The Apostles - 2009

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Garry Beavers

Anthony Minor

Rick Smith

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Our History

The legacy of The Apostles begins in 1972, when a legendary bass singer from the mountains of North Carolina established his first quartet. By no means a stranger to Southern Gospel music, London Parris had completed long tenures with both The Rebels Quartet of Tampa, Florida, and the Grammy Award-winning Blackwood Brothers of Memphis, Tennessee. After leaving the Blackwood Brothers, London fulfilled a lifelong dream and organized his own quartet. With a home base in Memphis, Tennessee, London Parris & The Apostles were born. That first year out, the group gained the coveted Dove Award by the Gospel Music Association as the Most Promising New Gospel Talent of 1972. The economic factors and energy crisis of the early and mid 70s forced the group off the road and the original group disbanded in 1976. Suffering a massive heart attack, London Parris went to be with the Lord in 1992.

Considered by many to be one of the most renown and legendary bass singers in Southern Gospel music, the Southern Gospel Music Association recently recognized London for his contribution in one of the most prestigious ways possible. In 2004, London Parris was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame at Dollywood in Pidgeon Forge, Tennessee. We will always be grateful for the rich heritage that precedes our group in Gospel Music, and affirm the work and sacrifice of those original men.

The Apostles Today

Renewing the heritage of that original group are Gospel music veterans Garry Beavers, Anthony Minor, and Rick Smith, one of the two original lead singers of London Parris & The Apostles (1975-76). The current group was organized in 1998 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Signed as recording artists with Son Sound Music Group Platinum Records of Bessemer City, North Carolina, The Apostles have been featured at Charlie Waller's Grand Ole Gospel Reunion, the Gatlinburg Gatherings, and showcased at the National Quartet Convention. As regular performing artists with the Jammin for Jesus concerts held in Branson, Missouri theaters, they were given the Son Rise Award by the Branson Gospel Music Association in 1999 and 2000 as Branson's Southern Gospel Group of the Year. They have had six singles released to the national radio market, all of which have broken local and regional radio charts in the Top 10 and Top 20 Gospel song favorites..

GARRY BEAVERS sings the tenor part for The Apostles. Over the past 30 years, Garry has performed with four other Southern Gospel groups from Arkansas. An accomplished musician, producer and songwriter, Garry serves as The Apostles business manager. He and his wife, Elizabeth, are members of The Church at Rock Creek in Little Rock, where Garry plays bass guitar and sings in the praise and worship band. Garry is a logistics broker in Little Rock.

ANTHONY MINOR sings the lead vocals for The Apostles.  Anthony grew up in a family of Southern Gospel music singers, influenced greatly by his mother's involvement in the Southwest Gospel Singers.  He performed for 15 years with Redeemed before joining the Apostles in 2009.  Anthony and his family are members of the East Union Missionary Baptist Church near Little Rock, where he serves in various music worship leadership roles.  Anthony has recorded one solo project of traditional Gospel favorites.

RICK SMITH sings baritone for The Apostles. As stated, Rick was one of the two original lead singers with London Parris & The Apostles in 1975-76. An ordained Southern Baptist minister, Rick has served a number of churches over the past 30 years in various staff ministries, and has contributed several songwriting abilities to The Apostles. He and his family attend the First Baptist Church of Russellville, Arkansas, where Rick is actively involved in the teaching and singing ministries of the church. He serves as a bi-vocational corporate Chaplain for Tyson Foods.

A Special Word to Pastors & Staff

The church is more important to The Apostles than the city auditorium. We prefer the pulpit over the stage. Ministry is a priority over performance. In Ephesians 4:11, Paul said, "It was He who gave some to be apostles..." The Greek word is literally "ambassadors" heralding the Gospel message of hope and salvation to a lost and dying world. In addition, all spiritual gifts were given to believers for the purpose of edifying the church. Understanding and honoring these precepts enables The Apostles to keep our music ministry Biblically-based and church-centered. We believe that is what God would have us do.

When you invite The Apostles to be a part of your service, you can be confident that amidst the hand-clapping, foot-stomping fun of good ole traditional Gospel quartet singing, a time comes in every service where attention is turned to the divine appointment of every person in attendance for how God would have them respond to the message of the Gospel that has musically been proclaimed. The Apostles never end a worship service in a church venue without extending an invitation for people to respond to the call of God in their own life. We espouse no other doctrine except the Gospel. We are each conservative, Evangelical Christians who believe the Bible to be the infallible, inerrant and inspired Word of God, literal and historically accurate in every detail.

In terms of ministry involvement, The Apostles are dedicated first and foremost to the local churches where God has led us and our families to be members.  This is the place where we offer our spiritual gifts in ministry service.  For this reason, we strive to protect our Sunday morning and keep our schedule free so that the various leadership roles we perform in our respective churches are not affected.  Our first preference for a concert program would be on a Saturday evening.  Our second choice would be a Sunday evening, and our third choice would be a Friday evening.

Our prayer is to always be where God can use us best, ministering to the people whom the Spirit of Christ can best reach through the talents, gifts and ministry He has so graciously equipped us with to serve Him.  For this reason, The Apostles do not make phone calls to churches and promoters and ask for concert dates.  We have offered our talents to the Lord and our prayer to God is that if He wants us to minister to any particular congregation or group of people, that He will lead those in leadership roles to call and extend an invitation to us.  This assures that we will always be only where God would have us to be, arranged under His leadership and not our own manipulation.  Although different from the traditional approach, we feel this is spiritually fitting for us.

To inquire about The Apostles schedule call:  501-565-3117 or 479-567-5536