COVER STORY 28 JULY 2024 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition A Spiritual father to many, Dr. O.S. Hawkins helped lay the foundations of faith in Fort Lauderdale, leading First Baptist Fort Lauderdale, as pastor, for 15 years through a period of revival and growth in the 1980’s that included construction of the landmark church in the heart of downtown and establishment of the beloved Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant. An iconic pastor, prolific author and passionate advocate for Israel, Hawkins currently serves as chancellor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary but keeps Fort Lauderdale close to his heart, returning often as an honorary speaker at the church he formerly pastored and acting as a pastoral mentor in our community. Advocating for Israel Just weeks after the October 7, 2023, attack on Gaza led by Hamas, Hawkins traveled to the war-torn region of Israel to visit the massacre sites and provide support. Having traveled to Israel annually since the mid-1970’s, Hawkins and his wife, Susie, have had the privilege to meet many of the prime ministers and consider Israel a big part of their ministry. “I have so many friends in that land,” said Hawkins, “and when they go through a catastrophe, you just show up and stand with them. It's the ministry of presence.” On this trip, however, he said, “I saw things I never thought human beings were capable of doing in those slaughters. It was just horrendous.” Israel is a very important part of the plan of God, explained Hawkins, who believes we have a responsibility to the land and the Jewish people. “God made so many promises to the Jews and to the nation of Israel, and we know God keeps his promises,” said Hawkins. “He warned them in Ezekial 36 and Daniel 4 that He would scatter them all over the world, and that’s exactly what we saw. After 70 A.D. when Titus and the Roman Legion destroyed the city of Jerusalem, the Jews were scattered all over the world just like prophecy tells us. In Amos 9, God said He would gather them back from the four corners of the earth. And in Zachariah 12 we have the promises that He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that the land would be theirs for an everlasting possession.” And while he has friends on both sides of this issue, he said, “In the final analysis, I've chosen to view the culture that’s around us through the lens of scripture, and when I do, I see that God has special promises to Israel, everlasting covenants that he's going to keep, so I stake my life on the truth of God's word.” Sparking revival Hawkins served as senior pastor at First Baptist Fort Lauderdale from 1978 to 1993 and took a contingent from South Florida to Israel every year after Christmas, ringing in the New Year from Jerusalem. At 30 years of age, he was the youngest lead pastor the church had ever had when he was called from First Baptist Church in Ada, Okla., to First Baptist Fort Lauderdale, and the church exploded under his watch. Beginning with a congregation of about 500 in 1978, First Baptist Fort Lauderdale attracted enough parishioners to fill its newly constructed 4,000-seat auditorium for two services each weekend 15 years later. The late Gene Whiddon, founder of Causeway Lumber Company, was on his search committee and became fast friends with Hawkins as a fellow visionary. Whiddon’s son and former president of Causeway Lumber, Scott Whiddon recalled Hawkins and his father “often had breakfast together early in the morning and did a lot of strategizing and dreaming about the future of the church.” Together they spearheaded a capital campaign entitled “Lord, do it again,” raising several hundred thousand dollars to purchase adjacent property and construct the beautiful, large auditorium that now stands downtown. Attracting people Hawkins recalled how the building drew people in. He shared the story of the late Harvard lawyer, Bob Miltenberger, who looked down on the church from his office in the former Landmark Bank building until one day he decided to check it out. His visit to First Baptist led to a decision of faith that helped transform his marriage, and he became an active member of the church for years. “God just began to bring all sorts of people to our church from all walks of life,” said Hawkins. “One of the great days was when Stephan and Gigi [Graham] Tchividjian moved to Fort Lauderdale. Stephan was a Christian counselor with a Ph.D. from Marquette who opened up our counseling center, directing all of our Life Management Training. He and his wife Gigi became very close friends with my wife and me. And Every January when Gigi’s father, the Rev. Billy Graham would come down to spend time with Gigi and their kids, I would usually take him to lunch. We had a big crusade with him in 1985 at Lockhart Stadium and Gene Whiddon was the chairman of the crusade, of course. They started the annual Feast of Plenty, feeding 5000 people a full course turkey dinner the Saturday before Thanksgiving on Broward Boulevard in front of Dr. O.S. Hawkins – A Continuing Legacy of Faith in Fort Lauderdale Shelly Pond Good News Editor Dr. O.S. Hawkins and Pastor Tim Dilena, of Time Square Church in NYC, stand with an Israeli soldier at one of the massacre sites in Israel Dr. O.S. Hawkins
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