Biography
Rev. Ronnie Pigg was born third of five children and raised in a small
rural southeastern Oklahoma town. There, at the age of 12, he surrendered his
life to Christ and, at age 14, accepted the call to the ministry. He started out
preaching at vesper services, youth camps, youth rallies, and youth revivals in
the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) and the Pentecostal Church of God.
Pastor Ronnie pastored his first church in southeastern Oklahoma before
moving to Oklahoma City where he served as youth pastor. At the age of 21 he
recognized his inner struggle and decided to leave the church and come out as an
openly gay man. Then at age 23 he decided to go back to the church and
began serving as worship leader, youth pastor and assistant pastor within the
Pentecostal Holiness denomination. After being ordained about a year later,
someone called and "outed" him to this denomination and he was abruptly
disfellowshipped and stripped of his credentials.
Not easily shaken in mind or deed, Pastor Ronnie began to pray for direction
and guidance, and heard about a group of Pentecostal gays and lesbians that had
started under the leadership of the late Rev. Alvis Strickland, the Community
Gospel Church. Pastor Ronnie was asked by this group to be a guest speaker for
one service at a revival meeting they were conducting. While there he felt
direction from the Lord to relocate to Houston. After a brief period
there, the pastor resigned and Pastor Ronnie was asked to fill the pulpit and
served there from 1985-1992. During his tenure there, Pastor Ronnie started what
was known as Community Gospel Fellowship.
After serving the Houston church, he moved to Seattle, Washington, to become
co-pastor of the Fountain of Life Christian Fellowship. He left Seattle in 1994
to relocate to Phoenix and became a member of Casa de Cristo Church. In 1996,
Pastor Ronnie was asked by this congregation to serve as senior pastor, a
position that he currently holds.
Pastor Ronnie has served in an advisory position to several ministers and
ministries, as well as assisting other pastors and congregations. He has
traveled on the mission field to Haiti, Korea, Tanzania, and Zambia. He is
listed in the Handbook of Pentecostal Denominations, as well as
Who's Who of American Professionals, and the Dictionary of
Pentecostal Movements.
(This biographical statement provided by Ronnie Pigg.)
Biography Date: February 2007
Tags
Pentecostal | Clergy Activist
Citation
“Rev. Ronnie Pigg | Profile”, LGBTQ Religious Archives Network, accessed June 28, 2022, https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/ronnie-pigg.
Remembrances
“I first met him when he was pastor of Community Gospel in Houston. One year I traveled to Houston for the church’s anniversary. During a period when no service was going on, I sat in on a counseling session, where a young person had come to Bro. Pigg for guidance. During the session, things went wrong, and this person pulled a knife on us. I’m sure Bro. Pigg was as scared as I was, but he remained perfectly calm and was able to talk the person down. No one was hurt. In the pulpit or out, Bro. Pigg is an asset to our community”
– as remembered by William Carey on January 31, 2013
Know Ronnie Pigg? Tell us your experience.
(All entries are reviewed by the LGBT-RAN office before posting.)