 Bruce Parham Dwell Together Emtro Gospel |
BRUCE PARHAM
From the first, the call of God was obvious in Bruce Parham's life. The Lord's rich anointing to sing was upon him from his birth in the late '60s, obvious to all, including his encouraging grandmother who told him to "open up your mouth and sing!" Parham remained faithful to his grandmother's instructions growing up in the Philadelphia church where his father served as pastor. His rich musical gifting opened many doors for the young God-centered servant as a soloist, and Parham spent his adolescence perfecting his natural talents, performing at numerous churches, conferences, and convocations. By the age of 20, his hard work had taken him to the top of both state and national gospel music competitions. But Bruce Parham sought a greater prize, and fused his musical anointing with an equally compelling call to preach, beginning at that time an extended period of world-wide traveling that would keep him on the preaching and ministering forefront for the next twenty years, reaching thousands in the course of his far-flung movements. During this fruitful season of multifaceted ministry, "Philadelphia's Son of Promise" sang in venues too numerous to count, while participating on many highly-placed gospel projects, including several with the James Cleveland Singers, the Georgia Mass Choir, Bishop Andrew Merritt, and John P. Kee. Parham participated on 28 albums overall, or, "Twenty-eight that I can count," he laughs. "I lost track after that point." During this fertile time, he also released three solo albums, each well-received, including the very popular and successful "Hide Me" album. This season was prosperous spiritually as well, as Parham saw his anointing to preach rise to ascendancy. A God-given desire took root in his heart for a home base of operations where people could be saved, healed, delivered, and restored, an "oasis" for those in need of spiritual refreshing. The Lord was faithful to bring it to pass, and established the Oasis of Refreshing Ministries in Wilmington, DE, in 1998, under the leadership of Bishop Parham and his wife and strongest supporter, Elder Janet Parham, whom he wed in 1997. This ministry has grown rapidly, and in July of 2000, Bishop Parham birthed another house of worship in his hometown of Philadelphia, serving as the shepherd of "one church in two locations."
Bishop Bruce Parham brings all the years of service, singing, and soaring to a head in his debut project from EMTRO Gospel, "Dwell Together," a dynamic worship concert recorded live at Harvest Life Changers Church in Woodbridge, VA, in the last days of December, 2006. |
