Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ! I’m glad you’ve taken the time to get to know Western Avenue Baptist Church. Now, I’d like to introduce myself and trust to have the honor of meeting you in person soon.

I was born and raised in the Southwest. I’m a California native, but lived most of my childhood years in Las Vegas, Nevada. In my sixteenth year my parents and I moved to Chandler, Arizona where I attended and graduated from Tri-City Christian Academy in Tempe. It was during my high school years that God truly got my attention. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior during a revival campaign in my junior year. What a blessing to have my sins forgiven and be able to serve the Lord with my life!

Having surrendered my life to God for full-time ministry service, I attended International Baptist College in Tempe, Arizona. There I completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible and Missions and went on to secure the Master of Arts degree in Biblical Studies two years later. My high school sweetheart, Heather Tetreau, and I were married in 1993 after five years of courtship, and we’ve been happily married ever since.

After several years of ministry at Tri-City Baptist Church, working with ages two through senior citizens, an important decision was made in 1996. Sensing God’s leading, Heather and I moved to the Detroit, Michigan area so I could pursue the Master of Divinity degree at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. While in Michigan, we were honored to serve as the assistant pastor at Grace Baptist Church of Livonia, where we spent five years ministering primarily to junior and senior high teens.

With the completion of my seminary education, God impressed us that it was time to come home, and in June 2001 He opened the door for us to come to Western Avenue Baptist Church, Avondale, Arizona. God has richly blessed us over the past several years of ministry at Western Avenue. Ministerially, our church has seen people saved and added to the Body, personally, I’ve been afforded the opportunity to continue my education by pursuing a doctorate, and familially, Heather and I were able to adopt our first child, Sullivan.

God is so good. As I look back over the years of life and ministry He has granted me, I can do nothing but praise Him for His ever-faithful leading. I pray God allows us to meet in person soon and gives me, my family, and Western Avenue Baptist Church the honor of adding you to the list of blessings in our lives.

In Christ,

David W. Smith.