Jack Schaap
For the past 11 years, Pastor Jack Schaap has led the mighty congregation of First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana. The 11th largest church in the United States and the largest independent Baptist Church in the nation, First Baptist follows the King James Bible. Pastor Schaap and the congregants of First Baptist believe a person can only gain admittance into heaven through faith in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made on the cross.
Since Pastor Jack Schaap became the church's leader in March 2001, First Baptist has seen amazing growth. Average weekly attendance more than doubled in the first six years and the church has seen as many as 25,000 baptisms in a single year. In 2005, the church built and opened a new auditorium that seats 7,500. Pastor Schaap has initiated many new ministries at First Baptist, from Reformers Unanimous for addiction recovery to Responsibility USA for teenagers in the public school system. He also acts as shepherd to more than 3,000 young Christians through the five private schools run by First Baptist Church.
In addition to his church duties, Pastor Jack Schaap serves as Chancellor for Hyles-Anderson College. This independent, Baptist Bible school offers training to Christian preachers, missionaries, and schoolteachers. As part of the church's overseas mission programs, it launched Hyles-Anderson College of West Africa in Ghana in early 2008. In all, First Baptist and Pastor Schaap currently supervise more than 150 missionaries based in countries as far afield as Thailand and the Philippines to Peru.
Under the leadership of Pastor Jack Schaap, First Baptist organizes and hosts three annual conferences. In March, a Pastors' School provides a week of training for pastors, assistant pastors, Christian school administrators, and laypersons. Christian youth and teenagers participate in a Youth Conference organized by First Baptist and Pastor Schaap in mid July. A third national conference, the Christian Womanhood Spectacular, intended for women of all ages, occurs every October.