Hoyt Bailey
1913-1994
The Life of Hoyt Bailey
Hoyt Bailey (1913–1994) was a tireless gospel preacher whose life was marked by hard work, remarkable memory, and deep commitment to the Scriptures. Born February 27, 1913, in Marion County near Haleyville, Alabama, he was the middle child in a family of nine, the son of Mr. and Mrs. G. J. Bailey. The family worshiped with the Whitehouse church of Christ, though several members had previously been involved in denominations before obeying the gospel. From childhood, Hoyt was taught to work; he spent his early years on the farm and in the sawmill, attending school only a few months each year at Wise Schoolhouse on the family farm.
Bailey was first baptized at age fourteen, but after reading and studying the Bible for himself, he became convinced that what he had done was not in harmony with the New Testament pattern. In full sincerity he was baptized again, “as though he had never made any pretense.” Around age seventeen, his interest in the Scriptures intensified. He began a diligent, systematic study of the Bible, memorizing large portions of the New Testament. He often went over his memory work while plowing or walking along the road. His hunger for truth and and the preaching of it led him to walk and trot fourteen miles on several nights just to hear G. A. Dunn, Sr. preach in a gospel meeting. He borrowed and devoured books of sermons and continued to commit Scripture to memory, laying the foundation for a lifetime of powerful, Scripture-saturated preaching.
The Firm Foundation later recounted that Bailey was especially inspired by hearing men such as brothers Dunn, W. A. Black, Chester Estes, and Gus Nichols in gospel meetings, and by studying the sermons of other outstanding preachers of his day. Their influence, along with his own study, stirred him to begin proclaiming “the news of salvation.” At age eighteen, he informed one of the elders at the Whitehouse congregation that he was willing to read Scripture or lead prayer whenever called upon. When asked to read, he recited the entire chapter from memory, to the astonishment of the other worshippers. Desiring to preach, he memorized his first sermon and walked six miles on a Wednesday to secure permission from the elders to preach the following Sunday. Though hesitant at first, they agreed, and Bailey preached his first sermon on the third Lord’s day of January 1932. Still in high school at the time, he soon began receiving invitations to preach in rural congregations throughout his home county. Before long, every Sunday was filled. Many Lord’s days he walked ten miles, preached, and received no financial support for his efforts.
Bailey’s formal education came in short but significant stretches, always woven around his preaching. In the fall of 1934 he enrolled at Harding College, taking high school work, a college Bible class, and a speech class while preaching at several points around Searcy, Arkansas, during the 1934–35 school year. His first week-long meeting, held only five miles from his home, resulted in sixty-four responses, including twenty-seven baptisms. In April 1936, he moved to Warren, Arkansas, to help strengthen the congregation there. He supported himself at a planing mill while the church paid his board, and during his stay a new frame church building was erected. That fall he entered David Lipscomb College in Nashville, Tennessee. After returning to Warren in June 1937 for a few months, he then labored three months with the Springfield congregation in Jacksonville, Florida, in early 1938. Upon leaving Florida, he held a summer’s work in Andalusia, Alabama, where twenty-four were added to the congregation, nineteen of whom were baptized.
From there Bailey widened his field, preaching in various states and eventually locating in East Tennessee. While working with the congregation in Copperhill, Tennessee, he determined to pursue further training, and in the fall of 1939 entered Freed-Hardeman College, taking the special preacher’s course for six months. During this time he continued preaching every other Sunday in Copperhill and on alternate Sundays in Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas, even turning down calls from Missouri and Illinois due to his crowded schedule. While at Freed-Hardeman, he accepted a call from the Chapel Avenue church in Nashville to engage in mission work in Buffalo, New York. After three months in Buffalo, he was transferred to Mississippi, beginning work in Meridian in July. There he preached each Lord’s Day at 8:15 a.m. over radio station WCOC, taught the morning Bible class, preached at the 11 o’clock service, then drove a 120-mile round trip to preach in Laurel in the afternoon, before returning to Meridian to lead singing and preach again at night. By that time he had preached in nearly a dozen states and even received invitations from Canada. Those who knew him reported that he aimed, in time, to be able to quote the entire New Testament from memory.
In 1951, he produced a book of 26 radio sermons, called, "Things Old And New In Religion." This work went through several reprints as well as being translated into six different languages.
Over the course of his ministry, Bailey continued to preach across Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, New York, and other places, often still walking long distances in the early years—one annual report noted he had walked approximately seven hundred miles to fill his regular appointments. During the 1940s he served the Lord's Church in Abilene, Texas, and then in Wichita, Kansas. Through the early 1950s Bailey preached for Texas churches in North Houston, Irving, Dallas, Corpus Christi, Quanah, and Borger. In the late 1950s Bailey served the Valley View church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Then, in the early 1960s he preached for the Beesville, Texas church. In the late 1960s and early 70s, he preached in Phoenix City, Alabama for about five or six years. Then, through the early 1980s he preached in Vails Gate, New York. In his later years he lived in Huntsville, Alabama, working among the churches there and continuing to serve as a seasoned, respected worker in the kingdom.
Hoyt Bailey passed from this life on February 1, 1994, just days shy of his eighty-first birthday. He was laid to rest in Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama. Remembered as a man of strong memory, unwavering conviction, and tireless effort—often measured in miles walked rather than dollars received—Bailey stands as a vivid example of a self-taught, Scripture-filled evangelist whose life was shaped by the gospel he preached and the faithful people who inspired him.
-Scott Harp, 11.09.2025
Editor's Note: My home congregation is the South Haleyville church of Christ, in Haleyville, Winston County, Alabama. This little congregation that sits on the edge of Marion County was started in the early 1930s. One of its first preachers was Marion County native, Hoyt Bailey. Over the many years of its existence, this little group of Christians there have helped to produce at least ten young men to commit their lives to ministry, and they count Hoyt Bailey as one of them. I know at least five others: my father, Richard T. Harp, my son, Richard S. Harp, my first cousin, Ronnie Holt, his son, Riley Holt, and myself. We love our home church!
Sources: Firm Foundation, November 11, 1941, p.3; Gospel Advocate, January 4, 1934, p.25.
Gospel Advocate, 11.30.1972, p.763
The Wichita Eagle, Wichita, Kansas
Saturday, July 1, 1950, p. 12
Sapulpa Daily Herald, Sapulpa, Oklahoma
Sunday, October 26, 1958, p.15
The Tulsa Tribune, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Monday, September 29, 1958, p. 13
Obituary for Hoyt Bailey
Huntsville News, Huntsville, Alabama
Thursday, February 3, 1994, p.3
Directions To Grave
Hoyt Bailey is buried in the Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville Alabama. Several gospel preachers of yesteryear are buried there. The GPS below is the actual location of the grave. It is in Section 31 in the cemetery. See map below.
GPS Location
34°43'52.7"N 86°34'12.4"W
or D.d. 34.731297, -86.570122
Grave location is circled above in Section 31
Hoyt Bailey
February 27, 1913
February 1, 1994
Photos Taken 06.03.2023
Webpage Produced 10.08.2025
Courtesy Of Scott Harp
www.TheRestorationMovement.com