Obituary: Charlie M. Singleton

Charlie M. SingletonCharlie M. Singleton, 69, in Fort Worth. Singleton grew up in Galveston, the youngest brother among eight children born to George W. and Loretta Singleton. He was licensed and ordained at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church of Oxnard, Calif., where served as an associate minister two years before moving his family to Fort Worth, where he served two years as an associate minister at Rising Star Baptist Church. He was pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth before founding First Missionary Baptist Church of Fort Worth, where he served 34 years. Under his leadership, the church started Iglesia Bautista Sureste in Fort Worth. He served on Tarrant Baptist Association’s executive board and executive committee, was president of the associational pastors’ conference and was elected moderator of the association in 2007. Singleton served four years on the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board, worked as field representative in Tarrant County for BGCT African-American Ministries and served on the BGCT missions funding committee. In January 2007, he joined the BGCT Executive Board staff, becoming the convention’s third director of African-American Ministries. He led Texas Baptist African-American mission teams on trips to more than a dozen nations on several continents. In recent years, he participated in Bike-Out Hunger for the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, completing a 450-mile bicycle trek in spite of severe back pain. He served on the BGCT staff until last year. He was a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and was pursuing a doctor of ministry degree in global leadership from Bakke Graduate University at the time of his death. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Sheila M. Singleton; sons, Charlie Jr., Douglas and John; daughter, Delanna; seven grandchildren; six great-granddaughters; and five sisters—Georgia Kelly, Mary Hicks, Sarah Alexander, Avis Reynolds and Stella Rayon.