45 Years of Faithful Service

This month Pastor Leigh Robinson celebrates an amazing milestone – he has served the Lord in full time ministry for 45 years!

Leigh was born in 1948 into a non-Christian family, the eldest of four children. He became a Christian at the age of 9 or 10 after a school friend invited him to Sunday School where two Sunday school teachers (Beryl Brandon and Beryl Bird) had a profound influence on his life. Very early on all his other boyish ambitions faded and he knew God had called him to serve Him for the rest of his life.

Leigh was discipled through the ministries and people at Durban North Baptist Church. In 1960, soon after his conversion, he started inviting his unsaved friends to his home on Friday afternoons where he taught them Bible truths. He also edited a little magazine called “Setting Sun”, which contained memory verses and quizzes. It was also at Durban North that Leigh had his first lessons in expository preaching by his pastor, Dr John Poorter.

It was during his teen years as he observed and worked with Terry and Ethel Smith, graduates from Prairie Bible College in Canada who ran a youth camp on the North Coast, that his desire to study at the same place was born. On 31 August, 1967 Leigh left South Africa at the age of 18 bound for Prairie Bible College in Western Canada.

Leigh loved everything about Bible college (even the snow) and, in his second year, was elected as Class President. His ability to preach soon became evident and he was given many opportunities to preach in churches in the surrounding area. Two summers were spent pastoring a church in the little farming community of Wainwright, Alberta.

In 1971, after graduation, Leigh was invited to join the staff at Prairie to serve as Associate Dean of Men and lecture in personal evangelism. At the age of 23, he was the youngest member of the College Board of Directors. He married Esther Scidmore, a classmate, in 1972. Two years later, Jonathan was born. And two years after that, in 1976, the family travelled to South Africa for a 4 month holiday so Esther and Jonathan could see Leigh’s homeland and meet his family and friends. A few weeks before they were to return to Canada, Esther, at the age of 26, and Leigh’s sister, Jayne, just before her 21st birthday, were killed in a car accident.

Leigh and Jonathan returned to Prairie where Leigh served as Dean of Students after being Dean of Men for a number of years. He also lectured from the Book of Psalms which became his comfort in his grief.

Nine months after Leigh and Irene (former student and staff member) married, they left Canada where Leigh had lived for 11 years (4 years as a student and 7 years on staff) and Leigh took up the position of Senior Pastor at Durban North Baptist. At the age of 29 he was preaching to men and women who had been his Sunday school teachers and leading men who were twice his age. Two daughters, Sarah and Julie, were born while they were at Durban North.

After 6 ½ years of much learning and growing as a pastor and preacher, Leigh was asked to pastor a young, growing church in the north of Johannesburg, Honeyridge Baptist. It was here as Leigh prepared and preached two new sermons most weeks that he grew to love the Scriptures more and more. The church grew from 150 to 900 people in the 16 ½ years of his ministry.

Leigh’s passionate interest in missions had an outlet when he was part of the Missions Department of the Baptist Union for 9 years.

The call to return to Canada and pastor a city church in Victoria, B.C. was a difficult one to answer. But after much soul searching and discussion with others, the answer was YES and Leigh began his ministry at Central Baptist in 2001. As wonderful as the Canadian lifestyle was, Leigh’s heart was still in Africa. He missed the energy and challenges of ministry here.

So after 3 marvellous years at Central where life-long friendships were formed, the decision to return to Johannesburg was made. Leigh’s ministry at Rosebank Union began in September, 2004…almost 12 years ago.

In the 4 churches where Leigh has ministered, he has elevated missions, missionaries, and world issues to the congregation, seeking to make them aware of and involved with God’s interests and work around the world. A number of those who sat under his ministry are now either in pastoral or missionary work and he still faithfully prays for them every Saturday night.

Being invited to speak at missionary retreats all over the world has brought Leigh much joy over the years…places like Bolivia, Argentina, India, Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Cameroon, DRC, Mozambique, Swaziland, Malawi, etc.

Even though Leigh has been invited to pastor a variety of churches during these 45 years in full time ministry, his satisfaction has come in being committed to a church for the long term. Being able to conduct the weddings for children he once dedicated or even marrying a child of a couple he married has been so special. He has married almost 300 couples and conducted the funerals of over 330 people.

Leigh’s focus in preaching has been on helping people know the Scriptures for themselves, but he is not only a great preacher, his warm, pastoral heart is evident in all he does.

We praise and thank the Lord for all He has done in and through Leigh over these years and pray that He will continue to use him for many more.