Donald C. Bryan is a fourth generation Seventh-day Adventist. Don and his three brothers were raised in the faith friendly town of College Place, WA. Growing up in a generation where legalistic works were the focus of faith, Don felt his heart rebelling against the idea of a performance-based religion.
At 18, an insightful girl’s dean at Upper Columbia Academy, Ruth Kriner, invited Don to be the witnessing team pastor during his senior year. Thus began a struggle for deeper understanding and what having a relationship with Jesus was all about.
Halfway through his theology studies at Walla Walla College, Don married his high school sweetheart, Kim Craft. Getting sidetracked with focusing on people and pretense, Don started his own personal “Jonah experience” of running from God’s call and left WWC to pursue other studies. Two of the brightest moments of his life happened when his two beautiful daughters, Jessica and Brittni, were born. Their dedication to God and passion for life have been one of the most inspirational blessings in Don and Kim’s life.
After ten years vacillating between faith and the world, between surrender to God and rebellion, between pretending to be of faith and not, God found a friend (Lee Venden) who would introduce Don to a forever friendship with Jesus.
In 1994, twelve years after God called Don to ministry, he surrendered his life to Christ. This began an exciting time as he served as a part-time pastor in the Washington Conference while working as a full-time school psychologist in the public schools. Then followed thirteen years of SDA school administration. In 2010, Don resigned from school administration and he and Kim spent time in deep communication with God regarding what was next in their life. After much prayer and study, they accepted a call to serve as Bible worker in Friday Harbor. This position turned into a part-time pastor position, and then into a full-time pastor of the San Juan Islands District.
Pastor Don joined the North Cascade Seventh-day Adventist church in September 2018 as an associate pastor and now makes the transition to shepherd the Mount Vernon Seventh-day Adventist Faith Family. He blesses everyone around him with his God-given gifts of love for the community, his construction skills, his relish for life and his dedication to church and family.
Love God, Love Others
