Allison Speer

Allison Speer to hold concert at Athena Baptist Church on Friday, April 18, 6 PM.

Everyone is invited to come and worship with us at Athena. There is no charge for a great evening of Christian entertainment of fun, laughs, serious thought provoking words from Allison Speer. A light fellowship meal will follow the service. For more information please contact Pastor David McMullen @ 850-843-0078 for voice or text. Below is a bio of Allison.

Allison is a Kentucky native and has been singing professionally since 1985 and touring with the Bill Gaither Trio and Gaither Vocal Band since 1989.

She has also made regular appearances on Gaither Homecoming videos and at live concerts.

Her early childhood was spent enjoying spring vegetable gardens and sun drying autumn apples; tending cattle and crops, and developing a deep respect for God’s creation, which gave her a down home sense of self.

A concert by The Imperials was Speer’s earliest introduction to Christian music.

She watched as Russ Taff performed the songs, “Praise the Lord” and “New Creation,” and was instantly passionate about the Gospel word set to song.

The passion she felt that night has taken her to the stage, performing alongside Russ Taff, and as a regular on the Gaither Homecoming videos and tours.

“It’s so surreal to perform next to Russ; he and The Imperials are the reason I fell in love with Christian music in my teens. That means that Russ is a considerable number of years older than me, a fact I continually remind him of.”

Speer communicates the Gospel in all she does, in mega-churches such as First Baptist Atlanta (Dr. Charles Stanley), The Brooklyn Tabernacle and First Baptist Orlando (the Rev. Jim Henry), as well as small rural churches.

She has also been a featured artist for many Bible study cruises with Charles Stanley and D. James Kennedy.

She has also performed with evangelists Luis Palau, Bailey Smith, David Ring and Johnny Hunt (First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Ga.).

She has been the guest soloist at the national Southern Baptist Convention, the Nazarene General Assembly, and numerous Praise Gatherings and Family Fest Events hosted by Bill Gaither.

Her time has been spent touring with the Gaither Vocal Band and Gaither Trio, and with Mark Lowry and Wayne Watson, as well as keeping a hectic schedule of solo appearances.

Her grounding lies in her home church, Grace Church of the Nazarene in Nashville, Tenn.

But no matter where she is, a consuming flame keeps her searching for ways to be used, as she says, “to help others identify with the suffering of Jesus and bring clarity to the word of God through music.”

“I was raised by people who found life hard and seeds for the Master’s great wedding day harvest,” she said. “My parents wonderful at the same time. A farm in central Kentucky is what I call my homeland. The tender shoots that sprang from my grandfather’s carefully plowed rows were lessons about life. Planting, reaping, seedtime and harvest, these are the bases of all of our existence, really,” Speer said.

“We planted each spring to make sure we survived the winter’s dark days. Spiritually, we are nothing if we are not farmers planting seeds for the Master’s great wedding day harvest,” she said.

“My parents and grandparents held my feet to each precept of Christianity, but just because that is so does not mean salvation for me.

“Actually, I was wooed. For years, I sat and listened to the congregational songs, and their gospel plucked strings in my heart. “It was not until I went to youth camp that it became clear that I had to take part repentance,” Speer said.

“After camp, I did just that. There was not a parade. There were no fireworks. There were no flaming tongues falling at the front pew where I knelt.

“It was just Mrs. Davenport and me kneeling there. She prayed the words first, and I repeated them. I have repeated them in some fashion every day since. ‘Lord, forgive me for I am a sinner.’

“After words that heavy, God does the great and awesome remaking of a human heart. Nothing is ever the same then. Thank God for that,” she said.