Bishop Hezekiah Walker (born December 24, 1962) is a popular

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gospel music singer and artist and pastor of prominent

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New York Pentecostal

megachurch A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant or Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant C ...

, Love Fellowship Tabernacle. Walker has released several albums on

Benson Records Benson Records was founded by Bob Benson and John T. Benson, who formed the John T. Benson Music Publishing Company in 1902. The record label started out as Heart Warming Records, creating house labels such as Impact Records, Greentree Records, R ...

and

Verity Records Verity Records is an American gospel music-focused record label, founded in 1994. The Gospel group operated by Provident Label Group, which in turn is owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Artists * 21:03 * Crystal Aikin * Deitrick Haddon * DeW ...

as Hezekiah Walker & The Love Fellowship Crusade Choir.

Biography

Walker was born in

, New York. He attended Long Island University, majoring in Sociology. He also attended Hugee Theological Institute, and the New York School of the Bible. Walker became a bishop in the

Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith The Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith is a Oneness Pentecostal church with headquarters in Manhattan. It was founded in 1919 by Robert C. Lawson. The church's mission statement is: "To evangelize the world for Jesus Christ; ...

in 2008, and transferred to the Pentecostal Churches of Jesus Christ later that year. Walker became the Presiding Prelate of the Pentecostal Churches of Jesus Christ in 2010. In 2001, Hezekiah & The LFT Church Choir were nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Best Gospel Artist, Traditional on the strength of the album ''Love Is Live!'' Walker has won Grammy Awards for Best Gospel Album By Choir Or Chorus twice: once for ''Live in Atlanta at Morehouse College'' (1994) with The Love Fellowship Crusade Choir, and once for ''Love Is Live!'' (2001) with The LFT Church Choir. Separate from The Love Fellowship Crusade Choir, Walker's LFT Church Choir released two albums entitled ''Recorded Live At Love Fellowship Tabernacle'' in 1998 and "Love Is Live" in 2001. LFT Church Choir was more youthful and hip-hop leaning ensemble than its predecessor and its album hit the Top 5 of Billboard's Gospel Chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award the same year. In 2021 Pastor Frank Santora of Faith Church in New Milford, CT, and Hezekiah Walker joined together to start a church in

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, New York City, called Every Tribe Church.

Discography

Albums

* ''I'll Make It'' (Sweet Rain, 1987) * ''Oh Lord We Praise You'' (Sweet Rain, 1990) * ''Focus on Glory'' (A&M, 1992) - STUDIO * ''Live in Toronto'' (Benson, 1993) * ''Live in Atlanta at Morehouse College'' (Benson, 1994) * ''Live in New York by Any Means...'' (Benson, 1995) * ''Live in London'' (Verity, 1997) * ''Recorded Live at Love Fellowship Tabernacle'' (Verity, 1998) – by Hezekiah Walker & The LFT Church Choir * ''Family Affair'' (Verity, 1999) * ''Love Is Live!'' (Verity, 2001) - by Hezekiah Walker & The LFT Church Choir * ''Family Affair, Vol. 2: Live at Radio City Music Hall'' (Verity, 2002) * ''20/85 The Experience'' (Verity, 2005) * ''

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'' (Verity, 2008) * ''Azusa: The Next Generation'' (RCA Inspiration, 2013) * ''Azusa: The Next Generation 2 – Better'' ( Entertainment One Music, 2016)

Compilations

* '' Gospel Greats '' (Benson, 1995) * '' Nothing But The Hits '' (Verity, 2003) * '' Divine Voices: Pastors of Praise '' (Mack Avenue, 2015)

Singles

* "99½" (Benson, 1995) – Cassette Single * "Let's Dance" (Jive/Verity, 1999) – CD Single/12" Single * "Souled Out" (Verity, 2008) – Digital download Single * "Every Praise" (RCA Inspirational, 2013) – Digital download Single

Trivia

*Walker is sometimes affectionately referred to as "the Hip-Hop Pastor" due to the number of high-profile secular hip-hop recording artists who attend his church, such as Lil' Kim and

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. *Sony Music recording artist

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and Aaron Hall, lead singer of the R&B boy group, Guy, are among several artists who originally sang with Hezekiah Walker's Love Fellowship Choir and went on to record secular music.

References

External links

Love Fellowship Tabernacle
Official Website
Verity Records
Official Website * American gospel singers 1962 births Living people {{christian-music-stub