By James Tibbets, Pendletonian Times
PENDLETON, Ore. – A local pastor has been leading his flock for the past 47 years while standing against the modern influences of the 21st Century. Many Apostolic Pentecostals now allow the use of television for advertising purposes but this tolerance of television is not universally accepted among them.
On September 28, 2007, the UPCI passed a resolution that allowed for the limited use of television for the purpose of advertising. Previously, the UPCI had taught its members that the use of television in any form was sinful and many ministers left the organization because of this resolution and joined the Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowship Inc., which was founded by Johnny Godair of Durham, North Carolina, Nathaniel Wilson of Elk Grove, California, Floyd Odom of Raymond, Mississippi, Larry Booker of Rialto, California and Crawford Coon of Jena, Louisiana, on December 12, 2007 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. One of the ministers who left the UPCI in 2007 is Pastor Dan Satterwhite, 73, of Pendleton. He previously lived in Pocatello, Idaho.
Satterwhite recalls that “when I was eight years old, in Rupert, Idaho, I got the Holy Ghost at a tent meeting under a woman evangelist. When you get the Holy Ghost under a woman evangelist, it’s hard to be against woman preachers,” he said in an interview on October 12, 2024.
Satterwhite took over at PLC after Pastor Russell resigned in 1977. “I lived in Pendleton as a teen, spent a couple years in Indiana and Dad had cancer in 1977 … we were all members of [the UPCI] until the TV issue … it wasn’t just TV; their holiness standards were slipping. Even though I left [the UPCI] I still have friends there. Many who left [the UPCI] are independent [pastors],” says Satterwhite. “Brother [Jesse] Parker in La Grande got me into [the WPF] … I was friends with [Bishop] Anthony Mangun.” Mangun is a member of the UPCI and leads The Pentecostals of Alexandria in Louisiana. Mangun is a vocal supporter of the use of television in ministry and The Pentecostals of Alexandria boast over 3,000 members as a result of his outreach efforts.
Most WPF church members won’t attend organized sports events, though, Satterwhite says that “me and Brother Parker have attended rodeos.”
“[The] WPF is growing” exclaims Satterwhite. “At PEAK [held July 17 – 19, 2024 at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma] there were around 4,000 people.” PEAK stands for Pentecostal in Experience, Action and Knowledge and is an annual youth conference which is described by gowpf.org as “one of the fastest growing youth conferences in the country.”
PLC supports many missionaries and displays pictures of them in the church lobby. “Both of my sisters were missionaries” says Satterwhite with a hint of pride and joy. He says that his sisters were missionaries in Nicaragua and Spain.