Paul Whittinghill
December 16, 2020 2023-03-04 14:23Drum Coach

I grew up as the youngest of 5 kids in Marietta, GA. My parents have been involved with ministry since before I was born and have always taught me what it means to know God.
I have always been musical and inspired by musical things. As a boy, before I had drums… I made anything I could find my drums. Rather it was tapping on my leg, using pencils as drums sticks, or playing on pots and pans, it was obvious to my parents that music was in me. I began taking piano lessons for a few years, which set up an amazing musical foundation for me. I enjoyed piano a lot, but I still had a desire to play the drums.
I got my first drum kit at age 11, but it wasn’t until I began playing on my high school worship team that things came into focus. My desire to hone my craft and be the best I could be began to rise.
As a senior in high school, I attended Passion 2006 in Nashville. It was here that God grabbed my attention and my heart in a new way. He used music to remind me of His greatness, and at the same time called me to lead people in worship. I came home with a deeper love for Jesus, and a call to lead people to see Him through worship.
Throughout my college years, I learned more and more about what it looked like to play in a band. I was taking lessons from a teacher named Jeff Wilkinson in Kennesaw, GA, who inspired me with all of the technical parts of playing drums, but the most impactful thing was experience. I played drums all around Atlanta, and began traveling with Brett Younker and Christy and Nathan Nockels full-time starting in 2008/2009. During this time, Passion City Church began to form in Atlanta where I began serving on the worship team with Brett, Christy, Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill and David Crowder. In 2013, Passion Music formed as a new expression of what God is doing at Passion City Church and at Passion Conferences. We get to write songs for the Church and lead them across the country throughout the year. It is a huge privilege and a dream come true to help build the Church and do what I love at the same time! I am so thankful to be able to pour into and encourage the next generation of young musicians and drummers!