Faith Community Church Blake

Worship/Youth Pastor: Blake Witman

I was born October 22, 1981 in Bellingham, WA, to a tremendous couple from Whatcom County named Rich and Karla Witman. I barely remember ever living in Everson, however it was there that I had my first encounter with God. Never before had I seen thunder and lightning, and a bolt of lightning crashed in the sky, and the only thing that went through my head was to run to mom crying because Jesus had returned and I wanted to be sure that I was going to Heaven with Him. We moved to Lynden shortly before kindergarden started, so you can basically say that I was born and raised in Lynden. Throughout the entirety of high school, I was one of those kids that never really gave my parents much of a hard time. I kept myself busy with sports and mixed that in with youth group where I was mentored by my youth pastor over at 1st Reformed Church Ken Bayard. Not only did he guide me in my walk with the Lord, but also sparked a love for music, and the guitar in particular. By the time I graduated from Lynden High School in 2000, I was on fire for Christ, living the life, and excited about going to school at Seattle Pacific University for Youth Ministry. It was the summer after my high school graduation that I began to slip in my walk. Before I knew it I was at college for something other than what I had originally planned on, and within two years, and MANY moral mistakes later, I moved to Minnesota. No longer did I think of being in ministry, as God was the furthest from my mind. My lifestyle was not one to be proud of, and the many people that had helped me to grow and mature in my walk through high school, I then pushed away. Then there was a night in 2004, one I will never forget, where God, full of mercy and grace, reached out His hand and showed me it was time to return to who He had made me to be. Three months later I moved back to Lynden. It was not long before I met the most amazing thing to ever happen to me, and within a year of that meeting, Jen and I were married on December 16, 2005. We were searching for a church that we both enjoyed, and came across Pastor Tim at Faith Community (Also the church that my old youth pastor Ken Bayard was the Worship director). It did not take long before I was involved in the youth program helping out with worship and volunteer leadership duties. Since then, God has continued to open doors, and guide me into Ministry. I enrolled in Trinity Seminary out of Indiana where I am currently studying Theology and Christian Apologetics, while I am also serving at Faith Community as the intern director of worship and youth.