James Rainwater
James Rainwater is a singer
and pastor who served in the Seventh-day Adventist church and is now a pastor
in the Brethren in Christ Church. A tenor, he recorded his first CD, Free to
Go, in 1998. Three additional CDs - Another
Christmas, James Rainwater Gospel Collection, and The Gallery - have been recorded, the last being
released in 2008.
Rainwater was one of four
children raised by his mother in Fort Smith, Arkansas. An avid basketball
player and fan and carefree teenager, he made his first singing debut at age
nineteen before a small group of less than sixty at a country jamboree in Jenny
Lind, Arkansas. The audience responded warmly and with a request for another
song, which he was unable to fulfill since his repertoire included only the one
he had just sung.
Shortly after this, Rainwater
became a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church, serving for sixteen of his
nineteen years in the church as a pastor in Missouri, Minnesota, and Oklahoma.
In 2007 he left the SDA church and now is senior pastor of the Bethany Church
in Thomas, Oklahoma. He completed an M.A. in Ministry Leadership at Crown
College in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota. His wife,
Aimee, is a kindergarten teacher in Thomas.
Throughout his career,
Rainwater’s enthusiasm for Christian living, sense of humor, and ability to
communicate through words and music have helped him minister effectively in a
worship setting.
ds/2013
Sources:
morningsongstore.com biography; jamesrainwater.tv website biography; biography
at Thomas, Oklahoma
Bethany Church website; Other online sources.