Longtime ‘country preacher,’ evangelist Roper dies at 88

Emmett Roper, a longtime Alabama Baptist evangelist, died Jan. 11. He was 88.

Roper, who called himself “a country preacher,” served in ministry for more than 60 years. Called to preach at 16, he had a radio show at 17 with another preacher. He graduated from The Baptist College of Florida (now The Baptist University of Florida) in Graceville.

Over the years, he was a bivocational pastor in Jacksonville, Webster’s Chapel and Pine Level and a full-time pastor in Columbia, Gadsden and Dothan. He published books and taught classes on how to evangelize.

Roper has also preached in a variety of places and spoken at a prayer breakfast for the Alabama Legislature. He was moderator of Columbia Baptist Association (now Southeast Alabama Baptist Association), vice president of the Alabama Baptist Pastors Conference and evangelism chairman for Etowah Baptist Association.

He is preceded in death by his first wife of 52 years, Bobbie, and his second wife of 18 years, Lela. He is survived by his daughter, Brenda, and one grandson.