In the summer of 1965, Boyd Lyons boarded an ocean liner with his wife Donna and their three children to begin a 21-day voyage to the Philippines. He still serves as a missionary some 53 years later.
Boyd was born May 18, 1936, in Mark, Iowa. He is the only child of Harry and Leone Lyons. He grew up in this rural Iowa setting on a farm. The city of Mark boasted a general store and a gas station. There was also a church, Mark Baptist Church, where his family attended. He rode his pony to the one-room schoolhouse when he was in elementary school. When he got to high school, he moved to the county school in the county seat, Bloomfield. He loved sports playing baseball, basketball, and football. Boyd describes how while attending church as a 16-year-old he felt a strong conviction that he needed to make a personal decision to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior. He walked the aisle and made that decision public. He later was baptized in the creek not far from the church. His church had strong ties to the newly organized Baptist Bible Fellowship and Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. Soon after Boyd’s decision to accept Christ, he felt a call to the ministry. Once again, he went forward in church to make this public. This was much to the surprise of everyone because Boyd was a shy boy who did not like to speak in front of people. He was so convinced this was God’s will he enrolled at Baptist Bible College in 1953. He would later graduate with the Class of ’56.
While attending BBC this Iowa farm boy met a big city girl from Detroit, Michigan. Her name was Donna Crysler. Donna came from Temple Baptist Church led by the president of BBC, G.B. Vick. There were more people in this church than in the entire town Boyd had lived in. Donna had come to BBC because she felt a call to missions. Boyd let her know that he did not feel a call to missions but to become a pastor. In 1955 they married at High Street Baptist Church. When they left Springfield, they went to New York to start a church. They later moved to Georgia to work on staff in a church. Their next move was to Bartow, Florida where they started a church. It was in Bartow that their three children, Eddie, Greg, and Cherrie were born. Growing their church also meant hosting Baptist Bible Fellowship missionaries and leading their people to get involved in missions. Boyd describes how it was listening to the hearts of these missionaries that began to open him up to the idea of missions. When Leland Homer, missionary to Taiwan, was killed in a car accident the headline of the Tribune read, “Who Will Take His Place?” Boyd, reading the Tribune at the kitchen table with Donna slid the paper across the table to her and asked, “Donna are you ready to take his place?” Donna’s reply was quick and challenging, “I have been ready.” She slid the paper back over to Boyd and asked, “How about you?” They were approved as missionaries to the Philippines in 1964. After a year of fundraising, they left for the Philippines.
One of the things Boyd and Donna did to prepare their kids for this move across the world was to make them memorize the name of the Philippine president, President Macapagal. It was a mouthful for Cherrie who turned three while on the trip over. The plan was to get visas when the ship docked in Hong Kong. The Captain of the ship warned Boyd that the day they were going to be in Hong Kong was also a holiday, meaning the Philippine Consul Office would be closed. Without a visa, the family and their cargo would be offloaded in Hong Kong. Another passenger overheard the conversation and mentioned that he was a personal friend of the Philippine Consul and would be willing to call his friend to see if he would help. Amazingly, the Consul, at the request of his friend, offered to meet Boyd and his family in his office as a favor to his friend. When they arrived at the Philippine Consulate Boyd picked up three-year-old Cherrie and sat her up on the counter. She looked up at the picture of the Philippine President and said, “Look, Daddy, President Macapagal.” The Consul was so impressed that this little American girl knew the name of the President he immediately approved and gave them their visas. Boyd said it was one of the many times God showed up along the way. At 29 years of age, he had brought his family of five across the world on the promise of $300 a month support. It was a faith journey in every way.
Upon arriving in Manila, the Lyons were met by missionaries Frank Hooge, Lloyd Baker, and many others. They began attending the church planted by the Hooges as they began language training. This church was the first Baptist Bible Fellowship church planted in the Philippines after the war. When Frank Hooge left for a furlough in 1966, Boyd was asked to take over as the missionary pastor. It was this church, the Baptist Bible Church in Manila, that became the center for church planting, leadership training, and ministry. In 1973 the Manila Baptist Bible College was founded in the church. Many pastors and missionaries have been trained in this college. In 1985, the first foreign student from Myanmar (Burma) was accepted. Since then, students have come from Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, and the United States to study. Churches have been planted throughout the Philippines and missionaries have been sent all over the world. Boyd’s great love is helping plant new churches. So far, he has been a part of over 300 church plants.
Through all these years Boyd and Donna have served together. One of Donna’s passions was to help provide medical care for the indigent. A medical clinic was started at the church. Local doctors and dentists volunteer their professional care to help those in need. The clinic has grown to have dental stations and its own laboratory. Churches have been started because people who were treated asked for a church in their area.
In 2017 Donna passed away. Boyd continues to serve in spite of this personal loss. He has said in the middle of his grief, “God still has me here and I will continue to serve.” When he reflects on his life of missionary service, he expresses a strong sense of gratitude that God would use a quiet farm boy from Iowa to spread the gospel in the Philippines and beyond.
These days he is busy preparing for the 70th-anniversary celebration of Baptist Bible Church. Pastors, missionaries, and people who have been reached through this ministry will come from all over the world to celebrate God’s goodness and grace over the years.
The vision of the Baptist Bible Fellowship is to take the gospel around the world. This is the vision Boyd captured as a young boy in his church in Iowa. It was the teaching he received at Baptist Bible College that prepared him for ministry. It was the Baptist Bible Tribune that urged him to ask the question, “Why not us?” It was the BBFI Mission Office that provided the way for this dream to become a reality. It is the legacy of a life devoted to missions over decades that lays the foundation for great accomplishment. With each pastor or missionary trained and with each church planted, a seed for the gospel is scattered that will continue to bear fruit through future generations.
Reflections from his daughter, Cheryl Lontoc
I have many fond memories of my dad while growing up as a little girl. I remember him being very busy doing many things in the church. I also remember he always had time to talk and was interested in what was going on in my own life.
As I grew older, I could see his commitment to serving the Lord. He had a desire to teach and train men to be pastors. He had a passion to see souls saved. He loves people and he loves serving the Lord.
I am very blessed to have had the privilege of working alongside my dad in the ministry for the past 31 years. He has been a great example throughout the years. He is patient, gentle, kind, and understanding. He is not quick to come to conclusions, but always seeks the Lord’s will and guidance in all he does.
He has lived a life of letting the Holy Spirit guide him through every decision. He is a man who forgives and holds no grudges. He is a tower of strength and has faith like a rock in the most difficult of situations.
I thank the Lord for giving me such a wonderful dad who lives what he preaches and continues to be an example of what it means to totally commit your life to the Lord and follow Him.
Reflections from his son, Eddie Lyons
Growing up as a missionary kid is a rich experience. A father teaches his son with words but also with his life. As a six-year-old, I remember boarding a passenger ship with my family to make the 21-day long trip across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines. It was the beginning of a grand adventure.
My parents lived out what it meant to surrender your life to God and move forward in faith. Their heart to spread the Good News of the gospel compelled them to do whatever it took to fulfill that calling. My Dad could always be counted on to live out biblical truth, seeking always to please God.
In the last year, my Dad has taught me how to endure hardness. After my mother passed, I watched my Dad shed tears of grief but, then say that he would accept God’s will and keep going. Since God had left him here there were things he was meant to do. I watched him endure through the excruciating adjustments that go with losing a spouse, life companion, and ministry partner. I am a blessed man to be the son of Boyd Lyons.
Reflections from his son, Greg Lyons
Growing up in a missionary family was a wonderful experience! My parents were great examples of commitment, determination, and faithfulness. My mother would remind me that by following God, you could do anything. My earliest memory of our family is leaving the pier in San Francisco on a ship heading to Asia. I remember people holding on to the end of a roll of ribbon on the ship and their loved ones hanging on to the other end on the dock. When you left for the mission field, and the paper tore, you were giving your life. My parents had no intention of ever living in the USA again.
The demonstration of that act of commitment was followed by a determination to carve out a ministry that would impact thousands of people in a growing megacity. In a recent conversation with my father, he mentioned that over 300 churches have been planted throughout his ministry. The faithfulness of my parents has been an example to continue on a path of ministry for a lifetime.
At 83 years old, my father is still preaching, still witnessing to people, still planting churches, and still on the field. My father has demonstrated these qualities on a daily basis throughout his life. My mother convinced me by her faith, that God could do great things. Her words of encouragement through the years have motivated me to ask God for a vision to reach the world. My mother encouraged me to teach a Sunday school class at 14, to launch a traveling singing group at 17, to complete college, to become a missionary, and to plant churches. The example of vision has birthed ministries that have touched many countries and shared the Gospel with millions of people. The vision encouraged by my mother has been indelibly placed in my heart as a legacy to her faith.
