Dr. Bob Gray Sr. pastored for 33 years and has been an ordained Baptist preacher for 40 years. He pastored the Longview Baptist Temple for 29 years. He became their pastor in 1980. Since then the church’s attendance grew from a low of 159 to averaging 2,041 in 2008. Dr. Gray retired March 1, 2009 and LBT called his son Dr. Bob Gray II to be their pastor. The last year Dr. Gray pastored LBT they baptized 4,466 converts. In his 29 years of pastorate at LBT they had 1,116,887 people who trusted Christ for payment of their sins. 253,042 walked the aisles professing faith in Christ and 164,457 of those followed the Lord in baptism. LBT was the number two church in America in professions of faith and baptisms. $ 9, 328,835.69 was given to missions and $ 335, 584.81 to help the less fortunate in those 29 years. Dr. Gray had 506 trust Christ through his personal soul winning with 153 of those following the Lord in baptism in 2009.
In his 29 years in Texas he has preached in every state in the union except for North Dakota plus 17 foreign countries. He has personally led 14, 957 to Christ and had 4,399 of those follow the Lord in Baptism in those 29 years.
Under Dr. Gray’s leadership the ministries of LBT developed to include the following:
TEXAS BAPTIST COLLEGE- a four-year Christian college
LONGVIEW BAPTIST ACADEMY- A Christian school for bus kids
INDEPENDENT BAPTIST WORLD MISSIONS- A local church mission board
NATIONAL TEEN CONVENTION- A nation wide conference for teens
NATIONAL SOUL WINNING CLINIC- 29 years of training pastors & workers
THE BAPTIST MAGAZINE- 11 years of publishing
During Dr. Gray’s ministry at LBT the bus ministry expanded by purchasing a 15,000 square foot building on Cotton street for maintenance of the buses. The church grew to owning 42 buses and operating 30 Sunday school bus routes. He led the church in four major building projects plus the purchasing of numerous properties. The church’s property value grew to over 17 million dollars.
Dr. Gray attended the Galesburg-Augusta grade school and high school system of Galesburg, Michigan, and graduated in 1963. He was an All-Conference football player and second team All-State tackle. He attended Michigan State University 1963-67 and was employed in 1967 by Fisher Body Division of General Motors for seven years in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He attended Hyles-Anderson College in Crown Point, Indiana, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1976. He was employed by Hyles-Anderson College while working on his Masters Degree. Dr. Gray has received doctorates from Hyles-Anderson College, Tri-State College, and Texas Baptist College. He has authored 10 books as of this writing.
Dr. and Mrs. Lee Ann Gray have been married for 45 years and have four children with ten grandchildren. Both of their sons are in the ministry. Dr. Bob Gray II was installed as pastor of LBT on March 1, 2009. Dr. Scott Gray is a faculty member at Hyles-Anderson College. The two daughters, Kim and Karen, are active in the ministry and personal soul winners. Kim is married to Mark Simmons, a deacon and Sunday school teacher at LBT. Karen is married to Tim Forgy, a Texas Baptist College graduate, and is employed as Youth Pastor for LBT.
