Will McDonald Worship / Youth Leader
Will was born William Frank McDonald in Springfield, Missouri into a Baptist preacher’s home on the 4th of July, 1972. He accepted the Lord and was baptized at the tender age of (nearly) six years of age. In 1979, the family was called to California to start from scratch what would become the fast-growing Faithway Baptist Church. It was from his late mother Victoria Lynn that he learned a life-long love for music. First came singing, later came piano, and much later, guitar.
He attended Christian grade school until high school when he began a home schooling program for his freshman and sophomore years. It was here when the family felt the call to evangelism. They lived and traveled up and down the state in a fifth wheel trailer, making themselves available for week-long revival meetings.
They settled down at their home church Gold Coast Church in Ventura, CA, where Will spent his junior and senior years (and graduated from Buena High School). After two years at Ventura College, he flew east to attend Shawnee’s Oklahoma Baptist University, where he met his beautiful future wife Kara DeAnn (and, incidentally, also graduated in 1995 with a B.A. in Theater Arts and a minor in Vocal Performance).
For graduate school, Will traveled south this time (and even further east) to Baton Rouge’s Louisiana State University: he graduated with his M.F.A. in 1998. Returning to California later that year, he worked with his dad once again at First Baptist Church of El Rio; he helped start the Greenhouse Theatre Group; and later took on Youth and Music ministry duties at the Chapel of Faith, Point Mugu.
After some time in Tennessee with his dad (who had moved to Byrdstown), he followed his still wife-To-Be back to the state of Oklahoma where he became the Youth/Music guy at Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Tecumseh. Soon after, in November of 2006, his wife-To-Be finally became his actual Wife! They moved to Oklahoma City in early 2007 where they worked in the Music and College&Career ministries of Mayfair Baptist Church until April of 2010, when they were called as Music ministers at Faith Pointe.
He is the proud father of four amazing children: Boe, Karlie Roxanne, Maya Sophia, and Elyse Cassandra. His current key music groups include the David Crowder Band, Jars of Clay and the little-known but influential The Choir. He’s a StarWars geek and gamer guy (card, console, board and otherwise). He is challenged and inspired by the writings of J. Oswald Chambers and Philip Yancey.
