Pat Hart
Pat Hart, Pastoral Care Pastor

Pat Hart joined the staff of First Assembly in 1996, but her devotion to the church began a long time before that. She has been a member of the church for almost forty years and served in various volunteer capacities prior to accepting a full-time staff position. Since she joined the staff, she has served in various capacities in order to meet staffing needs. Her current responsibilities include oversight of all aspects of care ministry (e.g., hospital visitation, visitor contacts, absentee contacts, crisis intervention, etc.), as well as staffing, training, and administrating the Sunday school department and other "teaching" ministries of the church.

She is personally and professionally committed to making sure that constituents and guests feel valued and that people of all ages receive an effective presentation of the gospel message at their level of understanding and then receive the instruction and training necessary to mature in discipleship. She is completely convinced that people never "outgrow" the need for interpersonal validation and discipleship training.

Pat's educational background, concern for people, "learning" commitment, and life experiences have uniquely prepared her for involvement in care ministry and Christian education. She attended Watson Chapel High School, the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Central Christian University, etc. and has a B.A. in English and a Master's Degree in Pastoral Counseling. She has taken a variety of courses from various universities at different times to prepare and equip her for new assignments that challenged her at various points in her life. She taught high school classes in English, math, journalism, and French for twelve years at Watson Chapel, Star City, and Rison and now passionately invests in people – whether she is calling someone who is sick or teaching her favorite subject matter, God's Word.

Her personal goal is to continue to learn and grow so that she can make a positive difference in the lives of people, whether in classes or one person at a time. She has said that she desires to encourage people and loves teaching the Word, both of which actually affect people's decisions for eternity.

Pat has two grown sons, two sweet daughters-in-law, and one grandson and one granddaughter. She says they are the "joy" of her life and that her "pride" in them is pride that even God would approve.