WINNIPEG — Doug Koop’s first assignment as a journalist had a decidedly local angle: His boss asked him to paint the office at the Christian newspaper, which had yet to publish its first issue.

At the end of January, Koop closed the door on 25 years as editor of ChristianWeek after a career covering issues concerning Christians across Canada and around the world.

"He came to know a huge number of people across the country, and he had a very good grasp of the entire church community in the country, and I think he was able to gain the respect of many of them," says former publisher Harold Jantz, who hired Koop in 1987 despite his lack of journalism experience.

Born and raised in Ethiopia, where his parents were missionaries, Koop initially set out to be a missionary himself. He and his wife had just moved to Winnipeg after 18 months in Kenya when Jantz offered him a job.

"I was glad to be a writer. It was exactly what I wanted to do," says the 56-year-old, who previously worked in the flooring industry.

"My first title was assistant editor. My first job was painting the office."

The initial issue of the biweekly tabloid covering Christian faith and life in Canada rolled off the presses in April 1987 and was mailed out to about 1,500 subscribers. In the early years, Jantz worked hard to increase the subscription base, which eventually hit a peak of 10,000, while Koop worked away writing copy, editing freelance submissions and keeping on top of issues affecting conservative Christian denominations.

"There were times I had half a dozen articles (in the paper) and there were times I was completely absent," recalls Koop.

Over the years, Koop’s thoughtful editorials and careful reporting have helped evangelical Christians understand each other better, says Bruce Clemenger, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

"I think he’s very good at thinking through complex issues carefully and finding ways to express a range of views and look for a common point of meaning for the evangelical community," Clemenger says.

"He’s managed to build relationships while he’s doing it, rather than annoy people."

Koop also built strong relationships with his many writers, mentoring them, editing them when necessary and encouraging them to cover contentious issues, recalls longtime columnist John Stackhouse, a professor at Regent College in Vancouver.

Stackhouse wrote a much-debated feature piece on how badly Christian organizations pay their speakers, which Koop ran without a byline at the author’s request so readers would focus on the content instead of the writer.

"Doug also exhibited courage when he published a piece (Oct. 15, 2010) I co-wrote with one of my students, nurse Meera Bai, which defended InSite, the safe-injection site in Vancouver the Harper government tried to shut down, all the way to the Supreme Court," recalls the theology professor.

"This piece also won the Canadian Church Press Award in its category and set off debate across the country."

Koop views his mandate at ChristianWeek as inviting passionate exchange while offering a bit of moderation and reason to tone down the debate so readers don’t become too polarized.

Now a part-time theology student at the University of Winnipeg, Koop hopes the paper continues along the path of moderation and reasoned discussion on issues common to Canadian Christians.