Ronald L. “Ron” Hart
Vita
walnutgrovechurch.net
21 August 2007
Ronald L. “Ron” Hart has been the pastor of Walnut Grove Church since 1975. Under his ministry the church has grown from a faith community of less than 50 to over 200. Pastor Hart is a graduate of Eugene Bible College and has held credentials with the Open Bible Churches since 1957. He holds a BA from Cascade College, Portland, Oregon (1964); a Masters in Education from the University of Portland, Portland, Oregon (1971); and an honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Florida Beacon College, Largo, Florida (1987).
Prior to his becoming pastor of Walnut Grove Church, he was youth minister at Faith Temple in Tacoma, Washington and was associate director of Youth for Christ in Vancouver, Washington and Sacramento, California. He also served on the staff of Crista Ministries in Seattle, Washington and was founder and director of Youth Outreach, a residential care and family-service agency, in Vancouver. He served that agency for 22 years.
Active in his community Hart served three terms (1980 through1991) on the Vancouver City Council and was mayor pro-tem from 1989-1991. For ten years of his council tenure he chaired one of the two standing council committees. He was a member of numerous intergovernmental boards and commissions. He chaired each of the following boards: C-Tran (the Public Transit Authority), the Regional Planning Council, the City -County Consolidated Computer Center and the Southwest Washington Health District. As mayor pro-tem he was the chair of both the Police and Fire Pension Boards. He also served on the Bi-State Transportation Policy Advisory Committee, the Bi-State Task Force, and the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board. For three years he was a board member of the National Association of Regional Councils. After “retirement” from the city council, the mayors of Clark County appointed him to the Boundary Review Board. He was in his third four year term when the County Commissioners abolished the board. He served several years as board chairman and in 1997 he was president of the Washington Association of Boundary Review Boards.
Mr. Hart joined the Rotary Club of Vancouver in 1967 and served as club president in 1973-1974. He was the district governor's representative to form the Greater Vancouver Club in 1974-1975 and served as district governor in 1987-1988. He was a Governors Elect Training Seminar instructor in 1988. Hart is a multiple Paul Harris fellow and in 1994 he received Rotary's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. He is currently a member of the Rotary Club of Vancouver.
He has served on the boards of Cascade College, Eugene Bible College, and a host of community serving agencies too numerous to mention. In recognition of his community service, in 1973, Mr. Hart was named Vancouver’s Junior First Citizen. In that same year he received the Junior Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service Award.
Ron has been married to the former Patricia Pattison for 36 years and has two children and five grandchildren. Patti is retired from teaching in the Vancouver Public School district. The Harts have been pastor’s of Walnut Grove Church for the past 32 years. About pastoring Hart says it is the best and most rewarding time of his 40 year ministry. His favorite verse is Galatians 2:20. “For I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but it is Christ who lives in me.”