East Texas worship pastor reflects on hope and hymn

WHITEHOUSE—In the midst a turbulent home life, Don Pardoe discovered God provided hope and healing through the gift of music.

Hardships and loss marked Pardoe’s childhood. Before he was born, his father abandoned Pardoe’s mother. To cope with the stress, his mother turned to prescription medications, which led to severe addiction and multiple suicide attempts. While his mother sought treatment, Pardoe lived with an aunt and uncle. He found solace listening to his cousin’s piano lessons.

“Even when I was 4 or 5 years old, the music calmed my insecurity and anxiety. When my cousin would finish her lessons, I would climb up on the piano bench and tried to play what I had heard,” he recalled.

“As I grew older, I began to create my own melodies. These melodies calmed my fears and made life feel manageable. As I look back, I realize just how difficult it was and how God gave me the strength to get through it. Music was like an escape for me.”

During his teenage years, Pardoe used his musical talents for God’s glory, performing in youth bands, choirs and small ensembles. After college, he began writing songs and performing with various music groups, using each performance as an opportunity to remind his audience about the comfort, peace and security found in a relationship with Christ. 

“I’ve had people come up to me who heard my testimony more than 20 years ago and were in similar situations—broken homes and experiencing discouragement. Many people have shared that my testimony encouraged them to lean on Christ during challenging situations, and that they are now involved in music or other ministries,” he said. “When you originally share your testimony, you don’t think about how it will impact someone’s life.”

Today, Pardoe serves as the worship pastor at First Baptist Church in Whitehouse and has released an instrumental project, Hymns & Reflections, which features 20 piano solos and is available in Hobby Lobby stores across the country.

“A year ago, my daughter started working at a Hobby Lobby store in Tyler. I was meeting her for lunch one day, and as I was waiting, I noticed some instrumental CDs displayed on the counter. I had never really pursued finding a place for my instrumental arrangements, but that day, I decided to contact their music department. After sharing my story with them, they agreed to listen to some samples.

“When I heard back from them, God opened a door that I wasn’t expecting. They asked for more songs, including original hymn arrangements. It was an awesome opportunity. I had been creating these songs through the years, and now God has provided a place for me to use them.” 

Pardoe hopes it will help people reconnect with hymns and focus on the real reason for the season. 

“My hope is that even though it’s music without lyrics, that people can become familiar with these songs,” he said. 

“That’s why I intentionally put some hymns that people would recognize like ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘Just As I Am.’ As the album is being played throughout the store, I hope that if someone has been out of church for a while that these hymns will help remind them of something from their past. 

“You never know what kind of seed that will plant or cultivate some interest in them spiritually. I’m excited about the opportunities that could come from this.

“I want to encourage people who have grown up in very challenging situations. … I think God blessed me with the gift of music to help me get through the difficult times and provide hope that things would get better.”