Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes, III - Pastor, Social Activist, Leader

Frederick Douglass Haynes, III, is a prophetic pastor, passionate leader, social activist, and eloquent orator and educator engaged in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, fighting against racial injustice; committed to economic justice and empowerment in under-served communities and touching and transforming the lives of the disenfranchised. For 31 years, Dr. Haynes has served as a visionary and innovative senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. Under his servant leadership, the ministry and membership have grown from less than 100 members in 1983 to over 12,000. 

Dr. Haynes was born in Dallas, TX and grew up in San Francisco, California. He is the grandson and son of socially conscious and active pastors. He attended public schools in the Bay Area and was one of three valedictory speakers when he graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco. Haynes graduated, with honors, from Bishop College in 1982 with a B.A. degree in Religion and English. He earned a Masters of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In 2005, he earned a Doctorate in Ministry from the Graduate Theological Foundation where he was afforded the opportunity to study at Christ Church, Oxford University in Oxford England. His dissertation reflects his commitment to faith based social activism: To Turn The World Upside Down: Church Growth In A Church Committed to Social Justice. 

Since Dr. Haynes accepted the call to become Senior Pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, the church has grown numerically and in ministry to the Dallas community and around the world. Friendship-West has moved three times under the leadership of Haynes in order to accommodate its growth. When Friendship-West moved to its' Kiest location, it moved to a community characterized by crime and violence.