An Interview with Pastor Doug Pratt
Dr. Doug Pratt recently completed 19 years of service to our congregation and is on a short sabbatical. He will return as Pastor Emeritus in January 2024. The Epistle interviewed Pastor Doug about his perspective on missions and the local church’s worldwide involvement in spreading the gospel.
Can you describe the mission program at First Church when you began your pastorate in 2004?
First Church’s mission budget consisted of an annual lump-sum contribution of $50,000 to our denomination’s foreign mission program. When I asked about who the missionaries were that we supported, Session did not know. Our gift was put into a large “bucket” without mutual relationships or accountability.
From my experience in pastoring great churches with large and dynamic mission programs involving individual support for dozens of exciting programs and missionaries, I sensed that we were deprived of the unique blessing of direct partnerships.
As a new pastor, one of the first changes I made was to ask Session to commit to giving all future mission funds directly to designated partners. The key to implementing this was the call of Dr. Paul Fahnestock to join our staff as Associate Pastor. Paul and his wife, Linda, had ten years of missionary experience and knew how to build a congregational missions program. The enthusiasm and mutual blessing from direct involvement have resulted in our missions
growing exponentially.
What values did you bring to First Church’s mission program?
My ministry experience convinced me that when a congregation prioritizes participation in Christ’s work globally—by generous giving and personal relationships—it is blessed. Simply, churches that do not prioritize missions are not blessed. I can’t prove it with statistics, but I’m convinced. It’s a spiritual “law”—confirmed by Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6 that if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, everything else will be added to us.
I also believe that, while the most effective evangelists are usually part of a particular people group and nation, there will always be a need for missionaries who cross linguistic, cultural, and geographical barriers to reach people with the gospel. As indigenous people believe, missionaries can train local believers, transition to supporting roles, or depart.
How were your values for missions formed?
During my first pastoral call, I served as the Missions Pastor in Wichita, Kansas. I was blessed to get to know many outstanding missionaries, participated in short-term mission opportunities in other countries, and studied for my Doctor of Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. My dissertation was on the role of a local American church in the worldwide spread of the Kingdom of God. Dr. Ralph Winter’s book Perspectives on the World Christian Movement was very influential. The church I served in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, likewise prioritized growing its mission budget and sending short-term teams—which positively affected the congregation’s spiritual life.
How has the 2022 decision to become a “sending church” in partnership with Pastor Su Kim and his family impacted our congregation?
As hard as we have worked to develop personal relationships with the missionaries who are part of our annual support budget, the short and occasional visits we have with them are necessarily rare and quite limited. In a typical year, 10 to 12 missionaries might come to First Church for a weekend, and perhaps 40 or 50 of our church members can have quality personal interactions with them during those times. What a contrast to the relational base we now enjoy with the Kim family, who are an extension of our church serving the Lord half a world away in Thailand. We know them; we know them very well. Hundreds of us have built friendships with them, and they know so many of us by name. We were blessed with three great years of Pastor Su’s teaching and preaching, Christina’s teaching in women’s ministry and involvement in Bible studies, and those adorable five kids involved across the life of our congregation. Because of this solid relational base, our mission ministry has become “incarnated”—a wonderful Christian word meaning “in the flesh.” And since the Kims do a great job communicating with all their supporters and our entire congregation, we can vicariously share their challenges and joys almost in real time. We have been able to bless the Kim family with substantial financial support, but in return, they have blessed us as we have become a true “sending church.”
