Biography
Education: Mentors, Academics, and Honors
Steve and Donna at Steve's graduation from Union University in 1979.
Steve graduated from Union in the spring of 1979, and Donna graduated two weeks before their wedding the following year. In August they moved to Fort Worth, Texas, for Steve to begin work on his Master of Divinity degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. There he grew spiritually under the influence of godly men like Roy Fish, his professor of evangelism, and Paul Burleson, his pastor at Southcliff Baptist Church. Steve served as Dr. Fish’s grader for seven years, longer than anyone else to ever hold that position. At Southcliff Steve’s path also strategically crossed with Don Miller who would become a lifelong friend and mentor. Principles from Rev. Miller’s Bible-based prayer seminars would not only shape Steve’s personal prayer life, but every church he led as pastor.
Steve receiving the H. C. Brown Preaching Award from President Russell Dilday at Southwestern Seminary in Spring 1984.
In the final year of his master’s program, Southwestern’s preaching faculty awarded Steve with the H. C. Brown, Jr. Preaching Award for “Outstanding Achievement in the Study and Practice of Preaching.” At the same time, the evangelism faculty presented him with the W. Fred Swank Evangelism Award for best demonstrating the spirit of evangelism as a graduating student. At that time he was the only Southwestern Seminary graduate to ever receive both awards. For Senior Preaching Week, Steve had the honor of being selected to preach in the seminary’s chapel services before his professors and peers. He graduated with his M.Div. on May 11, 1984.
Steve preaching in Senior Week Chapel Service at Southwestern Theological Seminary in Spring 1984.
Steve began doctoral seminars at Southwestern in the fall of 1985, majoring in preaching and minoring in evangelism. One class particularly impacted him. “God used Dr. Roy Fish’s course on The History of Spiritual Awakenings to capture my heart for a yearning to see genuine revival and spiritual awakening come to America once again,” he said.
Professor Fish noticed Steve’s strong leadership abilities, and he witnessed the birth of a passion for revival that would consume Steve throughout his ministry. “One day God invaded the classroom and gave some of the students a great hunger to see spiritual awakening happen again. A group of five, including Steve, committed themselves to getting together regularly to pray for revival.”
Steve’s doctoral dissertation was entitled, “An Analysis of the Correlation between Representative Baptist Hour Sermons by Herschel H. Hobbs and Selected Articles of The Baptist Faith and Message.” He graduated from Southwestern Seminary with his Ph.D. on May 10, 1991.
Steve and Donna with their new dog, Sweetie, in the summer of 1982.
Donna taught special education at a middle school in Texas for three years until the Gaines’ first child was born. While ministering as a full-time mother and a pastor’s wife, Donna earned her Master’s of Education degree from Texas Woman’s College in Denton, Texas, graduating in the summer of 1985. She is also board certified as an educational diagnostician.
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