Bro. John Whittaker is the Minister to Youth and Children's at First Baptist Church, he has been here since February of 2006.   He has been married to his wife since 1998 and has two daughters.  Bro. John accepted the Lord as his personal savior at the age of 14 in September of 1986.  He graduated from Bell County High School in Pineville, Kentucky.  He is a graduate of Murray State University, he received his B.S. in Education.  He also graduated from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with an M. Div. in Christian Education.  He was Youth Pastor at First Baptist Church in Benton, Kentucky for 4 1/2 years, where he was ordained as a Baptist Minister.  He also is an Eagle Scout.

Other Ministry Experience includes:

Youth Minister, Cedar Creek Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky for 2 1/2 years.

Youth Intern, First Baptist Church, Murray, Kentucky, summer of 1988.

Centrifuge Staff Counselor, Lifeway Christian Resources, summers of 1996 and 1997.

Discovery Camps Staff Counselor, SonShare, Kentucky Baptist Convention, for the summers of 1994 and 1995.

Active in the Murray State BSU, serving on BSU Council for 3 years and as State BSU Vice-President for Outreach for one year.  He directed the Drama Ministry Team for three years.

Bro. John's Career Objective is:

To follow Ephesians 4:11-12 by fostering spiritual maturity in the lives of children and youth; equipping parents, teachers, and adults of the church to minister to their families in their areas of need; and training the whole church to grasp the depth, height, and breath of a real world faith in Christ by developing and educating church leaders.

Bro. John loves to spend time playing with his daughters and time with his wife.  If he has any extra time, he enjoys snow skiing, fishing, playing tennis and has been known to ride a four wheeler with some of the youth!  He is great with the youth and children of First Baptist Church.  He takes an active role in all of their lives to develop them into young christian adults, and encourages them to lean on Christ for their every need. FBC has an awesome youth group with lots of camps, mission trips, etc. for all age groups of children.  Bro. John is a great asset to First Baptist Church.