Roy Worley was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee where he graduated from the University of Memphis with a bachelor's degree in education. While in college he became aware of a profound emptiness inside that none of the regular classes nor extra curricular activities could fill. It was during this time that he began to think more about God than he ever had before. Even though his family had attended church when he was a child and for many years he thought that he was ok, there still seemed to be a God-shaped vacuum in his soul. At this time he began to think of his childhood and memories of attending their neighborhood church. Not feeling totally certain what to do, he began to talk about it with one of his closest cousins. He was encouraged to find a church to attend. The Lord led him to a church in the new community where his family had relocated just the year before. It was there that he found the Truth: Jesus Christ the Lord. Through the biblical preaching of the pastor he realized that church membership wasn't enough and he repented of his sin and trusted in the finished work of Christ on the cross and His resurrection. It was in this same church that he met and married his wife of many years now, Rebecca. God blessed them with three wonderful daughters who also married and gave Roy and Rebecca seven much loved grandchildren. While Roy and Rebecca were still dating, Roy sensed the call of God to give up his own goals and ambitions to become a preacher of the gospel and to serve in His ministry. Rebecca had sensed the same thing for him and gladly joined him in this call. Across the years they have served churches in Tennessee, Arkansas and now Illinois where Roy was pastor and Rebecca started women's ministries, children's Sunday School classes and serving a number of times as worship leader. While Roy was attending Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, they felt God’s call to the foreign mission field. After graduation with a Master of Divinity degree, they moved their little family to New Orleans for extra study at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. They were then appointed by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention to serve the Lord in Latin America. After a year of study at the Instituto de Lenguas Espanolas in Costa Rica, they moved to Chile where they served for six years as church planters. For the past 28 years they have been serving churches in Illinois. In August of 2024 Roy was invited to become the covocational pastor of the First Baptist Church of Manteno IL. The Lord has blessed the ministry during that time. Many have come to Christ, receiving Him as Lord and Savior and following Him in believer’s baptism. All who are seeking to fill the emptiness in their lives are invited to come and join us as we continue to serve God in Manteno.