I graduated from the University of Mobile in the spring of 2015 with a degree in Worship Leadership with an emphasis in Church Ministries. Since graduating, I have had quite a journey.
I moved from Mobile to Houston, Texas, where I served a church for two years. In January of 2018, I moved to our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., to sing in a group which performed at the Museum of the Bible. Along with singing, I helped with a church plant (which was hard work!) After our contracts ended, I found myself back in the Mobile area.
I ask myself all the time, “Where would I be if not for the grace of God and the University of Mobile?”
I can’t say enough how thankful I am for UM. It was a place that my heart needed. I’ve always had a passion for music, but my time at UM stirred that passion, and the outcome was a growing love for music and ministry. At the University of Mobile, I was mentored by the best of the best.
In the fall of 2019, I recorded an EP called “Generation to Generation.” This was a project that was unlike any I had done before, because it was all driven by worship choir. In February, about a month after its release, I signed a publishing and songwriting deal with LifeWay Worship.
If you’d have asked me five years ago if I would be a staff writer for LifeWay, I would have looked at you and laughed. Songwriting is something that I’ve always wanted to be good at, but never thought I was. I would always try to place myself around writers who were better than me and, in doing so, I grew. I did the same with singing! I traveled with UM’s Voices of Mobile for four years, and being around singers who are way better than I’ll ever be, helped me grow!
My UM experience was vital to my spiritual and personal growth. I was challenged, encouraged and loved. I would not be the man I am today if it weren’t for my time at UM. I am not only spiritually prepared for ministry, I’m also well connected with churches and ministers all over the world.
UM doesn’t just give you book knowledge; it gives you a platform which makes you valuable because you graduate experienced. My experience at UM left me well prepared for life in the church world.
Just like I chased my passion for ministry and music, you can do the same! What are you passionate about?
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
A 2015 graduate of the University of Mobile, Blake Walker has a passion for music and ministry. As a student, he traveled with Voices of Mobile while earning a bachelor’s degree in Worship Leadership with an emphasis in Church Ministries. Currently, he is a staff songwriter for LifeWay Worship.