A Personal Description

The Lord allowed me to be born into a Christian home on December 1, 1973.  As a four year old boy, I received the LORD Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour.  A few weeks later, I was baptized into a Bible-believing Baptist church in the northwest corner of IN.

God called me to preach the moment I was saved.  This fact became more and more evident as I grew older, and in the middle of my sixth grade year, I surrendered myself completely to the Lord’s will.  From then, my desire to preach the gospel increased, doors of opportunity opened, and several others noticed God’s call upon my life.

When I graduated from high school, I enrolled at Ambassador Baptist College where I received specific training for the field of evangelism.  Four years later, the Lord allowed me to graduate with a Bachelor of Biblical Studies Degree.  In January of 1997 I launched into full-time evangelism.  I received my Master’s Degree from Ambassador in 1998.  In April of the same year I was ordained to preach the gospel by Berean Baptist Church of Shelby, NC.

On October 3, 1998, God allowed me to marry Amber Caple.  Amber is a great asset to this ministry of evangelism.  She aids in the music as a pianist, accompanist, and singer.  She also holds special children’s meetings throughout a week of services.

The Lord has blessed our home with five wonderful children.  On July 26, 2002 Nathaniel Theodore Smith was born into our family.  Then on March 23, 2005 Peter Benaiah Smith was born.  On August 29, 2007 Timothy Dwight entered our home.  On March 31, 2010, the Lord gave us Andrew Micaiah.  Then, on January 4, 2017, the Lord blessed us with a daughter: Audra Gabriella Smith. Our entire family travels as a team and has been around the world serving Jesus Christ together.

A Pointed Direction

Since 1997 the Lord has allowed me to travel and preach in forty-nine states and twenty-two foreign countries.  We are members of the Victory Baptist Church, Lattimore, NC, where Tom Faulk is the pastor.  It is our sincere desire to serve Jesus Christ through local churches, preaching the gospel both in the United States and on the mission field.  I am praying that God will in some small way use us to see a genuine, widespread, deep-seated revival and awakening in this generation.

It is my firm conviction that the ministry of the evangelist is a Biblical and desperately needed gift for today (Ephesians 4:11-12).  I have been preaching in this type of itinerant ministry since 1997, and with God’s help, I intend to do so for the rest of my life.  I am available to preach revival meetings, evangelistic campaigns, youth retreats, camps, and school revivals.

A Powerful Doctrine

The Doctrinal Statement of Dwight M. Smith

I. PERSONAL TESTIMONY OF SALVATION, GOD’S CALL, AND TRAINING

As a four-year old boy, I became convinced of my need for the Lord Jesus Christ.  On a Saturday in the spring 1978, I came to my mother and began to ask her some questions concerning eternity.  She took the Bible and explained to me God’s plan of salvation.  I understood the gospel that day, and in the kitchen of our home, I bowed on my knees and received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

I have the assurance that I am Christ’s and that Christ is mine through God’s Word.  John 1:12; 3:14-18; 3:36; 10:28-30; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-13.  My personal salvation-scriptures are John 10:27-30.

Since I was a child, there has been a desire within my heart to be a preacher.  This direction has never changed.  Many times as a boy, I was found preaching to a relative or trying to imitate a pastor.  When I entered the sixth grade, I began to make friends with the wrong crowd.  There was rebellion in my heart against the things that I had been taught from birth.  This disobedience increased to the point where I even began to doubt my own salvation.  One night when I was home alone, I picked up a Christian novel that had been sent to me by an aunt in North Dakota.  Through the message of that book, which was filled with Scriptural principles, I got right with God.  I was in tears over my own sinfulness.  There, beside our couch, I fell to my knees and gave my life to the Lord.  I know that I was saved as a five-year-old boy, but this was a time of total surrender to God (Romans 12:1-2).

Based upon Scripture, prayer, opportunities, counsel, and God’s peace, I know that He has led me into the field of evangelism (Ephesians 4:11-12).  I have an overwhelming desire to preach the gospel to the lost, to edify the saints, to encourage the under-shepherd, and to help plant churches (Matthew 28:19-20).

The Lord graciously allowed me to be reared in a Christian home, where the Word of God was faithfully taught and exemplified.  He has also given me the privilege of having a Christian education from kindergarten through graduate school.

I graduated from Fourth Baptist Christian School, Minneapolis, MN, in 1991.  In the fall of the same year I enrolled in Ambassador Baptist College, Shelby, NC.  Four years later, I received my Bachelor of Biblical Studies with a second major in Evangelism.  The next two years were spent pursuing my Master of Arts in Biblical Studies from the graduate school at Ambassador, and in 1998, I graduated with this degree.

II. BIBLIOLOGY (The Doctrine of the Bible)

The Holy Scriptures, complete in the sixty-six canonical books of the Old and New Testaments, are inspired by God.  He breathed every word from His mouth.  The Bible is completely inerrant and is therefore absolutely authoritative in every area of life.  The Scriptures have been preserved by the Almighty and will never pass away.  The best and most accurate body of manuscripts underlying the New Testament is the Textus Receptus.  Thus we support the King James Bible as the only correct translation for English-speaking people.  The only correct interpretation of the Scripture is the historical, grammatical, and dispensational interpretation.

III. THEOLOGY PROPER (The Doctrine of God)

There is only one, true God.  He is manifested in the Trinity through God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  He is revealed through creation, conscience, and the Word of God.  He is holiness, love, wisdom, and power.  He is a Spirit, absolutely separate and above His creation, yet everywhere present as the Sustainer of all things.  He orchestrates the events of all mankind for His glory.  He is the father of all those who receive His Son as their Savior.  He is the Creator of the universe and is intimately involved with every part of His creation as the Sovereign ruler of all.  He is earnestly seeking to reconcile mankind to Himself through the person of Jesus Christ.

IV. CHRISTOLOGY (The Doctrine of Christ)

Jesus Christ is God the Son.  He was born of a virgin and manifested in the flesh to reveal God to man and finish the work for man’s redemption.  He is the eternal Word and the only begotten Son of God.  He manifested God to us through His miracles, His life, His death, and His resurrection.  The Lord was tempted in all points as we are, but He did not sin, nor could He sin.  When He died on the cross, He satisfied the wrath of God the Father against sinful humanity; and when He rose from the dead, He made our justification complete.  After His resurrection, He was seen of over five hundred witnesses, many of whom saw Him ascend up into heaven.  He is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God and is making intercession for the saints on the earth.  At any moment Christ could appear in the clouds to take His children home to heaven.  He will then preside as the Judge of the Bema Seat.  Later, He will rule the earth for a thousand years and finally be the object of our worship and praise for all eternity.

V. PNEUMATOLOGY (The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit)

The Holy Spirit is God.  He is the Divine agent in nature, revelation and redemption.  He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come.  His task is to glorify the Father and the Son.  He regenerates, indwells, baptizes, seals, and anoints all that receive Christ.  He will empower, guide, comfort, teach, sanctify, and fill every believer who yields himself completely to the Spirit’s control.

VI. ANGELOLOGY (The Doctrine of Angels)

Angels are created spirit beings that are completely dependent upon God for their existence.  They are personal, powerful beings that never die, and have been made a little higher than mankind.  Their works include praise, protection, ministry, encouragement, direction, and in the past, prophecy.  The purpose of their creation was to bring glory to God.

Satan is a very powerful angel and is in charge of all of the fallen angels.  He was originally created as a perfect being; but through his own rebellion, he was brought under God’s judgment. When Satan was cast out of heaven, he led a host of angels in rebellion.  His powers are vast but limited by the omnipotent God.  Satan is the influence behind every evil that is in the universe.  He was defeated at the cross of Christ and therefore has no power over the believer who is completely yielded to the Lord.  Someday, his doom will be sealed as he is cast into the lake of fire to burn forever.

VII. ANTHROPOLOGY (The Doctrine of Man)

All men are created by God.  They do not exist as a result of any form of evolutionary process.  Man was created in the image of God and is a tripartite (body, soul, spirit) being.  Man is a free moral agent and has been given the choice to obey or disobey the Creator.  In the garden, man chose to disobey and fell into certain destruction.  This choice resulted in spiritual death, eternal separation from God, and a sin nature that continually rebelled against God’s Word.  Man is totally depraved, making it impossible for him to please the Lord without the righteousness of Christ.  All men are under God’s condemnation and are doomed to hell-fire unless they repent and receive God’s Son.

VIII. HAMARTIOLOGY (The Doctrine of Sin)

Sin is the willful violation of God’s Law.  It began with Satan and spread to some of the angels, who joined in a rebellion against God.  All men are sinners by nature and by choice and are totally corrupted and condemned.  Nothing in man can merit the favor of the Holy God.  The only way that man can come to God is through the righteousness of Christ received by faith in Him alone.

IX. SOTERIOLOGY (The Doctrine of Salvation)

Salvation is the act of God.  It is obtained by faith in God’s marvelous grace.  It is not by our own works that we receive forgiveness, but rather, it is a gift of God.  Salvation is deliverance from eternal punishment in Hell, from the power of sin, and from the laws of condemnation.  The Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life as the substitutionary payment for our sin.  His blood is the only substance that can cleanse man from iniquity.  His death is the propitiation for the sin of the world.  If He is rejected, condemnation is sure.  If He is received, salvation is certain.

Redemption is the work of God, whereby a sinner is bought back out of the slave market of sin.  Justification is the judicial declaration of God that deems a sinner completely righteous through the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Propitiation is the satisfaction of God’s wrath through His Son.  Adoption is the act of God, whereby those who put their faith in Christ are placed into the family of God as adult sons, with all the blessings, privileges, and responsibilities of that position.  Reconciliation is the work of God that renders mankind salvable and works a change in the heart of the believer from hatred and anger to love and trust.

The process of salvation began before the foundation of the world.  God foreknew who would trust Him.  Whosoever will may come to Him, and those who come are chosen in Him before the foundation of the world to a life of dedication and service.  The Holy Spirit draws each one who is saved through the message of God’s Word.  That individual must repent and place his entire faith in Christ Jesus as the only way of salvation.  If he does, he is saved forever.  His eternal destiny is founded upon the Word and character of the Lord.

X. ECCLESIOLOGY (The Doctrine of the Church)

God’s plan for today is accomplished through the local, New Testament Church that was founded and begun by its Head, The Lord Jesus Christ. This body is an organized group of baptized believers in the same geographical location who come together on a regular basis to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.  The three offices that function within the local church are the pastor, the evangelist, and the deacon.  The pastor is the under-shepherd of the flock and is directly accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ for how he teaches and leads the sheep. He will someday give an account to the Lord, either with “joy or grief”, for his sheep.  The evangelist is a New Testament ministry gift that primarily utilizes preaching to point Christians to revival and the lost to salvation through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. The deacons are servants and spiritual examples for the flock of God.  Two ordinances are to be practiced by the local church:  Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  Baptism is a public testimony of a person’s faith in Christ.  It does not save.  It only witnesses of God’s grace.  The Lord’s Supper is the regular observance of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ by saved, baptized and right-with-God believers.  The object of the church is to give God glory through public worship of the King of Kings. The mission of the church is to evangelize the lost, baptize the saved, and teach saints how to daily live for Christ and reproduce themselves.

XI. ESCHATOLOGY (The Doctrine of Future Events)

Jesus Christ will appear in the clouds at any moment and receive His saints up to glory. The dead in Christ shall rise first, then those in Christ who are alive will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The teaching of Scripture is a premillenial, pretribulational rapture of the saints.

On the earth, the next event will be the tribulation. The Antichrist will set up his domain, promising peace and safety. His rule will end seven years later when the Lord Jesus comes and establishes His righteous, millennial throne. While the tribulation is taking place, the Judgment Seat of Christ will occur in Heaven. At this event, every Christian will be judged for his works.
Then Christ will come to earth and fight against the enemies of God in the Battle of Armageddon. There He will destroy those who come against Him, and He will cast the Antichrist and false prophet into the lake of fire.

For one thousand years Christ will reign upon the earth with a rod of iron. During this time, Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit and will have no power upon the earth. The Judgment of Israel and the Judgment of the Nations will occur at the beginning of the Millennium.

At the close the Millennium, Satan will be loosed and will attempt, one last time, to rally an army against God. He will be defeated and cast into the lake of fire. Following this, God will sit at the Great White Throne Judgment and judge all of the unsaved. Whosoever’s name is not found written in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire. God will destroy the heavens and the earth with fervent heat and will establish a new heaven and a new earth.

XII. THE ETERNAL STATE (The Doctrine of Eternal Punishment or Bliss)

Heaven is a literal place prepared for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ.  It is a place of peace, beauty, satisfaction, rest, and holiness.  This is not soul sleep.  It is void of sin, because it is where God dwells.  Believers will live there forever to worship, praise, and serve God.

Hell is a literal place of torment prepared for the devil and his angels.  All those who do not trust Christ as their Savior will spend eternity in this place separated from God.  It is a place characterized by darkness, worms, fire, brimstone, smoke, and thirst.  Those in hell have all five senses and are very aware of what is around them.  They will not be consumed nor annihilated but will suffer in torments forever and ever.

XIII. SPIRITUAL GIFTS

The Word of God reveals spiritual gifts to be inner motivations, spiritual endowments, and divine appointments which are given by the Holy Spirit to the believer, that the Body of Christ might function properly.  Knowledge, prophecy, and tongues, all known as the sign gifts, have ceased and have not been in operation since the completion of the canon of Scripture.  However, the other gifts play an integral part in the effectiveness of Christ’s church.

XIV. PRACTICAL MATTERS

Marriage is a holy institution that is ordained and sanctioned by God.  God’s plan is one man for one woman for life.  The only correct foundation for marriage is the Lord Jesus Christ.  Divorce is never God’s plan.  The Bible teaches that once a person has been divorced, he or she is to remain unmarried until his or her spouse is dead.  According to the Scripture, one who is divorced is disqualified from being a pastor or a deacon.  In a God-honoring marriage, the husband loves the wife unconditionally and the wife is submissive to the husband.

Money is only a vehicle for doing the will of God.  If it ever becomes anything more than that, it is sin.  It is to be managed properly and ethically so that God is glorified.  A tenth of every penny is God’s tithe.  Offerings are to be given above the tithe out of a heart of love for God.  My personal practice is giving through the Faith Promise Missions program.  With God’s help, my finances will be obtained through hard work and prayer.

XV. PHILOSOPHY OF MINISTRY

Ministry is a wonderful thing when it comes under God’s priority list.  My first priority is to be ministered to by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.  My relationship with Jesus Christ is most important.  Next on my priority list is my family.  If I lose my family, I have lost my ministry.  My wife must and will receive special attention for she is part of me.  My future children must and will receive special attention for they witness of my character.  Finally, the ministry of evangelism takes its place after my walk with God and my family.  God has given this ministry to me, and I must be a good steward of it.  It will always be under and through a local church.  By God’s grace it will always be centered on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I will attempt to passionately glorify God by evangelizing the lost and edifying the brethren.  May my life always point men away from me and to the Savior.

XVI. SEPARATION

Separation from evil and unto Christ is clearly taught in the Scriptures and must be practiced by God’s people.  The Bible teaches that in the last days there will be an increase in apostasy and wickedness.  It is from this that I separate without apology.  I will have no associations with the World Council of Churches or the National Council of Churches.  I will not fellowship with those organizations, churches, or individuals (i.e. the Catholic Church, cults, liberals, etc.) that deny the basic fundamental doctrines of Scripture.

Furthermore, I will not fellowship with those organizations, movements, or individuals (i.e. the Charismatic Movement, the Promise Keepers, The Southern Baptist, American Baptist, and Northern Baptist Conventions, New Evangelicals, etc.) who attempt to bridge the denominational or doctrinal gap between Fundamentalism and error.  However, I am actively engaged in praying for them and bringing them to the Lord.  I stand without apology as an Independent, Fundamental Baptist whose sole loyalty is to Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

By God’s grace alone, I will strive for holiness and purity both ecclesiastically and personally.  I will strive by faith to be separate from the world and unto Christ.  This involves separation from drugs, alcohol, tobacco, pornography, the movie industry, any form of rock, country, pop, jazz, disco, or other worldly music, immoral sex, and involvement in worldly amusements.  This also involves separation unto the Bible, prayer, worship, Christian fellowship, soulwinning, Bible preaching, and active service for Jesus Christ.

HERE I STAND!
BY GOD’S GRACE, I WILL NEVER CHANGE!