Dr. David O. Dykes (born January 16, 1953) is Pastor Emeritus and the former Senior Pastor of

Green Acres Baptist Church Green Acres Baptist Church is a Baptist megachurch based in Tyler, Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's ...

in Tyler, Texas. 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. He has opened the Texas Legislature with prayer and opened the US House with prayer in 2008. Dykes was honored by the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee with its highest honor, the M.E. Dodd Award, for a lifetime of work.

Early life and education

Dr. Dykes was reared in South Alabama, where he began preaching at age 17. He received a B.A. from

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

in Birmingham, Alabama in 1975. Rev. Dykes received his

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

degree from the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at ...

in Louisville, Kentucky. He also earned his Doctor of Ministry degree with emphasis on

evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

and church growth from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He received post-doctoral training at Cambridge University in Cambridge, England.

Ministry

Dykes has been preaching since 1970. He pastored churches in Alabama before coming to Green Acres Baptist Church in 1991. Green Acres has roughly 14,000 members. Roughly 6,000 people worship there each Sunday, and about 8,000 people worship there on major Christian holidays. Since he took over as pastor, 2,000 people were baptized at the church. Green Acres was designated a Global Priority Church by the International Missions Board because of Dr. Dykes's emphasis on missions. 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. In the last fourteen years, Green Acres has sent over 1,000 volunteer missionaries 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. He has personally led mission teams to 10 countries, 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. Dykes has led over twenty educational tours to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

Israel. He is an enthusiastic supporter of the

Cooperative Program The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The word ...

. 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. The cooperative program has received $10 million since 2000, more than half of the total $18.4 million raised for missions. In 2009, he hosted the Hope For 100 "If You Were Mine" conference with the goal of encouraging people to adopt and foster care. He is also a supporter o
Acquire the Fire's Relentless Pursuit
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, something which he mentioned didn't happen when he became pastor. Dr. Michael Gossett became Senior Pastor August 29, 2021.

Politics

Dr. Dykes participated in

Pulpit Freedom Sunday In the United States of America, Pulpit Freedom Sunday is an annual event which is held in churches. It was founded in 2008 by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) to challenge the prohibition on places of worship from endorsing political candidates. ...

, voicing support for

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

. 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. He takes public political positions that upset some people because of his ties to elected officials in his church, mostly Congressman Louie Gohmert. He endorsed

Tom Leppert Thomas Chris Leppert (born June 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician who is the former CEO of Kaplan, Inc., one of the world's largest education providers. He had oversight of the company's operating divisions (Kaplan Test Prep a ...

for Senate.

Writings

Dr. Dykes has published articles in

Moody Monthly Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college founded in the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, US by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have i ...

, Church Administration and Guideposts. He is the author of eleven books.

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dykes, David O. 1953 births Living people People from Tyler, Texas Samford University alumni Southern Baptist ministers Southern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni