Leon Hyatt, Jr.

BIOGRAPHY
LEON HYATT, JR.
438 Azalea Avenue
Pineville, Louisiana 71360-4778
(318) 487-0596
leonandannhyatt@suddenlink.net


Leon Hyatt, Jr., was born on February 11, 1926, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, as the oldest son of Leon, Sr., and Ruth Chavanne Hyatt. He was nurtured in the knowledge of Jesus by his parents and by Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles, where he accepted Jesus as his Savior and was baptized at the age of nine. At age 10, through reading a biography of David Livingstone as a part of his work in the Royal Ambassador chapter at Trinity Baptist Church, he began to be aware that the Lord was calling him into His service. That experience began for him a life-long love for missions to the world.

After graduating from Lake Charles High School, he enlisted in the United States army at age 17 and received basic training at Camp Fannin in Tyler, Texas. Immediately afterward he was assigned to the 70th Infantry Division. He went to France with that division and fought with the Seventh Army under General Patch and with the Third Army under General Patton in France, Alcase-Lorraine, and Germany. He earned a Purple Heart during the battle to liberate Wingen sur Moder, Alcase, from Nazi control. He remained in combat even with his wounds and continued to serve on the front lines in three battle campaigns until the end of the war, including the Battle of the Bulge and the lesser known but equally significant Other Battle of the Bulge. At the end of the war, he remained in the army of occupation in Germany for a year, where he made friends with some of the German people, with whom he maintains contacts until today. Through those friends, he learned to speak German and continues to be relatively fluent in that language, in spite of limited opportunities to use it. He was able to obtain "furlough" opportunities to visit and explore England, Scotland, France, the Rhine Valley on the border between France and Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.

He returned home in May, 1946, and enrolled in Louisiana College, a Baptist college in Pineville, Louisiana, in August of that year. In December he was called by the seven remaining members of Gillis Baptist Church near Lake Charles, 100 miles from the college, which had been inactive for several years, to be their pastor and to resurrect the church. He served as a week-end pastor of that church during the remainder of his studies at Louisiana College. Leon believed that neither his seminary studies nor his pastoral duties were primary. If he accepted both responsibilities, he was responsible to give his best to both. During those years, the Gillis Church grew to a membership of 150, and at the same time Leon led out in starting another church in Moss Bluff, Louisiana, a near-by community, which grew during those same years to a membership of about 250. Both churches have over 1,000 members today. He graduated from Louisiana College with a Bachelor of Arts degree and majors in English and Bible in May 1949.

In August 1949, he enrolled in New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. On December 27 of that year, he married Elizabeth Ann Miller of Delhi, Louisiana, whom he had met at Louisiana College. She had graduated from Louisiana College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a major in history in May 1948 and had taught fourth grade for a year in DeQuincy, Louisiana. They immediately began a life-long happy, loving journey of comradeship in service to Jesus. Ann always has joined Leon eagerly in joyful service through the 59 years of their marriage to date. They have adopted four children: Diane, who lives in Xenia, Ohio; Samuel, who died in 1981; Frank, who lives in Pineville; and Marsha, who lives in Ashland, Virginia. They also are blessed with two grandsons, Daniel and Jeremy, and a granddaughter, Anna.

In March 1949, Leon was called to serve as pastor of Woodlawn Baptist Church near Lake Charles, 200 miles from the seminary, which he served on week-ends during his years in seminary. Woodlawn Church grew steadily during those years and at the same time started mission churches in three near-by communities. In May 1951, Ann graduated from New Orleans Seminary with a Master of Religious Education degree. In May 1952, Leon graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity Degree; and in June 1955, he graduated with a Doctor of Theology degree with a major in the Hebrew Old Testament after serving as a teaching fellow for Doctor J. Wash Watts.

In March 1956, he was called to serve as pastor of First Baptist Church in Houma, Louisiana, a picturesque bayou town in south Louisiana, where the Baptist faith was an unwelcome "invader." Leon and Ann sought to win the confidence of the town through love and friendship, and their ministry was assisted by oil field workers who moved into the area to develop the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico. They were able to inspire the active participation of many of those who moved into the area for relatively short periods of time, even though the men worked in the Gulf of Mexico for six or seven days at a time and who were back on land for the same number of days. Leon and Ann remained in service to First Baptist of Houma for over 20 years until September 1976. During those years, the church won to Jesus and baptized into its membership over 100 persons every year and grew to over 3,000 members. At the same time, the church sponsored nine mission churches in the parish (county). Most of them have grown into strong, evangelistic churches, which in turn have started other churches. Baptists are now a respected part of the "Cajun" city.

Leon and Ann always have been active in their Baptist Association wherever they lived. Leon served as moderator of Luther Rice Baptist Association while pastor in Woodlawn, after finishing seminary and before being called to First Baptist in Houma, and as moderator of Adolphe Stagg Baptist Association for seven years during his pastorate in Houma. That association was named for a pioneer Baptist south Louisiana French missionary, and the association maintained his memory by continuing a passion for missions. During their years in Houma, Leon served as a member of the Executive Board of the Louisiana Baptist Convention and held positions on virtually every committee of that Board during his terms of service. In 1969, he was elected President of the Louisiana Baptist Convention and served two terms in that position. As President of the Convention, he was also a member of the boards of Louisiana College, Louisiana Baptist Children's Home, Louisiana Baptist Foundation, Baptist Message, and four hospitals. He participated enthusiastically and actively in the work of each of those boards. In order to do so, he learned to fly an air plane to be able to attend the many meetings that were involved all over the state of Louisiana, since Houma is located in the extreme south of Louisiana.

In September 1976, Leon began to serve as Language Missions Director of the Executive Board of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. He continued to serve in the Missions Division of the Louisiana Baptist Convention until December 31, 1992, during which time he also served successively as Cooperative Missions Director and Church Extension Director. Leon led in greatly enlarging the variety and extent of the mission work of the Convention and had the privilege of participating in beginning over 400 mission churches throughout the state, with the encouragement of Louisiana Director of Missions Don Mabry. Many of those mission churches have now grown into strong Louisiana Baptist churches, though sadly some were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Leon found time to visit periodically all the mission churches in the state for which he was responsible and led in conferences to train their pastors. He preached in some mission church or constituted church every Sunday. He also preached numerous revivals and served as Interim Pastor of a dozen churches.

During Leon and Ann's years of service with the Missions Division of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, Leon served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (now International Mission Board). He served as Vice-Chairman of the committee that recommended Jerry Rankin to be President of the Board, and he served as Chairman of the Board for two years. He earnestly participated in the efforts in which the Board was involved during those years of restoring Southern Baptist international missions work to unashamed commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture. In addition, he wrote the Bible study materials for numerous Sunday School quarterlies for the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (now LifeWay Christian Resources). He also contributed articles to the Biblical Illustrator magazine.

Over the years, Leon and Ann have demonstrated their commitment, not just to the supervision of Baptist mission work, but also to active personal participation in international missions. They helped start a church in Kuwadzana, Zimbabwe, and another in Novosibersk, Siberia, through Leon's preaching and through their house to house visitation and witnessing. Both of those churches are thriving today. Leon and Ann also participated in other types of voluntary mission work and in visits of encouragement to missionaries in 62 countries. They have also toured every state in the Union except one.

After his retirement at the end of 1992, Leon volunteered to assist the fledging movement in the Louisiana Baptist Convention that was seeking to restore that Convention to commitment to Biblical inerrancy; and immediately he was asked to serve as General Chairman of the group that led out in that movement. He led the group to enlist an Associational Chairman in every association in the state and led those chairmen to seek out in their associations those who were committed to inerrancy and who would assist in the movement. As a result, the size and influence of the group grew significantly. For thirteen years, Leon devoted most of his time to leading the movement. The group came to be called the Louisiana Inerrancy Fellowship, and for thirteen years it never failed to influence the Louisiana Baptist Convention to elect a President who was committed to Biblical inerrancy, and usually the two vice-presidents as well. This success was achieved, not through the efforts of one man, but through the active participation of a large number of pastors and lay persons in every part of the state. By 2005, through the recommendations of men and women appointed to the Convention's Nominating Committee by the Convention presidents, the Convention had elected a large majority of the members of every Board and committee of the Convention who were committed to inerrancy. In turn, the Boards had elected heads of their entities who also were inerrantists. At that point, the Louisiana Inerrancy Fellowship had accomplished its purpose, and it disbanded. Also after retirement, Leon served a three-year term on the Order of Business Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Leon is presently serving as a member of the Board of Trustees of Louisiana College, where he has participated in a remarkable change of direction for the college. Under the leadership of the able and tireless President Joe Aguillard, whom Leon helped to elect, the college has become firmly committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Christian values, Biblical inerrancy, and academic excellence. The college is experiencing spectacular growth in enrolment, in the scholarship of its faculty, and in the expansion of its courses and degrees. On the Louisiana College Board, Leon presently serves as chairman of the Committee on the Integration of Faith and Learning. Ann has served as a member of the Executive Board of the Louisiana Baptist Convention and presently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Louisiana Baptist Children's Home.

Leon also serves as pastor of Pineville Grace Baptist Church. In addition, he devotes a large portion of his time to sharing insights on the Scripture that he has gained through his studies over the years. He is updating an unpublished commentary he wrote on the book of Leviticus and is developing unique Expository Outlines on a considerable number of Bible books.

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