Pastor J. Ted Rathman began serving as the Executive Director of the Global Ministries of the Evangelical Congregational Church on July 1, 2018. He not only serves the denomination in this leadership role, but also shares his time as the lead pastor of Grace EC Church in Schuylkill Haven, PA.
Pastor Ted is originally from Reamstown, located in Lancaster County, PA. After graduating from Cocalico High School, Pastor Ted served in the United States Navy for 4 years. Upon his return, he attended Penn State University, Berks Campus as an International Studies major. It was at this point in his life that he felt a call to ministry. After graduating from Penn State with honors, Pastor Ted began his studies at Evangelical Seminary in Myerstown, PA where he graduated with honors in the Master of Divinity program in May 2012.
Ted has served the Global Ministries Community as a board member since he entered the denomination in 2013 as lead pastor at Grace EC Church. Ted’s first experience with missions was through his youth group at St. Paul’s EC Church, Reamstown, PA, and became an important and formative part of his life. Ted’s heart for missions continued through his time in the US Navy, his studies at Penn State, and the opportunities to lead mission trips as a youth leader. In 2013 Ted traveled with a GMC delegation to Nepal to celebrate EC Church Nepal’s 10-year anniversary. Ted also served as the chair of the GMC taskforce which studied the future role, responsibilities, and staffing of the Global Ministries Community as it transitioned from a Commission based structure into the new “Community” based model. Pastor Ted’s heart is to help the local church nurture a global vision and build into its DNA a passion for the global redemptive mission God is on and invites His Church to join Him in.