Soul of 78: Jacob Butler

Pastor, Carbon Hill Church of God of Prophecy

Words by Thomas Ingle | Images by Ryan McGill

The Church of God of Prophecy, founded in 1886, now has over 12,000 congregations and 1.5 million members worldwide. Among those members is Jacob Butler, the pastor of one of its congregations.

What sets Jacob apart is his legacy — he's a sixth-generation minister. His great-great-great-grandmother, Josie McCurry, was a minister in the Kimberly Church of God in 1916, and every generation since then has included someone in ministry.

Jacob was born and raised in Carbon Hill, Alabama, and has been a lifelong attendee of the Carbon Hill Church of God of Prophecy. For him, the church is truly a family tradition.

Jacob shares a similar path to ministry as his grandfather, John Butler. Reflecting on their parallel journeys, he says, "I was raised right and raised in the ways of the Lord, but I went my own way and did my own thing and ran away from God a little bit. I think he had the same story, where there was a time when he wasn't living for the Lord, and then God called him into the ministry about the same time, in his 20s. But I know that once the Lord called him, that's what he lived for."

Jacob's connection to ministry runs even deeper through his mother, Tracy Sutton, whose role in the church was driven by both necessity and calling. "She didn't have a choice," Jacob says.

"You often take a ministry role because you're called to it, or sometimes, you take it because you're the only one willing to do it. Hers was both. She wore many hats. She was a worship pastor, a youth pastor, and even led children's church for a while. She taught on Wednesdays, drove the church bus, and did everything they needed her to do. But throughout all of that, she's always felt a heart and a call to youth and children's ministry. So, part of it was necessity, but the majority of it was that the Lord called her to do it."

During high school, Jacob and his friends formed a worship group that started with simply playing instruments together. This eventually led them to perform at various events, and it was during this time that Jacob felt God leading him out of his timidity and into singing and speaking.

Over the years, people spoke over Jacob, often telling him he would one day become a pastor, possibly even taking over his grandfather's role at the church. That prediction came true when Jacob and his wife, Jess, became youth pastors after his mother took a position at another church.

After six years in youth ministry, Jacob felt an undeniable calling back into pastoral ministry. With a growing conviction and several confirmations, God opened the doors for him to become the pastor of the Carbon Hill Church of God of Prophecy. He stepped into this role in August 2023.

Having served as pastor for just over a year, Jacob leads his congregation with a sense of purpose, knowing that every step of his journey has prepared him for this moment. "God prepared me for this," he says, confident in the path ahead for both himself and his church. 78