Wintley Augustus Phipps, Sr. (born January 7, 1955) is a Trinidadian-American singer, songwriter, record producer, minister, and founder of the U.S. Dream Academy,[1] Songs of Freedom Publishing Company, and Coral Records Recording Company. He features a booming bass-baritone voice, usually singing inspirational gospel music.[2][3] He is an ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister.[4]
Biography
Phipps was born in Trinidad and Tobago, but at an early age moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He attended Mount Royal High School in Town of Mount Royal. He attended Kingsway College in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, a Seventh-day Adventist academy, and later Oakwood College, a Seventh-day Adventist college (university since 2007) in Huntsville, Alabama, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology. Phipps would go on to earn a Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University, a Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Wintley Phipps served as senior pastor to several churches in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, including the Capitol Hill and Seabrook Seventh-day Adventist Churches. He currently serves as pastor of the Palm Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church in Palm Bay, Florida. Wintley is married to Linda Galloway, whom he met at Oakwood.[4] They have three sons: Wintley II, Winston Adriel, and Wade Alexander.
In 1998, Phipps founded the U.S. Dream Academy, Inc.,[4] a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a values-based, interactive, tutorial and remedial education program targeting children and at-risk youth through community Family Learning Centers located in various states. Phipps wanted something to help break the cycle he saw played out so many times in his own family. Wintley formed the U.S. Dream Academy to help children who have had a family member behind bars. The program provides mentoring, academic tutoring, and exposure to computers and the Internet. Phipps says, "Just the computers themselves are not going to transform the lives of these kids," and "The most important part of our program is really the caring, loving adults who surround them."
Phipps, Wintley; Down, Goldie M. (1994). The power of a dream: The inspiring story of a young man's audacious faith. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. p. 186. ISBN0-310-47920-7.
Phipps, Wintley; James Lund (2015), Your Best Destiny: Becoming the person you were created to be. Tyndale Publishers
Phipps, Wintley, Perfecting Me: Becoming the person you were created to be. Songs of Freedom Publishing