Elder Robert Lee Barton was born in Jamaica, NY the son of Robert Barton Jr. and Willie Mae Barton. The early part of his life he grew up in Philadelphia, PA where he attended the Greater Refuge Church under the leadership of Apostle H. D. Jones.  To escape the inner city environment his mother (Mother Steadman’s sister) sent him to Seguin, Texas in 1963 to live with Bishop and Mother Steadman for a year.  It was during this time that Elder Barton was baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost. In 1967 he returned to Seguin to stay.

Elder Barton graduated from Seguin High School in 1971 and attended Southwest Texas State for two years, but due to the Vietnam War, Elder Barton enlisted in the US Air Force in Oct 73.  Elder Barton served as member of the Security Service/Intelligence Agency during military career he received many awards and was allowed to see the world.  He has served overseas in Italy, Japan, and Crete, Greece, with temporary duty in Saudi Arabia.  He served for 21 years and retired from the Air Force 1 Oct 94. 

After his Air Force career, Elder Barton worked as a system administrations instructor on a UNIX platform for AT&T Technical Services.  He was later recruited by Lockheed Martin IT in 1995 to fill a system administrator’s position at Randolph Air Force Base where he stills works.

 In 1997 Elder Barton obeyed the call of ministry.  In 2001 Elder  Barton was appointed Associate Pastor of the Refuge Church Seguin, TX by Apostle J. P. Steadman.  In 2007 he was appointed Assistant Pastor to Refuge Church by Apostle James Clark. In Aug 2009 Bishop William Jenkins appointed him Interim Pastor of the Macedonia Church.  He also serves as the East Texas Diocese Convention Coordination Committee member, East Texas Trustee member, Professor at Guadalupe Baptist Theological Seminary, instructor for the East Texas Diocese Leadership School, and serves as Executive Secretary for the Southern District of the East Texas Diocese.

In the pursuit of excellent, Elder Barton holds numerous certificates for UNIX Systems and System Administration as well as an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Communication Technology from the Community College Air Force, a Bachelor of Theology Degree and a Master of Theology Degree from the Guadalupe Baptist Theological Seminary.  Eld Barton’s desire to see and experience biblical history has led him to visit Rome, Ephesus, Cairo, and a ten day tour of Israel, which was an experience of a life time.

Elder Barton is married to the former Evelyn Leatrice Ball. They have three children: Robert III, Everett, and Jeanae.  They have been blessed with 8 grandchildren.