Growing up in Chester, South Carolina in the United States of America, Donald Andrew “Donnie” McClurkin, Jr lost his two-year-old brother to a road accident, was sexually abused by his relatives, lived with two sisters who were addicted to drugs and was bullied in college till he dropped out.
Anyone who gave a cursory look at Donnie’s early life would have seen nothing but a broken soul who was absolutely unlucky on all sides.
Pastor Donnie’s life has undeniably been a notable adventure. Born on November 9, 1959, the “young” 61-year-old icon has proven to the world that God’s Grace is never threatened by the scars, hurts and aches in one’s life. ChurchGist. While growing up, God used the song: “Jesus is The Answer” by Andrae Crouch, to instill hope, faith and trust in Donnie’s life.
He later met Andrae Crouch in 1970, at a concert. After a short conversation, Andrae, who was in his late twenties, laid his hands on Donnie’s head and said, “God give him what you gave to me.” While narrating the experience, Donnie said “…and that’s how I got all these, that’s how he became a mentor of mine and then became a friend…and then I was able to minister with him and to him.”
According to Pastor Donnie, his mother taught him the basics of the piano, “I always had one finger on one hand, two fingers on the other, three fingers on this one, yeah, we progressed from one finger on this to three fingers on this one”, he recalled.
Ordained as a Pastor by Marvin L. Winans in 2001, that same year, he established Perfecting Faith Church in Freeport, New York, which started as a small Bible study group. His weekly radio program, The Donnie McClurkin Show, debuted in 2006 and went on to broadcast in over seventy-five platforms. ChurchGist. From 2010 to 2015, he appeared as a judge on five seasons of BET’s Sunday Best. His discography includes Again (2003), Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs (2004), We Are All One (Live in Detroit) (2008), Duets (2014) and The Journey (Live) (2016).
Although the global pandemic prevented him from visiting Nigeria in 2020, Pastor Donnie McClurkin has been a regular minister at The Experience, since inception. He also hosts his weekly radio show on Rhythm 97.3FM and keeps blessing lives with the Word of God.
We pray for higher dimensions of God’s Grace in his life in Jesus name.
Ayodeji V.O. for Church Gist
SOURCES:
- All Music
- The History Makers
- Wikipedia
#MaleMinisterMonday
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