Here is an excerpt of an article on David Plaster from today’s Columbus (OH) Dispatch newspaper. To read the entire article, click here.
A megachurch pastor known for mentoring young ministers died Saturday after a sudden illness. The Rev. Dave Plaster of Grace Brethren Church of Columbus was 60.
Plaster died just 10 days after his family found out his condition was terminal, his son Rob said. He acquired the JC virus, which caused a neurological disease called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML.
Doctors said they didn’t understand why he got sick, because the condition usually attacks people with a weakened immune system, his son said. Except for diabetes, which he had controlled, Plaster was healthy. He started feeling ill in January and last preached on Jan. 24.
The congregation, which has Sunday attendance of about 2,400, is left dealing with the sudden death of a pastor who took over in October 2007.
Before that, Plaster spent 24 years at Grace College and Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Ind. There, he served as academic dean for the seminary and vice president for academic affairs for both institutions.