David O. Dykes
Born (1953-01-16) January 16, 1953
NationalityAmerican
EducationSamford University[1]
OccupationClergyman
SpouseCynthia "Cindy" Dykes[2]
ChildrenTwo daughters[1]
ReligionSouthern Baptist
OrdainedSouthern Baptist Theological Seminary[1]
Congregations served
Green Acres Baptist Church of Tyler, Texas
TitlePastor Emeritus
Websitewww.gabc.org

Dr. David O. Dykes (born January 16, 1953) is Pastor Emeritus and the former Senior Pastor of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas.[1] He is also the author of several Christian books. Under his leadership Green Acres became "one of the leading churches in America," according to president of the SBC Executive Committee Morris Chapman.[3]

He has opened the Texas Legislature with prayer[4][5] and opened the US House with prayer in 2008.[6][7]

Dykes was honored by the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee with its highest honor, the M.E. Dodd Award, for a lifetime of work.[3]

Early life and education

Dr. Dykes was reared in South Alabama,[1] where he began preaching at age 17.[1] He received a B.A. from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama in 1975.[1] Rev. Dykes received his Master of Divinity degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.[1] He also earned his Doctor of Ministry degree with emphasis on evangelism and church growth from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.[1] He received post-doctoral training at Cambridge University in Cambridge, England.[1]

Ministry

Dykes has been preaching since 1970.[1] He pastored churches in Alabama before coming to Green Acres Baptist Church in 1991.[8] Green Acres has roughly 14,000 members.[3] Roughly 6,000 people worship there each Sunday, and about 8,000 people worship there on major Christian holidays.[8] Since he took over as pastor, 2,000 people were baptized at the church.[3]

Green Acres was designated a Global Priority Church by the International Missions Board because of Dr. Dykes's emphasis on missions.[8] The North American Mission Board also designated Green Acres as a Key Church due to Dykes's work partnering with other churches for missions at home and overseas.[8] In the last fourteen years, Green Acres has sent over 1,000 volunteer missionaries[3] to various locations worldwide and has been the church among Southern Baptists with the most given to the Cooperative Program for the last 14 years.[1] He has personally led mission teams to 10 countries,[3] including trips to Ukraine, Mexico, Belize, Brazil, and Argentina. He trains church leaders in the US and around the world each year on biblical principles of leadership.[1] Dykes has led over twenty educational tours to the Holy Land Israel.[1]

He is an enthusiastic supporter of the Cooperative Program.[8] Green Acres is regularly the top contributor to the Cooperative Program. In 2007, they raised $1,445,909, almost a half-million dollars more than the second-place total.[3] The cooperative program has received $10 million since 2000, more than half of the total $18.4 million raised for missions.[3]

In 2009, he hosted the Hope For 100 "If You Were Mine" conference with the goal of encouraging people to adopt and foster care.[9] He is also a supporter of Acquire the Fire's Relentless Pursuit.[10]

In February 2021 Dykes announced his pending retirement from the pulpit, to take place at the end of August, in order to allow a smooth transition to whoever will be the new pastor,[11] something which he mentioned didn't happen when he became pastor.[12] Dr. Michael Gossett became Senior Pastor August 29, 2021.

Politics

Dr. Dykes participated in Pulpit Freedom Sunday, voicing support for Mitt Romney.[13] Dr. Dykes and Congressman Gohmert invited Joel Rosenberg to discuss his book, Damascus Count Down, about the endtimes and the possibility of a foreign-policy mistake by a president leading to war.[14] He takes public political positions that upset some people[13] because of his ties to elected officials in his church, mostly Congressman Louie Gohmert.

He endorsed Tom Leppert for Senate.[15]

Writings

Dr. Dykes has published articles in Moody Monthly, Church Administration and Guideposts.[1] He is the author of eleven books.[1]

Books

  • Handling Life's Disappointments (1993)
  • Do Angels Really Exist?: Separating Fact from Fantasy (1996)
  • Ten Requirements for American's Survival (2004)
  • Character Out of Chaos: Daring to Be a Daniel in Today's World (2005)
  • Angels Really Do Exist (2005)
  • Finding Peace in Your Pain (2008)
  • No, That's Not in the Bible (2009)
  • Revelation: God's Final Word (2010)
  • Jesus Storyteller: Timeless Truths from His Parables (2011)
  • Hope When You Need It Most (2012)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Our Pastor". Gabc.org. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  2. ↑ "GABC Pastor David O. Dykes". Gabc.org. Retrieved 2016-06-24.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Tyler pastor Dykes receives top cooperation award". Baptiststandard.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  4. ↑ "Matt Schaefer | Texas State Representative, District 6". Mattfortexas.org. Archived from the original on 2014-01-11. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  5. ↑ "House Invocation - Rev. David Dykes - May 24, 2013". YouTube. 2013-05-24. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  6. ↑ "Tyler Pastor David Dykes opens Congress in Prayer". YouTube. 2008-09-10. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  7. ↑ "Pastor Dykes gives opening prayer at House of Representatives - KLTV.com-Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville, Texas | ETX News". KLTV.com. 11 September 2008. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Pastor: God blesses churches committed to CP Missions - (BP)". Bpnews.net. 2005-04-01. Archived from the original on 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  9. ↑ "Case Study: Green Acres Bible Church". Hope For 100. 2009-01-03. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  10. ↑ "Endorsements for Teen Mania and Acquire The Fire". Acquirethefire.com. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  11. ↑ "Pastor David's Retirement".
  12. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Pastor David's Retirement. YouTube.
  13. 1 2 "Pastors using the pulpit to preach politics | KETK | East Texas News, Weather and Sports | Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville". Ketknbc.com. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  14. ↑ Sanders, Shaley. "Best-selling author visits ETX for talks on Middle East - KTRE.com | Lufkin and Nacogdoches, Texas". KTRE.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  15. ↑ "Christian evangelical leaders endorse Leppert for Senate | Trail Blazers Blog". Trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com. 2012-04-25. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
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