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Begun in 1997 by Mike & Brenda Witte, Heart of David Ministries exists to encourage believers in deepening their relationship with Jesus Christ through a greater understanding and experience of His presence through worship. Whether through leading worship services, publishing insightful and inspiring articles, teaching seminars and workshops, or recording and producing original praise & worship music, Heart of David seeks to draw people into God’s presence where they may encounter Him personally through Jesus Christ His Son.
Mike & Brenda share many years of experience together in both music and ministry in a wide variety of settings. Mike began singing and writing songs to share his faith in Christ in 1971 while in college at Victoria, Texas. It was part of the overflow of the Jesus Movement in the early ‘70’s. [Click here for some scary early guitar days.] He and three other college friends formed a group called “Backstreet Congregation” from 1971-72, singing at area churches and college rallies. [Click here for some vintage photos.] They even sent a taped recording (anyone remember reel-to-reel!) of original songs to Word Music, but Word was not quite ready for the sweeping changes coming to Christian music! (And boy would we love to have that tape back now!) After the group disbanded, Mike and another former member sang at Christian coffeehouses in Austin and Marble Falls. Mike also continued to sing at various churches in his hometown area.
After transferring to Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Mike teamed up in 1973 with his college roommate, Frank Dudley, to form the now legendary (in their own minds) “Dudley and/or Witte Trio.” While there were actually only the two of them, they always considered “and/or” as the third member of the group (and a clue to some of their “off-beat” humor). They performed at college retreats and after-game fellowships, banquets and weekend revivals. Mike and Frank continued to perform after their college days into 1977, and later disbanded when “and/or” had to leave the group.
Prior to transferring to Howard Payne in 1972, Brenda attended Dallas Baptist University for three years. While there she was involved with the Acappella Choir which toured Israel and a number of states in the U.S.
Mike & Brenda met as fellow students at Howard Payne, and found in each other a shared desire and calling to pursue God’s purposes for their lives—along with a shared love of making music together! Following Brenda’s graduation in 1973 (a voice major) and Mike’s graduation in 1974 (a Bible major), the two were married. Mike then attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth while also serving as a youth and music director for a church in Lewisville for four years. During that time Brenda worked for the Baptist Convention of Texas offices in Dallas. They also continued to do some outside singing at area churches. In 1977 their first son, Joshua, was born. In the fall of 1978 they began making regular appearances at the Fatted Calf Steakhouse, a Christian restaurant that provided live music for their customers. That same year their second son, Aaron, was born.
In 1979 Mike & Brenda joined the staff of the Fatted Calf Steakhouse and began singing there five to six nights a week, while also helping with restaurant operations and staff management. That same year they invited fellow staff member Gary Byers to join them as a vocalist, and the River of Life trio was formed. For the next eight years River of Life traveled all over Texas ministering at churches, conferences and conventions, music festivals, Christian restaurants, office malls, banquets, Christian television, Christian radio station promotions, and camps. They also traveled to Colorado, Indiana, New Mexico, and as far away as South Africa where they ministered in music nine times in three cities. In 1981 River of Life became the official “house band” for Noah’s Ark Restaurant, a Christian restaurant located in Arlington. For nine months (193 nights), they provided several hours of live music each night. In 1985 they released a cassette album (anybody remember cassettes!) of original worship songs self-titled "River of Life", and quickly sold them out (all 500 of them!). [For some River of Life photo and song archives, click here.]
In 1984 Mike & Brenda and family (including Gary) moved to McKinney where Mike and Gary served on the staff of Lamb and Lion Ministries in Princeton, Texas. As River of Life they provided the praise & worship for a number of Lamb & Lion conferences and meetings (including the ministry trip to South Africa mentioned earlier). In the fall of 1985 they were instrumental in helping to plant a Vineyard church in McKinney which grew from a small group in their home to over a thousand in membership. Mike served as worship leader and associate pastor for twelve years, coming on full-time staff in 1988. Over the years twenty-seven of his original songs became a regular part of the congregation’s worship expression. During that time Mike & Brenda had the opportunity to participate in ministry trips to England, Germany and Australia. On subsequent ministry trips to Australia, Mike led worship for several major conferences and taught worship seminars and workshops.
In 1997 Mike & Brenda formed Heart of David Ministries to expand their worship ministry in preparation for their move to Australia that year. They were involved with a Vineyard church north of Brisbane, Queensland and ministered at several other churches in the area. They also made two ministry trips to the state of Tasmania, including a five week stay with a church in Smithton working with their worship teams. In 1999 they returned to Texas and continued to minister through Heart of David sponsoring worship gatherings, leading worship at area churches, Women’s Aglow meetings and other events, and made an appearance on a television program in Midland-Odessa. The ministry also began to record and produce its own CDs of original songs and music, and have released six CDs (and two accompanying songbooks) as of this writing. Some of these were produced in partnership with long-time worship leading friends Ron & Kim Sutton at their WindDancer Studio in Fredericksburg. Heart of David has also published a collection of fifteen worship related articles which originally appeared over the years in the newsletters of Heart of David Ministries.
In 2001 Mike & Brenda began attending a new church, Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, which met in McKinney for two years before moving to their new building in Prosper, Texas. Mike & Brenda later became their regular worship leaders, and in 2003 Mike came on staff as Worship Leader and Associate Pastor where he served for three years. In March of 2007, they relocated to Fredericksburg, TX. along with their son Aaron.
Mike and Brenda also have a son and daughter-in-law, Josh & Brandi, who currently reside in Italy.
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