Bellevue Baptist Church gifts Southwestern Seminary $100,000

Under the leadership of Pastor Steve Gaines, Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tennessee, has gifted $100,000 to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, President David S. Dockery announced today.

“The Southwestern community joins me in expressing our deepest gratitude for the friendship, encouragement, and generous support that Pastor Steve Gaines and the congregation at Bellevue Baptist Church have shown to Southwestern Seminary in recent days,” Dockery said. “We joyfully and gratefully receive this gift with a commitment to be good stewards of Bellevue’s kindness at this strategic time in the life of the seminary.”

Gaines, who has pastored the Memphis-area church since 2005, is a two-time graduate and distinguished alumnus of Southwestern Seminary. He expressed his gratitude for the seminary’s current leadership.

“I’m so grateful for the leadership of Dr. David Dockery, and Dr. O.S. Hawkins,” Gaines said in a statement to the seminary. “They are guiding SWBTS, along with an amazing faculty, in the right direction. I know that the Lord has His hand upon them.”

Gaines encouraged fellow Southwesterners to support their alma mater.

“I encourage all Christians, especially SWBTS alumni, to support our seminary with their fervent prayers, and also with their generous financial giving,” Gaines added. “I believe in Southwestern, and I know that our seminary’s best days are yet to come.”

Gaines, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, reflected on his history with the Fort Worth-based institution.

“In the summer of 1980, my wife, Donna, and I were married, I was ordained to the Gospel ministry, and we moved to Ft. Worth, Texas, so that I could begin seminary classes at SWBTS,” Gaines recalled, adding that “attending Southwestern was one of the greatest blessings the Lord has ever given to me.”

Gaines said he “had the privilege of studying under Godly men, such as Roy Fish and Al Fasol” and that “the chapel services, the fellowship with other students, and the connections I made with the professors there were a tremendous blessing in my life and ministry.”

He concluded his statement citing 3 John 2 and seeking God’s blessings on “our beloved Southwestern.”

The following is Gaines’ entire statement:

July 11, 2023

In the summer of 1980, my wife, Donna, and I, were married, I was ordained to the Gospel ministry, and we moved to Ft. Worth, Texas, so that I could begin seminary classes at SWBTS.  Attending Southwestern was one of the greatest blessings the Lord has ever given to me. I had the privilege of studying under Godly men, such as Roy Fish and Al Fasol. The chapel services, the fellowship with other students, and the connections I made with the professors there, were a tremendous blessing in my life and ministry.

I’m so grateful for the leadership of Dr. David Dockery and Dr. O. S. Hawkins. They are guiding SWBTS, along with an amazing faculty in the right direction. I know that the Lord has His hand upon them. I encourage all Christians, especially SWBTS alumni, to support our seminary with their fervent prayers, and also with their generous financial giving. I believe in Southwestern, and I know that our seminary’s best days are yet to come.

May God bless you and our beloved Southwestern.

3 John 2,

Steve Gaines

Bellevue Baptist Church