From mathematics to nuclear physics, Jerry Dykes said he considered everything else but God kept pushing him toward ministry. So, in 1964, he took his first music director position at Calvary Baptist Church, Troy, in Salem-Troy Baptist Association, and he never looked back.
For the past 43 years, Dykes has served part-time and full-time in various churches until his recent retirement from First Baptist Church, Sylacauga, where he was church administrator and senior adult minister. Dykes began serving the Coosa River Baptist Association church as music minister in 1971 and later served as interim youth minister for eight years. “The joy of serving the people is what I remember most about serving at Sylacauga — helping people in the time of their joy and the time of their sorrow,” Dykes said. “It was great to see some of the children and young people that I worked with grow up and have children of their own.”
A native of Troy, Dykes received a bachelor of music education degree from Troy State University in 1965. He also began working on a master of church music degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, but withdrew when he was drafted by the Army and served a year in Vietnam. Through the years, Dykes also served as music director at four other Alabama Baptist churches. He also served as organist at First Baptist Church, Brewton, while teaching at Jefferson Davis Junior (Community) College.
In the future, he and his wife, Dinah, plan to participate in the Alabama Singing Men and Alabama Singing Women. The couple has two children and two grandchildren.
To contact Dykes, call 256-245-7152.
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