Golf tournament extends the legacy of Baylor alum & Waco pastor Kyle Lake
More than a decade has passed since Kyle Lake, BA ’94, MDiv ’97, last closed a service at Waco’s University Baptist Church with the benediction, “Love God, embrace beauty, and live life to the fullest,” but his life and message still resonates with those who knew him, and with many more who never got the chance.
This weekend, golfers from across the country will converge on Waco for a golf tournament hosted by the Kyle Lake Foundation, which raises funds to support Baylor students through a scholarship started in his name. Kyle’s parents, David (BA ’60) and Shirley Lake (pictured above with some recent scholarship recipients), started the foundation shortly after Kyle’s death in 2005. (For those who don’t remember, Lake was electrocuted while performing a baptism at UBC.) Over the past decade, the foundation has raised tens of thousands of dollars for organizations in Waco and Tyler, Kyle’s hometown, while also providing defibrillators to dozens of churches, which could help prevent similar tragedies in the future. Dozens of Baylor students have benefitted directly from scholarships started by the foundation, as well as others started in his name.
People who knew Kyle describe him as having a special gift for ministry, particularly with college students. Dr. Blair Browning, BA ’95, MA ’99, an associate professor and undergraduate program director in Baylor’s Department of Communication, was a longtime friend from their days as Baylor students. In 2010, he helped start the Kyle Lake Memorial Endowed Scholarship for Baylor communication students. Today, all of the proceeds from the Waco golf tournament support that scholarship.
“He was such a gracious person with his time that people were continually drawn to him. He made everybody feel comfortable and valued who he came into contact with, so you could see something was different about him,” Browning says. “That’s what helped bring people into the church. As he preached, it was an extension of that relational approach, conversationally, but with a ton of wisdom. There will always be a deep sense of loss thinking of how he could continue to minister, but also a joy and an inspiration to live life well when we think of him.”
This year’s golf tournament is the foundation’s 10th, a milestone timeframe that makes it all the more meaningful to extend his legacy and memory for generations of students for whom his closing benediction at UBC was a staple of their college years and a charge to live well.
“I think living life to the fullest embraces all that God has blessed you with,” his mother, Shirley, told Baylor Magazine last year. “If He’s blessed you with an abundance of friends, celebrate that. And if He’s given you a ministry, then be as active as you can and put all your energies into doing the best you can, no matter what the Lord has given you. Living life to the fullest means embracing everything, even the ups and downs, because we’re supposed to give thanks even for those times that do not go the way we would want them to go.”
Sic ’em, Kyle Lake Foundation supporters and golfers!