Jack Frasure Hyles (September 25, 1926 – February 6, 2001) was a leading figure in the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement, having pastored the First Baptist Church of Hammond in Hammond, Indiana, from August 1959 until his death. He was well known for being an innovator of the church bus ministry that brought thousands of people each week from surrounding towns to Hammond for services.Janega, James Rev. "Jack Hyles; Led bus ministry", Chicago Tribune, February 9, 2001. Hyles built First Baptist up from fewer than a thousand members to a membership of 100,000. In 1993 and again in 1994, it was reported that 20,000 people attended First Baptist every Sunday, making it the most attended Baptist church in the United States.Lehmann, Daniel J. "Fundamentalists Shun a Society They Try to Save", Chicago Sun-Times, June 6, 1993, p. 5.Lehmann, Daniel J. "Pastor Linked to Sex Abuse Lashes Out," Chicago Sun-Times, June 2, 1993. p. 5.Chalfant, H. Paul, Religion in Contemporary Society (3rd Edition), Itasca, Illinois: F.E. Peacock Publishers (1994); pp. 363–364. In 2001, at the time of Hyles's death, 20,000 people were attending church services and Sunday school each week.
Biography
Early life and beginnings of ministry Hyles was born and raised in Italy, Texas, a small, low-income city in Ellis County, south of Dallas. Hyles often described his less-than-ideal upbringing which, he said, included a distant father. At the age of eighteen, Hyles enlisted in the United States Army and served as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II. He and his wife, Beverly, were married during the war.
After the war was over, Hyles completed his college education at East Texas Baptist University (then College) in Marshall, the seat of Harrison County. After his graduation from East Texas, Hyles started preaching at several small Texas churches, whose memberships began to grow. These churches included: Marris Chapel Baptist Church, Bogata, Texas; Grange Hall Baptist Church, Marshall, Texas; and Southside Baptist Church, Henderson, Texas. After receiving his education Hyles pastored at the Miller Road Baptist Church in Garland in Dallas County for about six years. During this time the congregation grew from 44 to 4,000 members. It was during those days that Hyles left the Southern Baptist Convention and became an Independent Fundamental Baptist. Hyles then led Miller Road Baptist Church as an independent preacher for a while.Falsani, Cathleen. "Brother Jack Hyles of Hammond dies at 74" Chicago Sun Times, February 8, 2001.
The move to Hammond, Indiana In 1959, Hyles moved to the church-provided parsonage at 8232 Greenwood Avenue, Munster, Indiana, and became the pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond. When he arrived, the church had a membership of about seven hundred, many from affluent backgrounds. About a third of the members left the church after hearing Hyles's preaching style, which was very different from that to which they had been accustomed. Hyles then led the church to its status as an independent fundamental Baptist church—freeing it from its ties with the American Baptists. Hyles started his bus ministry and soon shepherded the church from a congregation of several hundred to more than 20,000. In the early 1990s a national survey ranked First Baptist as the largest church in the nation, by average weekly attendance figures.
Beginning in 1969, and continuing for several years, First Baptist received recognition for the size of its Sunday School. In 1969, Elmer Towns wrote a book called The Ten Largest Sunday Schools and What Makes Them Grow which analyzed First Baptist's Sunday School. Towns presented a plaque to Hyles in 1971, naming First Baptist Church of Hammond the nation's largest Sunday school. In 1972, and for several years following, Christian Life Magazine proclaimed First Baptist Church of Hammond to have "the world's largest Sunday School".
In 1972, Jack Hyles and Russell Anderson founded Hyles–Anderson College, an unaccredited Bible college, to specialize in training Baptist ministers and Christian school teachers. Hyles–Anderson College never sought accreditation because Hyles insisted school accreditation would undermine his ability to control how the college ought to run.Accreditation, Jack Hyles.
Ministry One of the most notable aspects of Hyles's work is his church bus ministry that he helped innovate. As early as 1975, Time magazine described the phenomenon in an article titled, "Superchurch." The Time article notes that First Baptist Church of Hammond Sunday School, which regularly ran almost 14,000 people, pushed the church to a record attendance of 30,560 on March 16, 1975, thanks to a boisterous contest between two bus route teams. Time December 1, 1975 (retrieved June 4, 2006). In that year, the First Baptist bus route ministry consisted of 1,000 workers using 230 buses to ferry as many as 10,000 people every Sunday. In 2001, a fleet of over 200 buses was regularly ferrying 7,000 to 15,000 people from all over the area.
Hyles spoke at The Sword of the Lord conferences with John R. Rice and his own annual "Pastor's School". The school continues to attract as many as seven thousand annual visitors to the Hammond area.
Hyles wrote approximately fifty works in his lifetime with over 14 million total copies in circulation, including the popular Is There A Hell?, based on a sermon he preached at a National Sword of the Lord Conference. Another work, Enemies of Soul Winning tackled many issues considered controversial in fundamentalist and evangelical circles, which include the doctrine of repentance, Lordship salvation, and the role of the church in soul winning. The Calvary Contender wrote, "Hyles will be remembered as a one-of-a-kind, ever controversial leader whose ministry touched the lives of multitudes."
Hyles was better known as "Brother Hyles" to his tens of thousands of congregants.
Hyles often held nationwide speaking engagements. In 1984, for instance, he addressed a large gathering in the small city of Snyder, Texas, the seat of Scurry County, hosted by pastor Luther Wallace "Buck" Hatfield (1929–1995) of Faith Baptist Church. Independent Fundamental Baptists from throughout the area, such as Ross J. Spencer from Bethany Baptist Church in Lubbock, organized bus trips to the convention hall in Snyder. Hatfield and Spencer also adapted the bus ministry approach for their congregations.
In his book, Enemies of Soulwinning, Hyles taught that one could not be born again unless the King James Version was used somewhere along the line in that person's life.Enemies of Soulwinning by Jack Hyles, pp. 46–47. Hyles taught that the Baptist church started not at Pentecost, but rather in AD 31 when Christ was alive and that the Catholic Church was started by the Emperor Constantine in AD 313.
Death On January 30, 2001, Hyles suffered a heart attack; this was followed by a second on February 5, at the outset of more than eight hours of surgery at the University of Chicago Hospital, where Hyles underwent four heart bypasses and two heart valve replacements.
Hyles died on February 6, 2001; a funeral was held at First Baptist Church of Hammond on February 10. Hyles was survived by his wife Beverly, their four children, 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Legacy Honors, award, and praise Hyles attracted praise, an honorary doctorate, and other accolades throughout the course of his life; he also was the subject of frequent criticism. The Washington Post compared the "meek" preaching style of Jerry Falwell to the "spit and fire" of Hyles. The Post suggested that after hearing a preacher like Hyles, "you knew that you'd been preached to".Harrington, Walt. "What Hath Falwell Wrought?" Washington Post, July 24, 1988, p. W19. Falwell said that "Hyles will be remembered as a leader in evangelism through the local church." Falwell also said, "He inspired me as a young pastor to win others to Christ through Sunday school, the pulpit, and personal witnessing. He made a great contribution to the cause of Christ".
Hyles received an honorary doctorate from Midwestern Baptist College, an unaccredited Bible college in Pontiac, Michigan.As discussed along with his misuse of the title on Preying from the Pulpit in May 1993 by WJBK of Detroit.
The Chicago Sun Times wrote about Hyles on the occasion of his death, "When he chose the interests of poor, inner-city kids over millionaire church members, they said he'd never keep the doors of his church open." However, Hyles "proved them all wrong. In the process he built one of the largest congregations in the country, a college, six schools, and a vibrant ministry that will now have to survive without him."
Matthew Barnett, while discussing his work at an inner-city Los Angeles ministry, explained how he learned from Hyles. Barnett described Hyles as a tremendous soulwinner and a great influence throughout the Chicago area.High hopes: Matthew Barnett's secret is to inspire others to dream what God can do—and dream big The Leadership Interview from Leadership Journal January 1, 2005.
Hyles is honored in Founder's Park at his college, where life-sized statues of Hyles and his widow have been erected.News briefs Illinois edition: Dedication to unveil college founder October 20, 2001, Northwest Indiana Times.
Controversies Accusations of improper sexual behavior and financial and emotional abuse are elements of Hyles's legacy. In 1989, the paper The Biblical Evangelist published a story "The Saddest Story We Ever Published", accusing Hyles of sexual scandals, financial misappropriation and doctrinal errors. These charges were denied by Hyles who deemed them "lies". He was accused of a decade long affair with his secretary, Jennie Nischik, who happened to be the wife of a church deacon, Victor Nischik (the couple would later divorce).
In 1991, a First Baptist Church of Hammond deacon named A.V. Ballenger molested a 7-year-old girl in her Hammond Sunday school class. During a Sunday school class "a church worker reportedly witnessed the act and removed the girl from the room, police said.""Church leaders sued in sex-abuse case," Chicago Tribune, October 16, 1991. The Chicago Tribune in a 1991 article reported that Hyles was sued for $1 million by the parents of the girl. The paper reported the "lawsuit claims Hyles and the church had not fulfilled their obligation to ensure that children were protected from harm during Sunday school." Furthermore, the lawsuit "claims the minister told the child's parents that Ballenger 'just loved children,' and, 'You don't have a case.'" The church settled the lawsuit out of court and the terms were not disclosed. At the criminal trial, three young women testified deacon Ballenger "had fondled them years ago." One of those girls testified that she was molested on the Hammond church bus. A former security officer at the church testified he saw Ballenger fondle a young girl in 1978 or 1979 in a Sunday school room after being called to the room by a female teacher. In 1993, Ballenger was sentenced to five years in prison.