Dr. Judith McAllister

Global Gospel Sensation Judith Christie McAllister Weathers The Storms and Sounds the Trumpets with Highly Anticipated Praise and Celebration CD…..

(New York, NY- August 16, 2011) -After five years  since her Top Ten CD “In His Presence” was released, Judith Christie McAllister, prepares for the August 30^th release of her fourth CD Sound the Trumpet on Shanachie Entertainment. McAllister’s highly anticipated new project brings praise and worshippers the high-energy anthems and tender songs of praise, expected from this leading female psalmist.  After only a few weeks of release at radio, the infectious radio single has already landed on the Top 40 gospel radio airplay charts.

“The title cut ‘Sound the Trumpet’ is a clarion call to the Body of Christ to rise up and be the “Watchmen we have been called to be; to declare truth to society that there is an impending danger if we do not turn our hearts back to God.” Of this New CD, McAllister says that it directs the Church to confront America’s eroding moral values with an exemplary lifestyle of Holiness and  devotion.  "If the church does not rise up with Holiness and declare “Thus saith the Lord”, the blood of this society is going to be required at our hands.” (Ezekiel 33:1-8)

Sound The Trumpet was recorded live at the Greater Allen A.M.E. church in New York on 08/08/2008. Immediately following the recording, McAllister faced many aspects of difficulty, but she remembered that she was made for the struggle realizing that just as the number “8” represented new beginnings, that through all of the difficulty in her life, “God was birthing something new within me, I had to bring myself into remembrance that the anointing is birthed through pain!”  Amid it all,  I have no complaints, but see this season of my life as an opportunity to be an example of ‘how’ to go through, how to be hallowed out for the glory of God, just like the process a Shofar has to endure for a pure and unadulterated sound to be emitted.”   

Sound The Trumpet was produced along with respected musician Michael Bereal (Marvin Sapp, Smokie Norful). McAllister defines this CD  as an eclectic exercise for a new millennium of believing worshippers. The songs range from the rock-edge of “I Will Sing,” to the Caribbean seasoning of “Fire” (featuring T.C. Bereal Jr.). McAllister’s protégée Markita Knight leads the acoustic “Thank You For The Healing” with a pristine pop vocal. Nancey Jackson-Johnson’s stellar voice embodies the ballad “Just For Who You Are” and BET’s “Sunday Best” talent contestant, Michael Pugh, leads “Draw Me Near” with an almost operatic tenor.  “I really don’t consider myself a singer.  I can’t do all the runs and the beautiful riffs that these wonderfully gifted singers do with their voices, but what I think attracts people to my voice, is the identification with where they are......once you’ve been delivered in an area, that sound of deliverance coming from you can be picked up by someone who recognizes their need for freedom.”

One of the individuals who mentored me from afar was Ron Kenoly, I looked to his ministry for how I was going to model what the Lord had given me concerning Praise & Worship,” says McAllister who lives in Nashville with her husband, and three children. “I remember a song on his DVD project ‘Praise From Every Nation’, which I watched  over and over again.  I said, ‘one day I’m going to do just that - full band on stage’ and pretty much we did it with this CD. We had two drummers, two bass players, two lead guitarists, horn section and twelve wonderful singers, all playing and singing at the same time to the Glory of God!  By God’s grace, I’m getting there….. 

Judith Christie McAllister is not a ‘gospel artist.’ Her ministry of music is just one of the many ways in which she fulfills her life’s assignment of bringing people into closer relationship with the Father; and Sound The Trumpet does not fall short of this mission.  Its combination of musical excellence, relevant songs and anointed delivery are certain to impact the lives of listeners in every part of the globe.

Worship:

LIVE it, DO it, SHARE, TEACH it, and BE it!

Often referred to as "The First Lady of Praise & Worship," Dr. Judith McAllister is probably best known for her impact as one of the forerunners of the Praise & Worship movement in the African American Church. Having served for 17 years as Worship Leader at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ (under the exemplary leadership of pastor, visionary and Presiding Bishop of the COGIC International, Bishop Charles E. Blake), and 13 years under her belt as the church’s Executive Director of the Music & Worship Arts Department, she developed a style and approach to Praise & Worship that has earned her accolades from Coast to Coast.

But more than this, Dr. McAllister is a Wife, Mother, Author, prolific Bible Teacher, Prophetic Psalmist and CEO of 3 ministries. The first, Judah Music Incorporated, serves as the springboard for her recordings - “Send Judah First”, “Raise the Praise”, “In His Presence” and “Sound The Trumpet. In 2005, she founded Inheritance Judah Ministries International, through which she imparts to the next generation the foundational principles required for the pursuit of excellence in worship ministry. The newly formed Never Ending Worship (N.E.W.) Enterprises LLC serves as the foundation for all of her workshops, seminars and ministry products; and recently added to her list of God-given assignments is her appointment as President of the International Music Department of the Church of God In Christ - the largest Pentecostal denomination in the country, with a membership that exceeds 6 million worldwide.

Dr. McAllister began her education of higher learning at the State University of New York at Old Westbury and subsequently transferred to Oral Robert University in 1985. This path of education has afforded her the following degrees; a Bachelors of Arts in Theology, a Masters in Biblical Studies, an honorary Doctorate in Sacred Music, and an earned Doctorate in the Philosophy of Christian Worship, from Anchor Theological Seminary.

Dr. McAllister stands as a trailblazer, providing a new paradigm for kingdom excellence in ministry; and in addition to mentoring worship leaders all around the globe, her insightful teaching continues to impact the body of Christ by elevating the understanding of radical, reverent and revelational worship.

The life of this servant of God is aptly summarized by her personal mission statement: “To fulfill the purpose of God for my existence to its fullest capacity, to die empty: having maximized every gift, passed on every ounce of wisdom having been blessed to obtain, completed every assignment and accomplished all that God has ordained for my life.”