| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, For seven decades, families have come together to |
|
|
celebrate their faith at Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Established on May 1, 1955, with nearly 300 charter |
|
|
members, Green Acres Baptist Church has since played a vital role in |
|
|
the community, providing area residents with myriad opportunities |
|
|
for spiritual growth, fellowship, and community outreach; its |
|
|
ministries serve numerous groups, among them young and senior |
|
|
adults, couples, singles, married adults, women, men, people with |
|
|
disabilities, and people in recovery; it also offers a preschool |
|
|
ministry and a ministry for children with disabilities, staffed by |
|
|
adults experienced in the field; in addition, its multifaceted |
|
|
GraceWorks ministry incorporates counseling; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Green Acres Baptist has benefited from the able |
|
|
leadership of a number of notable pastors, beginning with Pastor |
|
|
Cecil Johnson, who was succeeded in 1962 by Pastor Lester Collins; |
|
|
Pastor Paul Powell guided the church for 17 years beginning in 1972, |
|
|
and David Dykes became senior pastor in 1991; since 2021, |
|
|
Dr. Michael Gossett has served as lead pastor; the current |
|
|
leadership further includes Todd Haymans, executive pastor of |
|
|
ministries, Dr. John Roach, missions pastor, Eddy Espinosa, |
|
|
business and operations administrator, and Hixon Frank, associate |
|
|
pastor; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, |
|
|
the church has grown through the years to encompass two campuses, in |
|
|
Tyler and in Flint; its membership exceeds 18,000, and its services |
|
|
garner an average weekend attendance of approximately 4,000; Sunday |
|
|
services in Tyler feature the Worship Choir, and the Highest Praise |
|
|
Choir, for adults age 55 and older, also performs nationally and at |
|
|
local nursing, retirement, and assisted living facilities; |
|
|
moreover, adult musicians in the orchestra provide music for both |
|
|
worship services and special events; the church also offers |
|
|
recreational opportunities at its Family Life Center, Retreat |
|
|
Center, and Green Acres Sports Complex; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Members of the church are dedicated to sharing their |
|
|
faith in missions at home and abroad; recently, congregants |
|
|
traveled to Kenya, and they plan to take many other missions in 2025 |
|
|
to places ranging from Bucksport, Maine, to Colombia; the church |
|
|
maintains a host of local outreach partnerships as well with such |
|
|
organizations as Bethesda Health Clinic, Breckenridge Village, |
|
|
Celebrate Recovery, Christian Women's Job Corps, Hope Haven of East |
|
|
Texas, Mentoring Alliance, Refuge of Light, The Fostering |
|
|
Collective, and Triumph Village, Tyler; connect groups and |
|
|
volunteers from the church serve schools in the Tyler Independent |
|
|
School District and have collaborated with Churches Serving |
|
|
Schools, a community-wide group of churches; moreover, the |
|
|
congregation participates in disaster relief and prison ministry; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Green Acres Baptist Church has long served as a |
|
|
source of inspiration and spiritual enrichment to those who worship |
|
|
there, and its continued existence is a tribute to the unwavering |
|
|
commitment of its members, both past and present; now, therefore, |
|
|
be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 89th Texas Legislature |
|
|
hereby commemorate the 70th anniversary of Green Acres Baptist |
|
|
Church and extend to the congregation sincere best wishes for many |
|
|
more years of shared prayer and fellowship; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for the church as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
|
|
Senate. |