Bio

After nearly four decades of pastoring, Roger and Emma Jane Bixler served the Lord in various special furlough replacement assignments around the world before retiring in 2010. 

Roger grew up in a family of preachers. His great-grandfather, grandfather, and three uncles were all preachers. He regularly attended church, was baptized, catechized, and became a member of the church. Despite being an active member and even teaching junior high Sunday school, his soul was empty. While in high school, Roger realized that salvation was not religion but a relationship with Jesus Christ. He gratefully accepted Christ’s free gift of eternal life in 1948. For several years Roger rebelled against becoming a pastor himself. The Lord patiently worked in his heart and in 1950, Roger surrendered to the call to preach.

Emma Jane was also blessed to grow up in a Christian home. Externally, she went through all the motions—faithfully attending and eventually joining the church. But when she was a teenager, she visited a Youth Fellowship Club. Through interaction with the Christian young people, Emma Jane realized she wasn’t saved at all. She began to search the Scriptures, and one night she received Christ as her Savior. She later dedicated her life to the Lord for full-time service. 

The Bixlers both attended Bob Jones University and got married during college. Roger then completed his MDiv at Faith Seminary in Pennsylvania. After graduation, Roger pastored Westerville Bible Church for many years. Throughout their years of ministry, the Bixlers always had a special love for missions. They hosted many missionaries in their home and established personal relationships with them. One of the great concerns missionaries mentioned was leaving their work on the field during furlough and rebuilding it when they returned. The Bixlers prayed about how the Lord might allow them to help.

In 1995, Roger and Emma Jane applied to GFA to serve as furlough replacement missionaries. The couple put their talents to work—preaching, witnessing, discipling, hosting social events, and organizing for missionaries on furlough. They faithfully served in this role for 23 years.