Bishop Joe Simon

DAVID SIMON / FOUNDATION GAVE THE 1ST CHECK IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,000 FOR THE AVENUE D BOYS CHOIR TRIP TO ITALY
David Simon is a 2005 graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Purdue University, and is currently working towards his Masters degree in Business Administration. Simon finished his Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW) basketball career 4th on the school's All-Time Scoring List. Simon is IPFW's All-Time leader in blocked shots. He is also 3rd All-Time in rebounds. Simon was named All-Independent First Team for two years in a row, as well as named to the ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Region V Academic All-America Team.
David Simon participated in many NBA camps and began his professional basketball career in Europe. Simon is currently playing his second season in Dijon, France.
The David Simon Foundation was started in 2005 to help provide opportunities for young students and to encourage and assist in their pursuit of higher education.
Click the player below to listen to an interview with Bishop Joe Simon and grandson, David Simon
Fort Wayne's Leading Independent Weekly Newspaper
Bishop Joe Simon lends support to treatment center
Special to Frost Illustrated
FORT PIERCE, Fla.-Forty years ago, he was soothing people's souls with the melodious sound of his voice, cranking out some of pop music's most unforgettable songs-"Let's Do It Over," "Teenager's Prayer," "The Chokin' Kind," "Yours Love," "Get Down, Get Down (Get On The Floor & Let the Good Times Roll)" and the classic "Drowning In The Sea Of Love," among others. Now he's saving souls.
While much of the world still remembers him as an R&B hit making icon and soul singing legend, today Bishop Joe Simon's voice is most often heard from the pulpit, singing gospel and preaching the Word of Jesus Christ around the world as the founder and director of the Bishop Joe Simon Ministries Community Crusade. And, like Christ, that ministry involves more than just talking-for Bishop Simon, it's about doing.
As he explains, the crusade ministers not only to the spiritual needs of individuals of individuals, but focuses on healing and empowering the community. For example, the ministry has conducted a nationwide voter registration drive. Simon also has used the pulpit to bring attention to other community issues, such as homelessness. And, as the official spiritual advisor for the World Conference of Mayors- an international group of mayors from the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean and the Orient-Bishop Simon has been able to bring those causes to a worldwide stage.
It's been three decades since Simon, at the height of his popularity, turned his back on the secular music world and decided to return to his roots-the church. The son of a Baptist minister, Simon sang gospel not only at his father's church but eventually joined the Golden West Gospel Singers. According to various histories, the group eventually turned secular and recorded under the name the Golden Tones.
But, as Bishop Simon explained, he was never that comfortable with secular music. For him, it was merely an economic necessity dictated by the times. It was sing secular music or "pick cotton" to make a living. So, his entry into the ministry in the late '70s and early '80s was not so much a change in direction as it was a return to what he always wanted to do, explained Simon. But, he doesn't discount his years in the "world" as a performer. In fact, his experiences seeing the problems that plagued friends and entertainers from those days are part of the impetus behind the Bishop Joe Simon Ministries Community Crusade's latest thrust-tackling the problem of drug and alcohol addiction.
Bishop Simon has been using his crusade stops around the country and world to tout the benefits of The Love Center Regeneration Ministries, a unique drug treatment center that he said is making a difference in the lives of many troubled people. Based in Fort Pierce, Fla., Simon said the center is designed to help folks who can't initially can't afford to get into other centers or who have been turned away from drug treatment facilities that already are full or overcrowded.
"It's going to be like a Betty Ford Clinic," said Simon, but without the kind of expense that only the rich can afford. "We're reaching out for everybody who wants help."
In addition to seeing some of his old colleagues in secular music fall victim to drug and alcohol abuse, Bishop Simon, who maintains his ministry's main office in Chicago, said he daily sees the impact drug abuse has on everyday individuals and families. The problem is so prevalent, he said, the drug rehab centers in his area are full. The Love Center Regeneration Ministries provides an alternative.
"We let people know we have a drug rehab place and it's located in Florida," he said.
Simon said he was impressed with the commitment and vision rehab director, Pastor Jerome Rhyant, who founded the ministry 12 years ago in his hometown of Fort Pierce. Actually, Pastor Rhyant began his intervention program in 1993 by taking troubled men into his own home until he could find programs to direct them toward. He said he didn't refuse anyone who came to him seriously looking for a way to change. And, Rhyant knew there was a way out, explaining that years earlier, he too had fallen victim to cocaine addiction, but God had blessed him to be delivered from those chains and had sent him on a mission to help others.
By 1995, Rhyant officially had started the Love Center Regeneration Ministries, still using his home as a stopping over point for those in need. Three years later, that grew into something else.
"The Lord gave me a vision in 1998 to take a city block and renovate it," he said.
That city block, once infamously known in Fort Pierce as "Crack Corner," became home to a 21-bed treatment facility that currently offers three programs:
A spiritually-based one-year drug treatment program; A prison aftercare program, and A housing and training program for homeless persons. The three programs are a perfect fit for the center, said Rhyant, explaining that they often are interrelated problems.
"The average substance abuser has been in and out of jail and probably has been homeless at some point," he said.
Rhyant said it's a blessing to have the ministry located there because it teaches people in recovery how to cope with the conditions that helped to push them over the edge in the first place.
"My ministry sits right in the center of Crack City, USA," he said referencing Fort Pierce's legendary drug problems. "If my guy can survive 12 months in this environment, he can survive anywhere in the world."
And, he added, being treated at the center "allows them to be resurrected where they died."
Pastor Rhyant said the vision also showed him that the center ultimately would evolve into a 48- bed facility-and that's already in progress.
The ministry also is set to start offering two additional services- a feeding program and a gang intervention program.
"I am expanding as we speak," he said.
According to Rhyant, the Love Center Regeneration Ministries has served more than 2,000 residents during the past eight years. While a number of clients are referred to the center by prison chaplains, the courts and other ministries, he said the center encourages walk-ins because people who come on their own are most often dedicated to their own recovery.
"Nothing happens until you become intensely desperate and motivated," he said.
Self-motivation is key to the success of the program. In addition to getting people off drugs and off the streets, all the center's programs involve getting clients to take responsibility-with the help of God-for their own lives. For example, while the center largely is supported by donations from the community, people in the program ultimately most contribute to their own rehabilitation.
"There is no upfront cost, but there is a cost," said Rhyant.
Program participants are trained by the ministry to work in a number of businesses operated by the center, including a tree trimming business, a car wash and a mobile auto detailing business among others. Part of the money made by clients in those jobs goes back to the ministry to pay the cost for their rehabilitation. Rhyant said that's only fair and reasonable- and empowering for someone trying to escape the trap of addiction.
"You pay the dope man to kill you, you can invest into the Kingdom of God to heal you," he said. "The addict is 70 to 80 percent responsible for his own care. It's a work therapy program. It's a holistic approach to rehabilitation."
From the testimonies found at his website www.jeromerhyant. com, the program is definitely working. Rhyant and Simon both say they want to see the ministry expand to other cities and the bishop is leading that cheer as he travels about the U.S. and the world.
There's a real need for it," said Bishop Simon. "We're trying to open up places across the country.
For more information, call the Love Center Regeneration Ministries or the Bishop Joe Simon Ministries Community Crusade at (772) 460-2445; visit www.tlcr.net, www.jeromerhyant.com or www. myspace.com/bishopjoesimoncommunitycrusade.
Make Your Future Better Than Your Past
Reach Out For Help and Reach Up to Life
Through The Joe Simon Ministries
Community Crusade
The Joe Simon Ministries Community Crusade is a nationally recognized and a worldwide acclaimed Crusade. Bishop Joe Simon is reaching the hearts and touching the souls of millions through his preaching of the Word and his inspirational singing.
Under the guidance and leadership of Bishop Simon, the Crusade is pro-active in community causes, and is conducting a voter’s registration drive throughout the nation.
The Community Crusade and Bishop Simon not only ministers to the spiritual needs of individuals, but is bringing to the World stage the plight of the homeless, and is speaking out about substance abuse and addictions.
The Joe Simon Ministries Community Crusade has come together in Christian unity with Pastor Jerome Rhyant, of The Love Center Regeneration Ministries, to bring attention to the devastating effects that addiction has not only on the family and community, but to the nation and our world.
Bishop Joe Simon through his Community Crusade is reaching out to those individuals that want to Make Their Future Better Than Their Past through his pro- active participation in:
Conducting a Nationwide Voter Registration Drive ,
Helping the Homeless,
And His Crusade Against Substance Abuse and His War on Alcohol and Drug Addiction
The Florida and Treasure Coast Crusade:
The Love Center Regeneration Ministries Dedication,
For Further Information Contact:
Bishop Joe Simon/The Joe Simon Ministries
New York Office: 631- 643- 5410
Florida Office : 772- 460- 2445
Or you may e-mail him at [email protected]
JOE SIMON GRAMMY AWARDWINNER FORMER RHYTHM & BLUES SINGER DO YOU KNOW HIM? ”

The purpose of this .. is to inform the reader about the life of Joe Simon. I will attempt to tell the story by writing about my early childhood years, my Rhythm and Blues Entertainment life and the events that led to me becoming a Christian. I will also write about how becoming a Christian has changed my life, in hopes that the reader will come to the understanding that if God can change the life of a sinner like Joe Simon, truly God can change anyone’s life.
“I was born in the rural south, in Simmesport, Louisiana, not very far from New Orleans. As a young child, not yet in my teens, I chopped and picked cotton in the cotton fields. I was raised in a good home by a Christian family.
I would go to church on Sunday and then go back to the cotton field on Monday, and mimic the preaching, praying and singing. My mother would want to spank me so I could continue working, but the older people would get upset at her because they wanted me to continue playing church. However the boss man would get angry with me because all the workers would stop working to listen to me.
As a youngster I was taught about God, heard about God, but I really never knew God, at that time. After becoming baptized, I began singing in churches and on a local radio program with a local gospel quartet. One day when we went to prerecord the local radio program, our lead singer got sick, and the other members said “Joe, why don’t you sing the lead this morning?” I went home and listened to the broadcast and for the first time had the opportunity to really notice that very unusual God given voice, and that distinct Joe Simon Sound.
I moved to the Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco, CA Bay area, where I continued going to church and singing with local quartet groups. Shortly after my quartet years I began to sing with R&B groups. The last R&B group that I sang with fired me. I then began singing Rhythm and Blues on my own, making $5.50 per night, working only two nights per week, in local night clubs. Times got so hard that I couldn’t pay my rent so I had to literally sleep in a chicken coup. I owned only one suit, and I could not afford to get it cleaned, so I would get it pressed, only, and on the nights of the show, I would borrow my friend, Roland William’s shoes to complete my outfit. (when I became a big Rhythm & Blues star, I always tried to give Roland money for lending me his shoes, but he would never accept the money. I never knew what became of Roland Williams; I would love to see and hear from him).
After sleeping in the chicken coup for more than two years, I met Mr. Gary Thompson who owned the Hush Recording Label. Another teenaged friend who helped me while I was living in the chicken coop was Carl Vories. Carl would sneak and give his lunch money to me that was given to him by his Parents. Mr. Gary Thompson /Hush Recording Label was very instrumental in recording my first hit record, “My Adorable One” Carl Vories helped me put the local band together for this recording, I produced the music and the record, this hit led me from the chicken coup to the Apollo Theater in New York City, and the rest is history. Carl became the keyboard player and Music Director/Road Manager in my band for over 19 years until his death. Although, I didn’t drink or smoke, I didn’t pray three times in twenty-five years, as I worked for Satan. I was a very good so called sinner.
One day, because of my deep rooted Christian upbringing, I found myself beginning to sneak and read the bible. The more I would sneak and read the bible, the more convicted I became, and the more convicted I became, the more I would rebel and try to negotiate with God. I only wanted to be saved just enough to get into heaven, but God wanted me to preach, so I rebelled against God, even more.
But finally, one day, I went back to church, and I truly received Jesus Christ as my personal savior, and was baptized for the second time. At that point, I accepted my calling and preached my first sermon in 1988 to 4,500 people in Alexandria, Louisiana. Becoming a Christian has really changed my life. I am not tempted by the large amounts of monies that are being offered to me by booking agencies and night club owners, to return to the Rhythm and Blues lifestyle. The things that I use to do, I don’t want to do anymore. I spend much of my time, now, touring around the country singing and preaching God’s word, glorifying our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ with the Joe Simon Ministries/Community Crusade, and today I can attest that my greatest joy in life was the day I met Christ.
THE EVANGELIST BISHOP JOE SIMON COMMUNITY CRUSADE “FAMILY DAY & FESTIVAL”

THE EVANGELIST BISHOP JOE SIMON COMMUNITY CRUSADE MISSION STATEMENT

In pursuit of my quest to proclaim the love of God and to impart moral and ethical values in all aspects of world society, I will conduct Family Community Crusades several times per month. This will enable me to strengthen our families, particularly the nucleus of the family which is becoming more and more extinct. I will present programs that will be hosted by the local churches. God bless you and thank you for your help and your support.
Bishop Joe Simon…

For Further Information Contact:
[email protected] ****************************************

Bishop Joe Simon Addresses

The Congregation & Preaches The Sermons

"I Made My Choice" & "What Is Your Choice?"

 

You remember the life of *THE* Joe Simon, (the R&B legend), well now enjoy the life of Bishop Joe Simon as he boldly speaks the word of God.

BISHOP JOE SIMON IS THE GLOBAL AMBASSADOR AND SPIRITUAL ADVISOR TO THE WORLD CONFERENCE OF MAYORS, INC.

"The Honorable Murchison Brown, Mayor of Port of Spain, Trinidad, President of the World Conference of Mayors, INC., and Tuskegee, Al Mayor Johnny Ford, founder of the WCM, officially appointed Bishop Joe Simon World Spiritual Advisor for the World Conference of Mayors during the recent WCM board meeting in Jackson, MS.  Bishop Joe Simon in his Global Ambassadorial duties will lead Gospel Crusades in the cities lead by WCM Mayors throughout the world.  According to Bishop Simon, "I am happy to serve the WCM in this noble capacity."

If you would like to have The Bishop Joe Simon Community Crusade in your city please contact:

The Bishop Joe Simon Community Crusade

[email protected]

In Conjunction with The Bishop Joe Simon Community Crusade