SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. – Life Line Baptist Church Pastor Jeff Dial has been selected as the next executive director of Camp Siloam.
The Board of Trustees unanimously approved Dial for the position at their July 26 meeting. The decision comes roughly six months after Jason Wilkie stepped aside as executive director on Jan. 1 and moved into a fundraising role for Camp Siloam as chief advancement officer.
“We are so grateful and thankful for what Jason Wilkie brought to the camp and he has set the stage for an incredible future,” Board Chair David Graham said. “We are thrilled and excited for Jeff to step in and continue the impact of Camp Siloam.”
Graham said Dial is personally defined as a man of prayer, and “who he is as a person very strongly includes words like humility, evangelism, discipleship, professional, vision and character.”
“Those are not just things he presents; those are defining terms of who he is as a person,” he said.
After having coffee one day with Dial, Chair of the Personnel Committee Chris McCarty said Dial’s fervent prayer life and vision for Camp Siloam are two things that he thought made Dial a great candidate for the position.
“We just began talking more and more and the rest of the personnel team agreed he had a great vision and was a prayer warrior. The conversation just kept going and going until we all agreed that he was the man for the job,” he said.
Dial’s vision for Camp Siloam is 1 Timothy 1:5, “Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.” CSB
“Camp Siloam has and will continue to give instruction in love concerning evangelism, discipleship, and ministry,” Dial said. “In many ways, I feel like God has prepared me for this all of my life, starting with my salvation at the age of 12, call to ministry at age of 18 and serving Jesus as the as the pastor of Life Line Baptist Church the last 17 years. Life Line has taught me how to love and to lead by their example.”
Camp Siloam has been a historical and essential part of Arkansas Baptists’ evangelistic ministries that has resulted in many souls saved. Dial said the current team has done an incredible job of cultivating the vision and strategy of the Great Commission.
Dial is looking forward to evangelism and discipleship in this new role and building relationships and partnerships with Arkansas Baptists around the state.
“We want to make Camp Siloam a place for every Arkansas Baptist of every age,” he said. “I love the Lord and love His people and want everybody that I know to have the opportunity to be saved and to be able to share the Gospel.”
Camp Siloam, which celebrated its centennial in 2023, hosts multiple weeks of summer camp during which the Gospel of Jesus is shared with thousands of campers. During the fall, winter and spring, the camp staff hosts youth retreats and rents the camp to groups for retreats.
“Camp Siloam has always been near and dear to my heart. So many kids make decisions for Christ there. It is one of the best tools that the convention has for reaching the next generation,” McCarty said.
Dial has served faithfully at Life Line Baptist Church in Little Rock for the past 17 years. His last Sunday in the pulpit as pastor at Life Line will be Aug. 18.
Dial grew up at Harvest Baptist Church (formerly East Side) in Paragould, where he was saved, baptized, and called to the ministry while at Williams Baptist University. Dial, preaching since he was 18, is now in his 38th year of ministry. Former pastorates include Beech Grove Baptist Church and Westside Baptist Church in Manila and Celebration Baptist Church in Wichita, Kansas.
Dial and his wife, Pam, have been married for 33 years. They have two children, Ethan and Jane Ellen.
“Jeff’s experience as a pastor, community leader and visionary is exemplary,” Arkansas Baptist State Convention Executive Director Dr. Rex Horne said. “How thankful we are as Arkansas Baptists for Camp Siloam, a transformative and evangelistic tool of the Lord.”
For more information on Camp Siloam, click here.