Junior Hill, a beloved Alabama evangelist whose ministry spanned seven decades, died Jan. 3. He was 87.
A native of Hartselle, Hill began his ministry at age 19. He served as a pastor for 11 years in Alabama and Mississippi before becoming a full-time evangelist in 1967. Over the course of his ministry, he led more than 1,700 revivals and numerous crusades overseas. He frequently spoke at pastors’ meetings, evangelism conferences, seminaries and state conventions.
Sammy Gilbreath, retired director of the office of evangelism for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, once described Hill as “one of the greatest harvesters in the country today.”
‘Untold numbers in the Kingdom today’
“There are untold numbers in the Kingdom today due to his personal soul-winning, his encouraging message for others to be faithful sharing their faith and his harvest of souls due to his anointed preaching,” Gilbreath said.
Hill earned a bachelor’s degree from Samford University in Birmingham and a master’s degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, who named him Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 1995.
He earned a doctorate from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and was also awarded a doctor of divinity degree from Covington Seminary in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.
He also wrote 17 books, including his autobiography, “They Call Him Junior.”
Lifetime award
In 2021, Hill was honored with the inaugural Fred Wolfe Lifetime Pastoral Ministry Award at the Alabama Baptist Pastors Conference, an award given annually since to a pastor who has invested through mentoring, discipling and encouraging other men of God.
“I feel very inadequate for any kind of recognition like that,” said Hill, who at the time was approaching his 70th year in ministry. “I’m just a backwoods preacher; I don’t know much, but I love Jesus.”
But Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, said he has seen definitely that level of investment from Hill across the board and even in his own life. He said he first met Hill as a teenage preacher and was “amazed at how much interest he had in my life and ministry.”
He ‘walked the walk’
From that moment forward, Hill was one of his main encouragers, he said, and Hill also modeled what it looked like to live a life of sharing the gospel.
“The name Junior Hill is synonymous with evangelism,” Lance said. “He was the walking definition and description of an evangelistic preacher. He preached to thousands of people during his decades of ministry.”
Hill didn’t just talk about sharing his faith, he “walked the walk,” Lance said. “He was an effective personal witness for Christ. His walk with the Lord was a testimony to the goodness and greatness of God.”
‘Giant of the faith’
Hill leaves behind a hole in Baptist life, Lance said. “Alabama Baptists and Southern Baptists have lost a giant of the faith — a man who made a difference in so many people’s lives. Yet he was always humble, never haughty. Junior gave all the glory to God for his ministry.”
Hill is survived by his wife, Carole; son, Mark; daughter, Melanie; and five grandchildren.
His funeral is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 9, at 1 p.m. at Westmeade Baptist Church in Decatur. Burial will be at Salem Cemetery in Hartselle with Peck Funeral Home directing. Visitation begins at 10 a.m. Jan. 9 at the church.
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