For 10 years, all I did was just love on this place called Birmingham and Rock City Church.
Where’d this guy come from? It seems like all of a sudden, Pastor Michael DeWayne McClure (better known as “Pastor Mike Jr.”) is everywhere! His string of hits (“Big,” 2019; “Live Free,” 2020; “Impossible,” 2023; and “Winning” 2023) has garnered the attention of the entire gospel industry and racked up a mantle full of Stellars (19 to be exact!) and Grammys. And from all indications, he’s still gaining momentum.
Although it may seem like McClure is an overnight success, that’s not the case. He grew up in a musical family with deep roots in the church and community. His father and grandfather were preachers, and McClure’s ministry journey began during childhood. “When I was eight or nine, I traveled with my dad. Back in the day, pastors didn’t do conferences, they did revivals. My dad would be in revival, and after I got out of school on Friday, we would drive to where my dad was, and I would sing and lead praise and worship for him. My grandfather was Bishop Calvin Woods. Dr. [Martin Luther] King wouldn’t move without my granddaddy. I grew up hearing stories about Dr. King, Rev. Abernathy and Rev. Shuttlesworth.”
McClure’s indoctrination to gospel music artistry also began early. “Growing up,” he says, “we didn’t watch those other award shows, we watched the Stellars. I watched Yolanda Adams standing next to Kirk Franklin. I watched the year John P. Kee did his thing. So, where I am currently is what I’ve always dreamed of doing. I’ve always wanted to just love God, love people, and make a difference.”
“When I was a little kid,” he recalls, “I went downstairs in the church basement and recorded a song. It was horrible, but I printed it on a CD, went to the store, and printed out 25 copies. We put it on a table outside the sanctuary and I did a meet and greet, and sold out.”
In 2009, three years after marrying his high school sweetheart, Jacquita, McClure answered God’s call to become a pastor and founded Rock City Church in Birmingham, AL. At the time, he’d been ministering to students at Miles College in Fairfield, AL. Initially, it seemed like his career as an artist would have to be put “on hold.” McClure says his pastor (Dr. R. A. Vernon, Cleveland, OH) spoke to him. Vernon prophesied, “If you love God, love people, love your family, and love your city, in 10 years, the world will come looking for you.” Vernon added, “‘I need you to just hide. Hide yourself!’ He said, ‘sometimes people blow up before their character can handle it.’
So, I started my church in 2009 with 10 people. By 2010, there were 1200. By 2011, there were 6,000 people in an arena.”
McClure testifies that Vernon’s prophecy was fulfilled. “At our 10- year church anniversary, the radio station brought in James Fortune.”
Ironically, the owner of the label that Fortune recorded for (Mr. Kerry Douglas) fell in love with one of McClure’s ministry team members. Within a couple months the couple got engaged and began pre-marital counseling with McClure. “They came to my house for counseling,” McClure remembers. “We went downstairs, and [Douglas] asked, ‘Where’s the restroom?’ He went toward the restroom, but opened the wrong door. Instead of opening the door to the restroom, he opened the door to my home studio.”
“‘Why do you have a studio?’ he asked. I said, ‘Well, I just do songs in my basement.’ He said, ‘Play me something!’ The first song I played him was, “I Got It.” The second was “Big.” Midway through “Big,” he pressed pause and said, ‘If you listen to me, your life will never be the same!’ Up until that point, I never knew what he did. He said, “I do radio and I have a record label. I do distribution agreements.” But that day, Douglas told McClure, “If you trust me, the whole world will be singing these songs.” McClure says, “That was in 2019. Ten years from when [Dr. Vernon] said what he said! McClure concludes, “For me, this journey has just been so special. I tell young artists, ‘A lot of you are chasing after what will come to you, if you be still.’”
For McClure, the doors kept swinging open. “I met Don Jackson when I went to Chicago,” he says. “James Fortune was on program to sing. I wasn’t invited. He told me, “I’m going to do my first song for three minutes. Then, you come up and sing “Big,” then I’ll finish. I went up there for three minutes and sang “Big.” When I walked off, Don Jackson grabbed me and said, ‘You’re gonna hear from me!” That’s another testimony that if you just stay in God’s will, He will do the rest. I feel like God is blessing me because I was faithful in obscurity.”