Father of Beverly Crawford Passes Away

JDI Records informed TBGB that Bishop Walter Camps, Presiding Bishop of the Holy Temple of God and father of JDI recording artist Beverly Crawford, passed away. Please keep Beverly and her family in your prayers, as Christmas is a particularly difficult time to lose a loved one.

More About Presiding Bishop Walter Camps

Here is what JDI sent TBGB on Bishop Camps:

Bishop Walter Camps Sr. was born July 2, 1933 in Jonesville, Florida. He is one of nine children born to the late Essie & Robbie L. Camps. At an early age, Bishop Camps was converted and baptized under the pastorate of Rev. Henry Kinsey at Mt. Olive Primitive Baptist Church.

In 1952, he felt there was much more for him, so he obeyed the Spirit of God and slipped away to the Church of God in Unity in Gainesville, Florida. There he received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. In 1952, Bishop Camps became a member of the Church of God by Faith, Gainesville, Florida, where he served faithfully for twenty years and acknowledged his call into God’s ministry.

Still obedient to the move of God, Bishop Camps founded the “Camps Crusade Mission” and traveled from city to city across the United States and the Bahamas bringing souls to Christ. His former wife, the late Mother Nellie Mae Camps, and his seven beautiful and talented children: Belinda, Walter Jr., Alfred, Terrilyn Janet, Marilyn, Beverly and Evelyn, all traveled with him and played a big part in the ministry.

On December 17, 1988, Bishop Camps was united in holy matrimony to Mother Wilma Bloneeze Reid, a dynamic woman of God, who is very instrumental in many aspects of the ministry. In 1975, the late Mother Coreatha Byrd recommended the name of the mission be changed to the “Holy Temple of God.” Bishop Camps became Founder & Overseer of Holy Temple of God, Inc. with churches in Keystone Heights, East Palatka, Blitchton & Gainesville, FL. Today, the ministry has expanded to include churches in St. Augustine, FL, Rantoul, IL, and Sylvester and Kingsland, GA.

In this hour, God is leading Holy Temple of God to “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” As HTOG now celebrates its 30th Anniversary, we are looking up to God and looking out over the fields, and we are excited about what we see. We are laboring and preparing daily for the harvest! Send forth the harvest, Lord Jesus!