Portrait of Charles Middleton. IMB Photo
Charles Raymond Middleton, an International Mission Board missionary emeritus who shared the gospel in Malawi, South Africa, and Lesotho, died Oct. 31, 2025. He was 86.
Charles was born Jan. 10, 1939, in Natchitoches, Louisiana, to the late Raymond Middleton and Mary Ann LaCour Middleton. He graduated from Fair Park High School in Shreveport, Louisiana, and received the Bachelor of Arts from Louisiana Baptist College (now Louisiana Baptist University), Pineville, and the Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas.
Charles married Glenda Ann Evans on Jan. 25, 1959. He was pastor of Liberty Hill Church near Bienville, Louisiana, and later became the pastor of New Bethel Church near Arcadia, Louisiana. In 1963, they moved to Fort Worth, where Charles entered Southwestern seminary. During this time, he worked at Ben Franklin Variety Store and was a student staff supply preacher at the Baptist Goodwill Center in Fort Worth. In 1966, he was called as pastor of Bienville Baptist Church.
While seeking missionary appointment Charles wrote, “God has used the imbalance of laborers in the harvest to draw me toward foreign missions. This has been vivid to me since a Friday night in 1962 when I was alone at the New Bethel Church. I read a tract published by the Sudan Interior Mission. It formulated and illustrated what had been impressing me. It simply stated that a logger with ten men would not put nine on the light end and one on the heavy end to carry a load. God used this to indicate he needed me in the area where the laborers were fewest.”
In 1968, the International Mission Board appointed Charles and Glenda missionaries to Malawi. Charles was a general evangelist and planted churches, trained pastors, developed media materials, and was language advisor and mentor to new missionaries. Charles and Glenda later served in Transkei (now part of South Africa) where he worked in church development and literature translation. In 1993, they moved to Lesotho. During their time in Lesotho, Glenda passed away.
In 1996, Charles married former missionary colleague Rebecca Phifer. Together, they served a final term in Lesotho, planting churches and translating Baptist literature into the local language. Charles retired after almost 32 years of missionary service.
Charles was preceded in death by his first wife of 36 years, Glenda Evans Middleton.
He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Rebecca Phifer Middleton; children, Vicki Middleton Blackwell (Brent); Carl Middleton; Melanie Phifer Miller (John); Charles Phifer (Hope); Rachel Phifer; and Kirk Phifer (Kristen); and a number of grandchildren and great grandchildren.
A funeral service was held Nov. 15 at Rose-Neath Funeral Homes, Arcadia, Louisiana.
Read an obituary here.