Click here to read a Q&A with C.V.

By Loretta Fulton

After nearly 30 years on the job, C.V. Blake is calling it a career–but not for long.

Sunday, Aug. 2, will be Blake’s last day as Pastor for Adults at First Baptist Church. A special retirement recognition will be held during the morning worship service, followed by a fajita dinner at 5 p.m. in the church’s Family Life Center. 

C.V. Blake

Next up for Blake after retiring from full-time service at First Baptist is the beginning of a career as a pastor to churches without a full-time pastor. Blake didn’t immediately respond to a sense of calling to the ministry when he was in high school. His father was a pastor for 54 years, and Blake didn’t see that in his future.

“As I got a little older,” he said, “I came to realize the depth of the calling on my life.”

In addition to answering that call, he and his wife, Shelly, will continue to be involved in fostering children, as they have for almost 18 years.

C.V. and Shelly Blake with foster baby

Blake joined the pastoral staff at First Baptist in 1999 as the Pastor for Youth. In 2004, he became the Pastor for Young and Median Adults and is retiring as Pastor for Adults.

Born in Fisher County, Blake move with his family to Levelland when he was about six. He went through the school system there and earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University. Prior to moving to Abilene, Blake was Minister of Youth at First Baptist Church in Bryan.

Loretta Fulton is creator and editor of Spirit of Abilene