Gospel Singer Earnest Pugh Exits Megachurch Ministry to Pursue New Veteran Non-Profit
One of gospel music's leading performers, Earnest Pugh, stepped down from his megachurch position to pursue a new philanthropic initiative.
Pugh recently announced that he was leaving his position as worship pastor at Houston's Lighthouse Church.
With his latest hit, "Trade It All," continuing to climb the Nielsen BDS Gospel Recurrent chart and currently ranked at No. 5, the singer said he and his pastor of many years agree that his season of serving in the church is over.
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"Pastor Keion Henderson and I mutually agreed that seasons have changed," said Pugh in a statement shared with The Christian Post. "I am moving on to pursue some dreams that have laid dormant in my heart for years. Our joint efforts of laboring in the vineyard at Lighthouse have been fruitful and we believe God's best is yet to come for all involved parties. To God be the glory for the wonderful things He has done, is doing and will do to advance the Kingdom through our lives and ministries."
The Memphis, Tennessee, native has said that one of his dreams is to launch a non-profit organization for veterans. His new non-profit, Vet Rocks, will set out to assist women combat veterans. This ministry was inspired when he met a female veteran living in a Houston shelter.
The initiative will commence in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 21, with a string of Thanksgiving festivities that week, including an "Oh Give Thanks" concert featuring an impressive bill of national recording artists. The organization has partnered with sponsors to give away vouchers to 250 veterans and their families to purchase Thanksgiving dinners.
"Women are the most underserved population of U.S. veterans," Pugh, who was an active-duty Army soldier for 15 years, said. "These women have served and have great needs. The objective is to be a rock and stone of help to veterans who have served their country and now need to be served themselves."
At the end of that weekend, Pugh will celebrate his 50th Birthday Gala at the Renaissance Potomac View Hotel with an A-list guest list of friends and celebrities.
Pugh is also embarking on a 50-city tour as part of his journey to 50 years of life and over 20 years in the gospel music industry. The tour will take the "Rain On Us" and "I Need Your Glory" singer around the globe.
The gospel singer will be keeping busy with his other responsibilities, including host a radio program, be a music business university professor and lead worship at various conferences and churches.
"I've been working tirelessly for years so I'm going to lay low for a minute and focus on this next season in my life," he concluded. "I have literally been employed in some musical capacity at a church since I was 18 years old. Now, I feel like it's time for a shifting of focus to impacting our community in other ways than just pulpit ministry. I am ready to put my hands to the plow and make a global impact."
For more information, visit: www.earnestpugh.com
