Bob & Gretchen DeVoe

Bob and Gretchen serve on our Generosity & Philanthropy Team.

You keep ministry momentum moving when you support the ministry of our stateside missionaries: our Lifeline staff who dedicate their lives 24/7 to restoring hope around the world. Your prayers and donations enable our staff to be your hands and feet, as God's love is shared through Lifeline's ministry communities!

We began having children within 2 years and God gave us 3 wonderful children: Rob, Renee’ and Ron.  Rob went to be with Jesus in 2015 after a 2 year battle with cancer, but not before he served 5 years at Lifeline as Database Manager and after he led his wife and 5 stepchildren to Jesus.  Renee’ has worked with Lifeline for over 25 years. She first worked from home while mothering her 3 boys and then at the Ohio ministry center where she continues today. Our third son, Ron, is in Restaurant Management.  As parents we are proud of our children who were partly raised going to Haiti with us in the 1980s and beyond. They fell in love with the Haitian people, as we did, and their lives were transformed through the mission. They’ve given us a combined total of 13 grandchildren and 5 great grands. One grandchild, Lukas, also works at Lifeline and is a graduate of Kentucky Christian University.

As founders we had a transition plan and at the end of 2015 we stepped down from leadership and passed our torches to those who came behind us.  There’s a Steve Green song we love that was recorded and popularized in 1988: May All Who Come Behind Us Find Us Faithful. One verse says “May the fire of our devotion light their way; may the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe and the lives we live inspire them to obey”.   This was and is our prayer.  The song begins with the words “We are pilgrims on a journey….”.  This is true for all God’s children and our journeys continue until we take our last breath.  So we continue serving even though our roles have changed. We remain on Lifeline’s Board of Directors for life, and are continuing on staff in fund-raising, and representing Lifeline wherever the path takes us.

For nearly 40 years we spent most of our life in the mission field. Today we are enjoying what God has given us, counting our blessings, and doing fun things: reading, writing our book, golfing, Florida vacationing, swimming, praying, and spending more time with family and friends. We enjoy eating out and all while still carving out time to work.  Because we travel stateside we continue to be blessed by meeting Lifeline supporters and seeking new ones. We are available to share the Lifeline Story in person and to be an encouragement to staff.

Here are some of our favorite verses from God’s word: 

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12: 1 & 2

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10