David Platt Bio, Age, Height, Wife, Family, Children, Net Worth, and Salary
Who Is David Platt?
David Joseph Platt is an American evangelical pastor, author, Bible teacher, and Christian ministry leader whose work centers on discipleship, evangelism, and global missions. He is widely recognized for his book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, which challenges Christians to reconsider how they use their time, resources, and opportunities in light of their faith. His teaching emphasizes that Christianity should influence not only what people believe but also how they live, serve others, and respond to the needs of the wider world.
Platt serves as a lead pastor at McLean Bible Church in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. He is also the founder and chairman of Radical, an organization that equips Christians and churches to make disciples and share the message of Jesus in their communities and around the world. Before taking on his current pastoral role, he served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board, one of the major organizations responsible for sending missionaries internationally.
His career has taken him from local church ministry and theological education to international missions and Christian publishing. Through his sermons, books, conferences, and ministry resources, Platt has encouraged Christians to examine the relationship between faith and everyday decisions, including how they approach money, service, relationships, and the needs of people beyond their immediate surroundings.
David Platt Age
David Platt is 48 years old as of 2026. He was born on July 11, 1978, in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up in the United States and developed an interest in Christianity that eventually became the foundation of his education and professional life.
David’s Early Life
Platt’s ministry is particularly associated with the idea that following Jesus requires more than attending church or agreeing with Christian teachings. His preaching often challenges believers to examine their priorities and consider how their faith should shape their decisions. This emphasis became especially prominent through his writing and the development of Radical, the ministry he founded to help Christians put those convictions into practice.
His rise to prominence came relatively early in his career. In 2006, when he became senior pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, he was still in his twenties. His appointment brought him into leadership of a large congregation and gave him a platform from which to teach, write, and engage with questions about the mission of the church.
David Platt Height
David stands at approximately 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m). However, these are just estimates as compared to the surrounding environment.
David Platt Family
Platt generally keeps his private family life out of the spotlight, choosing to focus public attention on his Christian teaching and ministry. His professional biography provides substantial information about his education, pastoral appointments, and writing, but offers comparatively little detail about his parents and childhood household.
His own family has become an important part of his life alongside the demands of pastoral leadership. The subjects he addresses in his teaching, including discipleship, marriage, parenting, generosity, and commitment to Christian faith, reflect his broader concern with how religious convictions influence everyday relationships.
Although his ministry involves travel, public speaking, and international outreach, Platt and his wife have raised their children in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. His official ministry profiles identify him as a husband and father of six, while keeping many details about the children’s personal lives private.
David Platt Wife | Who Is Heather Platt?
David Platt is married to Heather Platt. The couple live in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area with their children. Heather has generally maintained a more private public profile than her husband, whose work involves regular preaching, writing, and speaking engagements.
Their family life has developed alongside Platt’s demanding ministry career. His responsibilities have included leading a large church in Alabama, serving as president of the International Mission Board, establishing Radical, and later becoming a lead pastor at McLean Bible Church. These roles have required considerable time and responsibility, making family life an important part of balancing his public ministry with his personal commitments.
Platt’s teaching frequently emphasizes that Christian faith should influence relationships at home as well as service in the wider world. However, detailed information about Heather’s occupation, personal history, and private activities is not consistently available in authoritative public biographies, so those details should not be assumed.
David Platt Children
David and Heather Platt have six children. The family lives in the Washington, D.C., area, where Platt continues his pastoral and ministry work. His church’s official leadership profile confirms that he and Heather are raising their six children while he serves in church leadership.
Platt’s approach to Christian life places considerable emphasis on the importance of living out one’s beliefs through everyday choices. Family relationships, personal responsibility, and the example adults set for younger generations fit naturally within that broader message.
Despite his public profile, the Platts have generally protected their children’s privacy. Detailed information about each child’s age, education, and personal activities is not consistently documented in official biographies. Keeping those details private allows the family to maintain a distinction between Platt’s public ministry and his children’s individual lives.
David Platt Education
Platt pursued an extensive academic education before becoming widely known as a pastor and author. He attended the University of Georgia, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism degree. His undergraduate studies provided a foundation in communication and the presentation of ideas, skills that would later become useful in preaching, writing, and public speaking.
He continued his education at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he earned three advanced degrees: a Master of Divinity, a Master of Theology, and a Doctor of Philosophy. His studies focused on theological and biblical subjects, preparing him for pastoral ministry and academic work.
Platt later served at the seminary as dean of chapel and assistant professor of expository preaching and apologetics. These roles gave him experience in both ministry and theological education. They also provided opportunities to train students, teach biblical interpretation, and help prepare future Christian leaders.
His academic background remains an important part of his public identity. Platt combines formal theological training with a communication style aimed at helping congregations understand Scripture and consider how it applies to contemporary life.
Early Ministry and Theological Teaching
Before becoming a nationally recognized pastor, Platt worked in church ministry and theological education. He served as a staff evangelist at Edgewater Baptist Church in New Orleans and held academic and ministry responsibilities at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. These early experiences helped establish the foundation for his later work in pastoral leadership and global missions.
His teaching emphasized biblical exposition, a method of preaching that explains Scripture carefully and considers its meaning in context. This approach would remain central to his ministry as he moved into leadership of a large congregation.
Platt’s early career also coincided with a growing interest in the relationship between local churches and international evangelism. Rather than treating missions as a separate activity for a small number of specialists, his teaching encouraged Christians to see discipleship and the sharing of their faith as responsibilities that extend throughout the church.
The Church at Brook Hills
In 2006, Platt became senior pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. He was 27 years old at the time, making his appointment an important milestone in his career. The congregation provided a platform for his preaching and helped bring his teaching to a much wider audience.
During his time at Brook Hills, Platt became increasingly associated with the idea that Christians should evaluate their lives in light of Jesus’ teachings rather than simply accept the priorities of the surrounding culture. His sermons challenged church members to think about generosity, sacrifice, evangelism, and the responsibility to care for people experiencing poverty and other hardships.
His experiences at Brook Hills helped shape the ideas that later appeared in Radical. The book encouraged readers to examine whether comfort, material success, and personal ambition had become more important than following Jesus. It also emphasized that faith should result in practical action rather than remain a private belief.
The Book That Brought Him Wider Recognition
Platt became widely known through Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, published in 2010. The book questions the assumption that a successful Christian life should follow the same priorities as the wider culture, particularly when those priorities center on wealth, comfort, and individual achievement.
Rather than presenting faith as a means of achieving personal success, Platt argues that following Jesus involves surrender, generosity, service, and a willingness to put the needs of others ahead of personal convenience. The book became a New York Times bestseller and helped introduce his teaching to readers who may not have attended his church or heard him preach.
The success of Radical led to further writing and the development of a broader ministry. Platt founded Radical to help churches and individual Christians put the book’s themes into practice. The organization provides resources, teaching, and initiatives intended to support discipleship and the global mission of the church.
President of the International Mission Board
In 2014, Platt became president of the International Mission Board (IMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention. The organization supports international missionary work and cooperates with churches and Christian workers seeking to share the Gospel in communities around the world. His appointment placed him in a major leadership role within Southern Baptist missions.
The position aligned closely with his long-standing emphasis on evangelism and making disciples among people who have limited access to Christian teaching. In this role, Platt was responsible for helping lead an organization with an extensive international mission network.
His presidency also brought him into contact with the practical challenges of international missions, including the allocation of resources, missionary support, organizational leadership, and the need to build relationships with local churches and Christian leaders in different cultural settings.
Platt announced his departure from the presidency in 2018, after several years in the position. He subsequently continued his work with Radical and his pastoral responsibilities. His time at the IMB remains a significant chapter in his career because it placed global evangelism at the center of his professional responsibilities.
McLean Bible Church
In 2017, Platt joined McLean Bible Church, based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. He initially served during a leadership transition before being confirmed as the church’s lead pastor in September of that year. His responsibilities have included preaching, teaching, spiritual leadership, and helping shape the church’s approach to discipleship and global outreach.
McLean Bible Church describes his role as including partnership with its Global Outreach Team and international partners to mobilize Christians to share the Gospel. This work reflects a consistent theme throughout his career: connecting local church life with the wider mission of Christianity.
The church has a broader leadership team, and Platt serves alongside other pastors and elders. In its current leadership information, McLean Bible Church identifies Mike Kelsey as a lead pastor who helps guide the church’s overall leadership and direction, while Platt continues serving in a lead-pastor and elder role.
Radical Ministry
Radical is an organization Platt founded to equip Christians and churches to live out their faith and participate in the mission of making disciples. It operates separately from McLean Bible Church, serving churches and believers beyond the congregation where Platt preaches.
The organization provides sermons, podcasts, Bible-study materials, articles, and events. One of its recurring initiatives is Secret Church, an intensive Bible-study gathering that focuses on studying Scripture and praying for Christians and communities facing difficult circumstances. Through these resources, Radical seeks to encourage believers to grow in their understanding of the Bible and apply that understanding in their lives.
Radical’s work also reflects Platt’s interest in global Christianity. Its resources encourage believers to consider the needs of people who have little access to the Gospel and to support the work of churches and Christian leaders in different parts of the world.
David Platt Books
Writing has played a central role in Platt’s career, allowing him to share his teaching beyond the congregations and conferences where he speaks. His books address discipleship, evangelism, cultural questions, Bible study, and the practical implications of Christian belief.
His best-known books include:
Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream examines the difference between cultural expectations of success and the demands of following Jesus. It encourages readers to reconsider how they use their resources and opportunities.
Radical Together builds on the themes of the original book, exploring how churches can work together to pursue the mission of Christianity rather than focus solely on institutional comfort or growth.
Follow Me considers what it means to become a disciple of Jesus and why Christian faith involves more than simply identifying as a believer.
Counter Culture examines how Christians can respond to controversial social and cultural issues through the framework of biblical teaching.
Something Needs to Change reflects on Platt’s experiences in the Himalayas and considers the suffering, poverty, and spiritual needs he encountered during his travels.
Don’t Hold Back encourages readers to consider the role of prayer, faith, and spiritual commitment in their lives.
How to Read the Bible guides understanding Scripture and approaching biblical texts with attention to their meaning and context.
Platt has also contributed to the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series. His books have reached a broad Christian readership, and Radical and Follow Me are among the titles identified by his publishers as New York Times bestsellers.
David Platt Awards and Achievements
Platt’s professional achievements are most clearly reflected in his leadership positions, published work, and the reach of his ministry. His major career milestones include becoming senior pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in 2006, publishing the bestselling book Radical in 2010, becoming president of the International Mission Board in 2014, and joining McLean Bible Church in 2017. These roles gave him opportunities to influence local congregations, international missions, and Christian readers.
His books have helped bring discussions about discipleship and Christian responsibility to a wider audience. Through Radical, he has also developed resources intended to help churches move from discussing the mission of Christianity to participating in it.
Rather than being known mainly for entertainment awards or celebrity recognition, Platt’s public standing comes from Christian publishing, preaching, theological education, and leadership in church and mission’s organizations.
David Platt Net Worth
David Platt has an estimated net worth of $2 million. He has worked as a pastor, author, teacher, and ministry leader for many years, but these professional activities alone do not provide enough information to calculate his personal wealth.
His bestselling books and speaking engagements may generate income, while his ministry roles involve organizations with their own budgets and financial responsibilities. However, the finances of a church or nonprofit organization should not be confused with the personal assets of its pastor or founder.
David Platt Salary
Platt’s current annual salary is not reliably confirmed in the public sources reviewed. His professional activities have included pastoral leadership, Christian publishing, theological teaching, and ministry work through Radical.
Compensation for pastors and nonprofit leaders can vary considerably according to organizational policies, responsibilities, and other factors. However, the budgets or donations associated with McLean Bible Church or Radical do not establish Platt’s individual salary.
Where Is David Platt Now?
David Platt continues to serve as a lead pastor at McLean Bible Church in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and as founder and chairman of Radical. His work includes preaching, Bible teaching, helping equip Christians for discipleship, and supporting the church’s efforts to share the Gospel locally and internationally.
Radical continues to make his teaching available through sermons, podcasts, articles, Bible-study resources, and events. These materials allow people to engage with his work even if they do not attend McLean Bible Church or live in the United States.
Platt’s ongoing ministry reflects the themes that have characterized his career: careful study of Scripture, a commitment to discipleship, and an emphasis on connecting Christian belief with practical action. His work remains focused on helping churches and individuals consider how their faith should shape their lives and their engagement with the wider world.
Frequently Asked Questions About David Platt
How old is David Platt?
David Platt was born on July 11, 1978, and is 48 years old in 2026.
Who is David Platt’s wife?
David Platt is married to Heather Platt. They live in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area with their children.
How many children does David Platt have?
David and Heather Platt have six children, according to McLean Bible Church’s current leadership profile.
What church does David Platt pastor?
He serves as a lead pastor at McLean Bible Church in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. His role includes preaching, teaching, spiritual leadership, and helping support the church’s global outreach.
What is David Platt famous for?
He is best known for writing Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, founding Radical, serving as president of the International Mission Board, and preaching at McLean Bible Church.
Where did David Platt study?
He earned undergraduate degrees from the University of Georgia and a Master of Divinity, Master of Theology, and PhD from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
What is David Platt’s net worth?
David Platt has an estimated net worth of $2 million.
