Jack Hyles

Jack Hyles

Jack Frasure Hyles (September 25, 1926 – February 6, 2001) was a leading figure in the Independent Baptist movement, having pastored the First Baptist Church of Hammond in Hammond, Indiana, from 1959 until his death. He was also 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. Jack 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 In 2001, at the time of Hyles death, 20,000 people were attending church services and Sunday school each week. He was accused of several controversies while pastoring the church, and his doctrinal positions often put him at odds with other Christians — even with other fundamentalist Baptists.