A Ministry of Sharing
Our History
How forty years of preaching became a stack of hand-bound study guides — and why they are being printed again, this time in pixels.
The Story of Roy B. Hilton
Roy B. Hilton was a respected minister who devoted his life to faith, learning and community service. Born in 1914 in Erin, Tennessee, he served as a minister for many decades across Arkansas and Texas, including leadership roles at First Baptist Church in Harrison, Arkansas, in North Little Rock, and in El Dorado.
Roy always wore a smile on his face, and the flocks he served saw him as a trusted friend who could combine biblical truths with a funny story — often over a game of pool.
After retirement, Roy formed A Ministry of Sharing, a series of self-published study guides from the Bible that were mailed to eager learners across the country. Based on his forty years of biblical teaching and pastoral duties, these easy-to-understand writings were printed on a small press in his backyard office — nicknamed Potato House #2, a reference to his early days in rural Arkansas.
In the evenings, his beloved wife Muriel would turn his handwritten notes into typed manuscripts, which were then transferred to metal plates for the next day’s printing. Quickly the papers began to pile up, so Roy would employ his grandkids to collate the stacks into complete books, bind them together by hand, and prepare them for mailing.
“The smell of ink and solvents permeated my clothing, but Roy and I had a blast that year — and I learned a few things from him along the way.”
-Kerry Hilton
– Roy B. Hilton and family, circa 1953.
Passing the Press
After Roy’s passing in 1993, his son Kenneth Hilton assumed the duties of the ministry and kept the presses running from his home in Houston, Texas. In 2010, Ken went home to be with the Lord, and for the most part Roy’s study guides have been quietly waiting for another to pick them up and get them into the hands of another generation.
One Condition
I was one of those grandkids who spent a summer with Dad-Dad — our Dad’s Dad — putting together those original copies. Weeks before his passing, I went to see him and comfort him as his illness with ALS was rapidly progressing. His tongue was thick and his speech was difficult, but as we said our goodbyes, I asked him if I could have a complete set of his study guides.
He told me yes, under one condition: that I read them, and then share them forward.
Following in the footsteps of Roy and Ken, I’m taking to task to convert Roy’s original works into eBooks — digital downloads for anyone with the desire to go deeper into God’s Word.
After all, His eternal truths never die.
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