Steve and Donna Gaines

Dr. Steve Gaines officially became the seventh Pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church on August 1, 2005, and preached his first sermon as Pastor on September 11, 2005. Dr. Gaines was ordained to the Gospel Ministry by the First Baptist Church, Dyersburg, Tennessee, in 1980, and he received a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Pastor Steve and his wife, Donna, have four children: Grant, Lindsey, Allison, and Bethany; and two grandchildren, Alivia and Weston.

 

Meet Steve Gaines
Born: Corinth, Mississippi
Married to Donna J. Dodds

Children:

Darrell Grant Lindsey Carol Allison Kirby Bethany Elise

Ordained to the Gospel Ministry by the First Baptist Church, Dyersburg, Tennessee, 1980
Licensed to the Gospel Ministry by the First Baptist Church, Dyersburg, Tennessee, 1977
Hobbies: Swimming, water skiing, hunting, playing guitar, reading
Travel: Israel (6), England, France, China, and Mongolia

 

 

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas
Major: Preaching; Minor: Evangelism
Title of Dissertation: “An Analysis of the Correlation between Representative Baptist Hour Sermons by Herschel H. Hobbs and Selected Articles of The Baptist Faith and Message.”

 

Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas

 

Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Union University, Jackson, Tennessee

 

University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, Tennessee
Attended freshman and sophomore years
Full football scholarship at UTM
Starting defensive end, freshman and sophomore years

 

Dyersburg High School, Dyersburg, Tennessee, 1975

 

 

Pastor, First Baptist Church, Gardendale, Alabama, 1991-2005.
Baptisms:
1st in baptisms in Alabama Baptist State Convention (a total of 3,100+ Baptist churches) in 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, and 2004; (2nd in 1996, 2001 and 2003)

 

Morning Worship:
Began three morning worship services in September, 1996 to accommodate growth. Increased average morning worship attendance from 1600 to an average of 3,300 in morning worship

 

Sunday School:
Increased average on-campus Sunday School attendance from 1,550 to 2,591

 

 

 

 

 

 

Southern Baptist Convention:
President of Southern Baptist Pastors Conference, 2005
Preached the Convention Sermon, 2004
Member of Baptist Faith and Message Study Committee, 1999-2000
Committee on Nominations, 1991, 1999
Trustee, LifeWay Christian Resources (formerly Baptist Sunday School Board), 1998-2000

 

Alabama Baptist State Convention:
President, Pastors’ Conference of Alabama Baptist State Convention, 1999 State Board of Missions, 1992-1995

 

Other:
Board of Reference, Union University, Jackson, Tennessee, 2003-present

 

 

Morning Manna, 365 daily devotional readings
When God Comes to Church