Herbert Lee “Herb” Pedersen, longtime Texas Baptist pastor and missions leader, died Sept. 15. He was 83.
Herb Pedersen was born Dec. 15, 1941, in a two-bedroom house in Hartville, Mo., to Roy and Geneva Pedersen.
He met the love of his life, Barbara Gail Holman, at an A&W Root Beer drive-in more than 63 years ago. The two were married Aug. 4, 1962, in Mountain Grove, Mo., and began a lifelong journey of love, ministry and family.
After graduating from Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar, Mo., Pedersen went on to earn his master’s degree and doctorate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.
During his more than six decades in ministry, he was the pastor of several churches in Missouri, as well as First Baptist Church in Kennedale and more than 20 years at First Baptist Church of Oak Cliff in Dallas.
During his time at First Baptist Church of Oak Cliff, he led the congregation to become a Key Church in Texas Baptists’ Mission Texas church-starting initiative.
While leading the church, he made thousands of hospital visits and drove a church bus hundreds of miles for mission trips, youth camps and ski excursions. He also managed a construction company, Diversified Homebuilders.
Led Texas Baptists’ missions division
At the invitation of Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director William M. Pinson Jr., Pedersen joined the BGCT staff as director of the missions division of the State Missions Commission.
The same “spirit of cooperation” and leadership by example that he demonstrated as a pastor characterized his work at the BGCT, Pinson said.
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“His innovative, indefatigable, cooperative leadership style once again set an example for others,” he said.
When he left the BGCT staff, Pedersen returned to the pastorate, leading two congregations in Midlothian—Mountain Peak Community Baptist Church and then Longbranch Community Baptist Church, where he served until his retirement.
He served in a variety of roles at Dallas Baptist University, as an adjunct professor of New Testament and member of the DBU board of trustees, as well as the contractor who oversaw construction of the president’s home and drove the bulldozer creating water features on the DBU campus.
He received an honorary doctorate from DBU in 1983, and the university named the Barbara and Herb Pedersen Residential College in the couple’s honor.
“Along with a host of others, I thank God for his gift of Herb Pedersen to our lives,” Pinson said. “He was my pastor, coworker and friend for decades, and during all those years, he remained steadfastly committed to serving the Lord Jesus Christ whether in his role as pastor, husband, father, denominational worker, university trustee, encourager, friend or whatever.
“A creative and hard-working disciple of Christ, heaven is more populated because of his diligent ministry.”
He was preceded in death by his brothers Gerald and Garry.
He is survived by his wife Barbara Gail Pedersen; daughter DeeDee Bailey and her husband Darryl; daughter Angie Cagle and her husband David; daughter Beth Savage and her husband Denny; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to the Herb and Barbara Pedersen Endowed Scholarship Fund providing scholarships to Christian ministry and education students at Dallas Baptist University.
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