Lakewood Baptist Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Dr. Tyler Smiley (Senior Pastor — son of and successor to Dr. Tom Smiley who retired 2019)

Founded Unknown

Denomination SBC

Service Times See website

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry No

Website www.lakewoodlife.org

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Strong

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

All 8 listed pastoral staff are male (Tyler Smiley, Robert Puckett, Jeremy Daniels, Dylan Evans, Dr. Benji Lavender, Carter Reeves, Scott Smith, Dr. Jamie Willis). Women on staff hold Director / Minister titles (Jessica Hart - Women's Discipleship Director; Bethany O'Bryant - Girls Minister) but not Pastor. Complementarian polity intact.

Strong

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Strong

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Strong

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Strong

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Strong

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

SBC.net directory confirms; Georgia Baptist Mission Board state convention affiliation (the conservative GA convention, not CBF).

Strong

Assessment

Lakewood Baptist Church Gainesville GA (chartered 1956) is a 2,100+ member SBC megachurch in Hall County (north Georgia). Notable for father-son pastoral succession: Dr. Tom Smiley pastored ~25+ years (retired 2019), now succeeded by his son Dr. Tyler Smiley. 1,200-seat wraparound worship center (built 2000, renovated). Sundays 9:30 AM and 11 AM. All-male pastoral team, complementarian, BFM2000-aligned via Georgia Baptist Mission Board.

#sbc#georgia#gainesville#hall-county#father-son-pastoral-succession

MOOP Engagement Tracker

How this church was personally verified by the MOOP directory team:

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source lakewoodlife.org/our-staff/
[2] Live source churches.sbc.net/church/lakewood-baptist-church-of-gaines…
[3] Live source gainesvilletimes.com/life/faith-and-charity/smiley-track-…

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.