Gospel singing legend Bishop Rance Allen died Saturday morning at the age of 71, according to his family.
Bishop Allen moved to Toledo in 1989 and was the pastor of New Bethel Church of God. He previously performed for President Barack Obama and was nominated for five Grammy Awards.
Bishop Rance Allen was born in 1948 in Monroe, Michigan, one of 12 children. At the age of five he began his preaching ministry and by age nine was preaching throughout Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. He was licensed to preach at age 12 and has since carried the Word of the Lord throughout the United States and abroad. In 1978 he was ordained an Elder by the late Bishop John Seth Bailey and subsequently served 6-1/2 years as Associate Pastor of Holiness Temple Church of God In Christ (COGIC) in Monroe, MI.
In 1985 the late Bishop Gilbert Patterson founded New Bethel Church in Toledo, OH and installed Bishop Allen there as Pastor where he currently serves today. He served many years on the board of the Neighborhood Improvement Foundation of Toledo, Inc., a community organization whose mission was dedicated to improving inner-city environments. In recognition of his dedicated years in ministry the Urban Bible Institute of Detroit bestowed upon him an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity in 1995. In September, 2011 by God�s amazing grace Bishop Allen was elevated to the office of Jurisdictional Prelate of Michigan Northwestern Harvest in Detroit, succeeding the late Bishop Alfred Knight, Jr. and was consecrated on November 7, 2011 during the 104th Holy Convocation in St. Louis, Missouri. He has also been blessed with the awesome and humbling opportunity to preach the main message to thousands during the 90th, 96th and 105th International COGIC Holy Convocations.
Bishop Allen has been married to Evangelist Ellen Marie Groves since December, 1970. The calling on her life has been an enormous blessing to Bishop Allen as she has helped him take his ministries to a greater level in God. While there are no natural children born to this union they share their love and support to many God-children.http://theranceallengroup.com/rancebio.php
Formed by vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and songwriter Rance Allen (b. Monroe, Michigan) with his brothers Tom (drums) and Steve (bass guitar); another brother, Esau (percussionist), joined the group on an intermittent basis.[2]:256 During an appearance at a gospel talent contest in Detroit, Michigan, they came to the attention of one of the judges, record promoter Dave Clark, who worked for Stax Records.[1][2]:255–256 The group was the first to be signed to the Stax imprint Gospel Truth, and they recorded for the Stax organization throughout the 1970s.[1][2]:256 In 1972, the group appeared in the documentary film Wattstax.[2]:270 Following this appearance, the group was named “Best Religious Group” by the National Association of Television and Radio Announcers (NATRA).[2]:272 David Porter co-produced the group’s 1975 album A Soulful Experience, for which he wrote an autobiographical song, “Just Found Me”.[2]:363
The group’s incorporation of rock and soul into traditional black gospel music prefigure the crossover success of such artists as Amy Grant, Andrae Crouch, and The Winans.[1][3] In 1978, the group had a Top 30 R&B hit, “I Belong to You.”[3] The group released one of its most famous songs, Miracle Worker, in spring 2000.[4]
