Sylvania Church

Sylvania Church is a single-site, Reformed, Southern Baptist church in Tyler, TX. Though its origin was a mystery for decades, the family of a deceased member discovered in their mother's estate a tribute to Sylvania Church that traced its origin to a group of church planters from Sylvania, Georgia. In 1947, they determined to plant a church in Tyler, TX, that would be named after their hometown.
Pastoral Staff
* Phillip Dancy, Senior Pastor
* Chris Brody, Associate Pastor
* Chris Gaston, Music Minister
* Chad Barnes, Student Minister
History
While little is known about the leadership of Sylvania prior to the 1970s, the church has had only two senior pastors since 1987. Dr. Matthew McKellar, graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, became senior pastor in 1987 and was a functional employee of Green Acres Baptist Church, which sustained Sylvania Church during a period of declined membership and decreased financial resources. A few years later, Sylvania became financially stable and was restored to its previous independence. By the late 1990s, the church had grown to approximately 400 members. During that time, a 600-seat sanctuary was constructed along with a 12-office office complex. Additionally, Sylvania purchased the Smith County Baptist Association building, which was adjacent to the Sylvania property across the parking lot from the main building. After adding a roughly 40 ft x 50 ft meeting room to the former Smith County Baptist Association building, the facility was converted into the youth building of Sylvania. In the early 2000s, Sylvania purchased the last of four homes located directly behind the church, one of which serves as the Helping Hands Food Pantry.
The time period from the late 1990s through the early 2000s also saw a few significant governmental and theological shifts. First, the government structure shifted from a single-elder, deacon-led, congregational polity to a plural-elder-led, congregational polity. Additionally, the church became formally Reformed in theology, adhering to the five sola statements that characterized the Protestant Reformation: sola scriptura (Scripture Alone), sola gratia (Grace Alone), sola fide (Faith Alone), solus christus (Christ Alone), and soli deo gloria (Glory of God Alone). Furthermore, Sylvania added a measure of liturgy to its corporate worship services, which found expression in the corporate confession of historic creeds and confessions, which include the Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, Savoy Liturgy, Westminster Confession, Westminster Shorter Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. The elders voted in favor and the congregation approved the formal name change from Sylvania Baptist Church to Sylvania Church. Despite accusations of being ashamed of being Baptist, the change signified an effort (1) to reach with the gospel of Jesus those who are repelled by the word "Baptist," (2) to distinguish themselves from the nearly 60 other Baptist churches in Smith County at the time, and, ultimately, (3) to avoid the appearance of false advertising, since "Baptist" had for the previous 70 years or so been largely associated with single-elder, deacon-led, congregationalism, rejection and, at times, even hostility toward Reformed theology, and the absence of liturgy.
Matthew McKellar resigned on July 12, 2009 and thereafter became a professor of preaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. Roughly one year later, Dr. Phillip Dancy, graduate of the University of Memphis and Mid-American Baptist Theological Seminary, became the senior pastor of Sylvania Church. During Phillip Dancy's pastorate at Sylvania, the church launched Sylvania U, an online discipleship ministry that targets the English-speaking world, an annual pastor's conference in Cebu, Philippines that equips pastors in scores of churches in the Philippines, and Sylvania Seminars, which later became the Kalos Foundation, a ministry aimed at addressing the general public on matters of truth, goodness, and beauty. Noteworthy speakers include Dr. Norman Wirzba, Research Professor of Theology, Ecology and Rural Life at Duke University, Dr. Ralph Wood, Professor of Theology and Literature at Baylor University, and Ken Myers of Mars Hill Audio. Additionally, Sylvania Church has served as the concert venue and promoters for musical artists Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, Indelible Grace, and Anthony Evans.

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