About Don

Donald Patterson grew up in Garland, Texas - a suburb of Dallas. In 1985, he married Mary Donovan, whom he met in Garland. Don and Mary have four sons: Donovan, Seth, Caleb and Blake. They have three grandsons, Wesley, Wyatt, and Easton.

Don earned a degree from East Texas State in Agricultural Education before pursuing the ministry. In the fall of 1986, he entered the theology program at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minnesota. He completed his Masters of Divinity at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wisconsin. Upon graduation from the seminary in 1992, Don was called to Holy Word Lutheran church in Austin, Texas, where he presently serves as senior pastor.

In addition to his pastoral duties, Don serves the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) as president of the South Central district (4 states and 55 congregations). In that role he supervises doctrine and practice; handles human resources, directs leadership training for pastors and lay leaders; and promotes a mission mindset - with the goal of starting a new church every year. Don has also spoken at numerous marriage retreats, men’s and women’s retreats, leadership conferences and seminars. He has written several articles for various church publications, such as Forward in Christ, Meditations, Lutheran Parenting, and Lutheran Leadership. And in 2010, Don authored a Bible basics book titled: Finding Tools to Read and Interpret Scripture. He is currently working on a daily prayer book and a devotional book for fathers who are rearing boys.

When Don is not traveling in his role as the district president, you can find him preaching and teaching at Holy Word Lutheran Church in Austin. . Holy Word has five pastoral staff members and two campuses. Under Don’s leadership Holy Word has been instrumental in starting seven new congregations in the greater Austin Area.