Dr. Ron Lyles became the Pastor of South Main on August 17, 1981. He began pastoring churches in 1971. Dr. Lyles is the son of a Baptist minister and thus grew up in a Christian home. He was born in Decatur, Texas and lived in north-central and east Texas during his early years. He accepted Jesus when he was six and responded to God's call to ministry at twelve.

He is a graduate of Dallas Baptist University. During his time at DBU he met and married Brenda Kabler from Witchita, Kansas. He holds the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, he enjoys doing some adjunct teaching and writing Bible study materials.