977 with an M. Ed. in Bible
Education. He has since preached for churches in Florida and Kentucky.
In 1992 he began work with the Mason County church in Maysville,
KY.
Brother Horsley married Viola Burchett in 1958,
and they have one daughter, Malinda Kaye Deacon of Mt. Gilead,
OH. When Viola passed away of cancer in 1975, he married Joy Laurence
Spragg and now has three stepchildren and four step grandchildren.
He has three brothers and three sisters who are all Christians.
Two of his brothers, Mark and Ronald, are preachers of the Gospel.
The keystone of Bernard's work through the years
has been the Bible Correspondence Course he authored. He began
this effort in 1986 with the book of Acts and, eventually, covered
most of the New Testament. Originally, he, his wife, and some
of his friends graded the lessons, but it eventually grew to the
point where additional help was needed. It is currently under
the oversight of the Washington St. church in St. Albans, WV.
As of July, 2006, over 300,000 lessons had been graded and mailed.
Several baptisms have resulted, and only eternity will reveal
the tremendous good this course has accomplished through the years.
Although Bernard and Joy have been with the Mason
County church since 1992, a debilitating stroke forced him to
quit preaching in 1997. He and Joy had bought the preacher's house
from the church, and Bernard personally remodeled it into a bed
and breakfast. Unfortunately he suffered his stroke the day it
was to open. He now gets around in a wheel chair and has difficulty
speaking, but he was present at every service of the Gospel Meeting.
His faithful determination to be at worship is truly an encouragement
to all in that good congregation.
Joy takes loving care of him and is obviously
proud of the work he has done.
It is a privilege to know this humble servant
of God, and we certainly should thank God for all of the good
he has accomplished through the years. -2863 East High St., Springfield,
OH 45505.