Facts: - known for: largest radio broadcast '' heart of the word '' congregation in oregon , award winning author , - caption: ron mehl - birth name: ronald duane mehl - death cause: chronic lymphocytic leukemia - death date: 30 may 2003 - education: life bible college -lrb- now life pacific college -rrb- - birth date: 22 april 1944 - name: pastor ron mehl - image: pastorronmehl.jpg - birth place: breckenridge , minnesota - occupation: former compassion ministries senior pastor , beaverton foursquare church ; founder Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of ronald d. mehl .
ronald duane mehl -lrb- april 22 , 1944 -- may 30 , 2003 -rrb- was the senior pastor of the beaverton foursquare church in beaverton , oregon , united states from 1973 until his death in 2003 .commonly known as pastor ron , ron mehl graduated from life bible college -lrb- now life pacific college -rrb- in 1966 .that same year he married joyce hamrick , also a life bible college graduate .pastor ron and joyce have two sons , ron jr. and mark .joyce , ron jr. , and mark still reside in the portland , oregon , area , with mark now serving as the senior pastor of westside chapel in lake oswego , oregon .ron mehl began his ministry service in june 1966 as a representative of life bible college , and became the youth pastor at the portland foursquare church in september 1966 .by 1969 , he was serving as the youth director for the great lakes district in kenosha , wisconsin .pastor ron left kenosha in 1973 to become the senior pastor of the beaverton foursquare church in beaverton , oregon .that first sunday , only a dozen people attended service .over the next 30 years , however , attendance on sundays grew to over 6,000 people , resulting in the largest church congregation in oregon in 1999 .pastor ron held a variety of leadership positions within the international church of the foursquare gospel , including serving for 25 years on the executive council , and for more than 20 years as superintendent of the columbia west division .while still senior pastor at beaverton , the board of regents of life bible college called upon pastor ron to serve as interim president , a position which he held from july 1992 until august 1994 .he was also recognized as one of a handful of pastors helping the foursquare church experience large growth in the 1970s .it was in 1980 that ron mehl was first diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia .though told he would probably live for only 5 to 6 more years , he continued his ministry efforts for more than 22 years , reaching tens of thousands of people with his weekly...