David Richardson

President and Chief Executive Officer

President of Board of Directors

David Richardson is the founder of the Assumptions Institute and its Chief Executive Officer.  Dave served for 30 years on the staff of Cru, devoting most of his ministry to university professors.  He founded the Christian faculty ministry in Atlanta beginning at Georgia Tech in 1996.  

Dave earned a B.A. degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Portland.  He has a M.A. degree in Theological Studies from the International School of Theology.  Dave also holds a MTh. degree in Applied Theology from the University of Oxford.  His dissertation “Accepting Christian Faith in the Academy” was an important exploratory study of the religious attitudes and beliefs of university professors and how to reach them for Christ.  He understands education and educators very well.

Dave is the innovator who discovered the power of assumptions.  His research about assumptions enabled him to create the Critical Assumptions Test™.  He is the author of the groundbreaking popular book Transparent: How to See Through the Powerful Assumptions That Control You.  It is a book for everyday people which reveals everything Dave has learned about assumptions.  Dave's research, writing, teaching, and speaking is at the heart of what we do at the Assumptions Institute.

Dave raises 100% of his own support to direct the Assumptions Institute.  Your tax-deductible investment covers Dave's salary and expenses so he can lead uninterrupted.

Pat Pearce

Vice President, Marketing & Communication

Pat believes his life purpose is to harness media to advance the Great Commission. Led to faith in college through the Four Spiritual Laws, he joined Campus Crusade for Christ in 1977. For 12 years he served at the International Headquarters in a variety of media related roles, including Media Relations and six years as Director of Mass Media.

In 1989 he launched a ministry division that offered the most effective resources to churches and individual believers. As capacity developed distribution services were provided to other divisions including New Life Publications and the JESUS Video Project, which successfully distributed more than 20 million copies of the JESUS film on video and DVD into homes across America.

In 2001 Pat assumed responsibility for materials distribution to Cru staff members and in 2003 for publishing the organization's core materials, which include the Four Spiritual Laws, Transferable Concepts, and the Ten Basis Steps toward Christian Maturity series.

Pat served with Cru for 40 years before retiring in 2018.

Prior to joining Cru, he was account executive for the NBC affiliate TV station in Birmingham, Alabama, a VHF station in a top 50 market. The fulfillment he experienced serving as media coordinator for Campus Crusade’s "I Found It!" campaign led to his decision to enter Christian work.

Pat served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and is a Vietnam veteran. That experience contributed to success in many areas of life.

The Assumptions Institute equips people to discern what is True and False among today's multitude of messages, helping people avoid being manipulated by the many agendas of deceit that oppose God's message of Truth revealed in Scripture. 

RICHARD kATZ

Curriculum Specialist

Richard Katz has been in vocational ministry for nearly 50 years.  He served on the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) for 20 years in significant leadership and influence roles.  During his time with CCC, Richard was a city director in Philadelphia for the I Found It! Campaign.  He served on the team that created the first official update of Bill Bright’s ubiquitous evangelistic booklet Have You Heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?  The update was entitled Would You Like to Know God Personally?  Richard was involved in the creation of the Great Commission Training Center (GCTC) curriculum. Revised versions of the curriculum were used globally to train tens of thousands of CCC volunteer missionaries to reach their world for Christ.  Later, Richard wrote the influential personal discipleship curriculum Practical Christian Living (PCL) based on Bill Bright’s Transferable Concepts series.  Richard was the Associate Director of Here’s Life America, Director of the Prison Ministry,  and Associate Group Director of the Church Resource Group. 

In his role as Associate Group Director, Richard created the Church Missions Project (CMP), a unique and powerful strategy for connecting churches in the US with local churches in other countries.  As part of a CMP partnership, members of short-term mission teams from the US were equipped with solid evangelism and discipleship skills using GCTC and PCL curricula.  The US team members would then use what they learned on location in a live ministry setting with their international partner church to grow the local church and plant new ones.  The US team would then return to their home church and implement their newly honed evangelism and discipleship skills in their home church.  Over half of the people on the projects went on to further volunteer ministry or full time ministry. Richard’s young assistant in creating the Church Missions Project in 1989 was David Richardson.  Richard left CCC staff in 1993 to create Connect International where he devoted the next 25 years of his life involved in leadership development to expand the Church Missions Project strategy. He helped other mission agencies implement short term mission projects in many countries around the world.

Richard is winding down his international ministry, but sees a new opportunity in his final career years to leave more of a lasting legacy. Along with his wife, Lia, he will continue to be involved in church planting, personal mentoring, curriculum development, and growing cell churches. With this vision in mind, Richard has decided to close Connect International, and work with Assumptions Institute part-time from his home in Oregon. Richard, Pat, and Dave will be working together to create innovative youth resources for individuals, small groups, Christian schools, and home schools.

Board of Directors

President, Air Alliance

Vice President of Board

Glenn is the president of Air Alliance and Valencia Enterprises, leaders in the heating and air conditioning industry in metro Atlanta. He is not only a talented mechanical engineer, but also an accomplished businessman and serial entrepreneur. He serves on several corporate and nonprofit boards.

Retired Nonprofit Executive

Member of Board

Susie has served more than 35 years as an executive in many nonprofit organizations including CaringBridge, Partnership Against Domestic Violence, and many United Way branches. She received the Point of Light Award from President George H.W. Bush in 1990.

Partner Emeritus, ABC Pediatrics

Secretary of Board

Eric was a parter at ABC Pediatrics in Fayetteville, GA from 1990-2022. He is active in his church and involved in numerous medical missions in ten countries.

President, Regional Atlanta Development, Inc.

Member of Board

Gary has been a real estate developer in the Southeast for four decades. He is a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. Gary is a church, school, and community leader in Coweta and Fayette Counties.