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Dr. Tommie L. Lewis
Alabama native, husband, son, father, friend, soldier, activist,
leader, diplomat, ecclesiastical brethren, teacher, shepherd,
servant and prisoner of the Lord, are but a few titles that can
be bestowed upon him. Dr. Tommie L. Lewis is married to Sister
Rhonda Steele Lewis. Bethel Church has been blessed for the past
twenty three years wit him as her shepherd, and the body of Christ
has been blessed by his work as a gospel preacher for thirty
three years.
The spirit of the Lord was upon Dr. Lewis when he heard the
clarion call and felt the anointing of the Holy Spirit to preach
good tidings of great joy unto all people. In obedience to the
divine summoning, he responded to that call with "Here Am
I, Lord Send Me!" Realizing that is was imperative to preach
the word in season and out of season; he was licensed to preach
the Good New of Jesus Christ on January 6, 1973, at the Shady
Grove Missionary Baptist Church by Rev. G.W. Sloan. Dr. Lewis
gave diligence to make his calling and election sure and was
publicly ordained and set apart to the work of the Gospel Ministry
on July 29, 1973, at the Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church
by Rev. Sloan. His ordination was unanimously recommended by
Rev. F.D. King, Rev. A.L. Greer and Rev. M.T. Densmore.
In order to rightly divide the Word Of Truth and desiring
to walk worthy of the vocation to which he was called, Dr. Lewis
began to study to show himself approved and matriculated at the
Birmingham Easonian Baptist Bible College, and the Universal
Bible Institute in Brunswick, Georgia, earning a BA, BTH and
Master of Divinity degrees respectively. Similarly, Universal
Bible College and the Birmingham Easonian Baptist Bible College
have conferred upon him Honorary Doctorate degrees. Because Dr.
Lewis emphatically believes in the mandate of Christ to go ye
therefore, he has traveled and preached the Gospel throughout
the United States, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Adhering to the challenge, and putting his hand to the plow,
Dr. Lewis readily accepted his first pastoral assignment at the
First Baptist Church-Carver, in Bessemer, Alabama in 1973. Dr.
Lewis was further led to the Antioch Baptist Church in Gadsden,
Alabama and served faithfully. In 1982, he was commissioned by
God to serve as pastor of Bethel where he has served with diligence,
dedication, and determination. Under his leadership, Bethel has
experienced phenomenal growth numerically with a membership of
over five thousand members. Bethel has grown spiritually as well.
During his tenure, Bethel embarked upon and completed a 21st
century Worship Center in 1990, which includes a sanctuary with
a seating capacity of eighteen hundred, an office plaza, conference
room, library new members lab, large multi-purpose room, a nursery
and classrooms. In 1998 a Family-Life Center was erected. This
facility includes a first class day care center, surveillance
room, game rooms, a commercial kitchen, fellowship/dining hall,
a wedding chapel, regulation sized gym with bleachers, a walking
track, computer lab, two meeting rooms, several classrooms and
the Bethel Community Learning Center, which has generated thousands
of dollars in state and federal funds. The Bethel Campus continues
to serve as a ray of light and a beacon of hope in the recreation
of lives and the restoration of families.
Community-minded and endowed with the gift of exhortation,
Dr. Lewis has affiliated himself with numerous religious and
civic organizations including the President of the Pratt City
Ministerial Alliance, Birmingham Metropolitan Baptist Ministerial
Conference, and Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Dr.
Lewis is involved in numerous affairs vital to the progress of
the city. He served as Captain for the Bessemer Police and Fire
Department Chaplainry Corps. He has served as Chairman of the
Board of Directors for the Jefferson County Transit Authority.
He serves as State President for the National Rainbow Push Coalition,
where Bethel church ranks number two in the 1000 Churches connection.
Dr. Lewis serves as State Spiritual Advisor for the Matrons division
of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, active member of the
Minister on Wall Street Project, American Ministers Association.
Numerous awards and accolades have been bestowed upon him. He
is also the 1998 Inductee into the City of Birmingham Gallery
of Distinguished Citizens. A bust of him is displayed on the
second floor in Birmingham City Hall commemorating this achievement.
Dr. Lewis was elected Moderator of the Peace Baptist District
on October 18, 2001. He has channeled change in the District
and has been successful in bringing district churches together
annually for its Peacemakers Partners Conference.
For thirty three years, Dr. Lewis has abided in the same calling
in which he was called, preaching the Word with passion, power
and persuasion. Dr. Lewis has risen to the task, reached out
and redeemed the lost for Christ. His guiding principles are
to evangelize the sinner, equip the saints and exalt the Savior.
Indeed, Dr. Lewis has been sent by God and the evidence is the
fruit that has been harvested from his labor. Yes, it is written,
and we stand as a witness today, "How beautiful are the
feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad
tiding of good things."
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