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Lead Pastor: David Ritsema
David is happily married to Angela Ritsema and the proud father of Spencer and Dawsone. David came to Woodlawn in the sprinf og 2007 from Fort Worth, TX. He has served churches in the Tyler area, Waco area, and Dallas-Fort Worth area. He is a native Texan, growing up in the piney woods of East Texas.
David surrended to ministry in fall of 1997 while attending Tyler Jr. College as a computer science major. After serving in youth ministry at FBC Gresham and at Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, he was licensed to the ministry and went to Marchall to attend East Texas Baptist University, where he graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Christian Ministry and a minor in Christian Counseling.
David moved to Waco to attend George W. Truett Theological Seminary where he received the University Ministerial Scholar award and was awarded a full scholarship. He rgaduated in December 2002 with a Master of Divinity in Theology, graduating cum laude. While in seminary, he pastored churches in the Waco area where he was also ordained to ministry.
Married on May 21st of 2003 on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii to Angela Christine Schaeffer, a student at Baylor University, he went to pastor Oak Knoll Baptist Church in northeast Ft. Worth. He also began PhD studies in New Testament under the supervision of Dr. Bruce Corley at B.H. Carroll Theological Institute. He has completed al the requirements of the PhD in New Testament except for his doctoral dissertation which he is currently working finishing soon.
David came to Woodlawn Baptist Church in March of 2007 in view of a call. It was in February of 2007, that Angela and David had their first child, Dawson Alexander Ritsema. Their second child, David Spencer Ritsema, Jr., was born October of 2008.
Since coming to Woodalwn, then the church has added new ministries, new ministers, completed a new master plan, and is now working toward construction of a new worship center and sanctuary which should open by the fall of 2011.
Pastor David enjoys spending time with his wife Angela, and their two sons, Dawson and Spencer. He alos enjoys reading books over a nice hot cup of coffee, playing an occasional game of golf, and working on his dissertation. David is also an active participant in various guilds of bibical scholarship including the Society of Bibical Literature, the Institute of Bibical Research, American Academy of Religion, and maintains a biblical research blog call New Testament Studies under html address of http://davidritsema.wordpress.com.