Floyd Strater reflects on preaching, ministry training, and church change
Floyd Strater, a preacher for more than 60 years, shares how Bible college shaped his Scripture memory, where he preached his first sermon, and what prepared him most for ministry. He also describes major shifts in church life and staffing, and how California stretched his approach to pastoral care.
- Strater credits Bible college Scripture memorization—especially under Jim Carr—as a lifelong tool.
- He recalls early preaching in Joplin-area churches and years of nonstop evangelistic travel.
- He describes how church size, staffing, programming, and ministry approaches have changed over time.
By Brad Dupray
Floyd Strater, 80, a preacher for more than 60 years, served as president of the North American Christian Convention and is on the Publishing Committee for Standard Publishing. He is an administrator with Hope International University and is in the third year as interim minister with University Christian Church in Los Angeles, California.
Learning to preach
Do your Bible college lessons still stick with you?
My favorite professor was Jim Carr. He made me memorize a lot of Scripture, which I’ve used all of my life. At the time I couldn’t understand why, but it was one of the greatest tools. It taught me how to memorize and how to learn. I had a student preaching point about 250 miles away from school. I memorized the Sermon on the Mount standing on the platform between cars on the train—listening to the clickety-clack.
Where did you preach your first sermon?
It was at Central City Christian Church, just outside of Joplin (Missouri). My dad got sick and had surgery and I preached for several weeks for him. I was 16 years old. Then as a senior in high school I had a church—Blendville Christian Church in Joplin.
So you were preaching even before you went to Bible college.
I learned a lot more on the road than I learned in college. Just after school Betty and I traveled for four years as national evangelists. During that time I preached in 12 different states and we lived in a 30-foot Spartan trailer. That teaches you a lot of flexibility. During one stretch I preached every night for 26 weeks. That did more to prepare me for ministry and life than anything else that could have happened.
Changes in church ministry
How has the church changed over the past 60 years?
It’s changed in the past five years (laughs)! Back in that day all of us were small churches. We were trained in Bible college that if your church ever got over 200 you needed to start a new one. The services never changed. All you had to do was to look at last week’s program and change the hymn numbers. And you were supposed to be poor. If I bought a new suit I would buy one that looked like the old one so people wouldn’t know I had a new suit. Most of the churches were small and the preachers were poor.
We’ve come a long way.
What has changed most in church programming?
Having additional staff has been a big difference. I took the church at Enid (Oklahoma) and it was running 200. In 13 years it was up to 700. I didn’t have a secretary. I had a woman who typed the bulletin and another who typed the newsletter. An elder ran off everything on the mimeograph machine at his business. I had a weekend janitor. And I did everything else.
Now that multiple staffs are pretty much a given, what is the church’s greatest distinctive today?
I think we’re trying to minister to people where they are—taking the Bible and relating it to life. Leading a church with all kinds of ministries and cell groups to help people, using the priesthood of all believers where everyone can lead people to Jesus.
Adapting to California
How did you manage the cultural change from the Midwest to California?
It’s a long way from Illinois to California. In Springfield I would make over 200 calls per month—hospital, home, evangelistic. When I came to California it was totally different than anything I had experienced in my life. One day I had three hospital calls that covered 170 miles and took me 12 hours. I decided that I had to do things differently. California was good for me—it really stretched me.
Looking back
Would you like to have another shot at 60 years in ministry?
Here I am 80 years old. I have had a wonderful life. I don’t have any regrets. We had good family times and a lot of friends. If I could go live it over, I would do it again. Ministry is wonderful.
Brad Dupray is director of public relations and advertising with Provision Ministry Group, Irvine, California.
Floyd Strater is a wonderful man. The first time I heard him preach, the congregation laughed and it was the first time I knew there could be humor in church. He made me eager to hear more of the Good News!