David O. Dykes

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]

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.

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]

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