Biography of PameLa Bates

Three generations ago, a young girl sat on her porch with her four sisters and some neighborhood friends as they listened to one of the most amazing stories of God's love and power they had ever heard, told in the most amazing way. It was a pleasant summer day, ideal for playing kickball but you could not convince them to move from that lesson to come play. A beautiful woman of God was visiting on vacation; yet saw it as an occasion to teach one of her Kid's Clubs sessions. They say that when you enjoy what you do, you never work--that was the case with this woman.

Mother Danniebell Jones enjoyed the Lord and enjoyed sharing Him with others. She taught this young girl and the other children to enjoy Him, too. Did she know at that time that ministers, pastors, evangelists, composers, writers, poets, homemakers, teachers, preachers, singers, doctors, etc. were on that porch? Well, Pam says that she believes that Mother Jones knew that there were souls present and that each one had a purpose to fulfill and place to belong in God's kingdom.

After a week of lessons, each child received a sweet reward for memorizing their bible verses (she gave them one verse each day to learn by heart). That young girl, PameLa Bates, remembered all but one and received the second place prize: A package of six Almond Joy candy bars--WOW!!! More than merely learning a few bible verses, it instilled in Pam that it was rewarding to hide God's Word in her heart.

Then a second generation of blessings would emerge... PameLa once again sat with great excitement and listened to the most amazing stories told in the most amazing ways that she had ever heard. This time it was the daughter, Danniebelle Hall, setting the message of God's love and power to music and captivating every listener with one of the most heavenly voices ever heard. Pam often talked with Danniebelle's sister, Agnes, at church and expressed the blessing that Danniebelle's ministry was to her. A few years later, she would meet her in person and correspond with her. Danniebelle, like her mother, had a way of making someone feel, or should I say letting a person know that they were of the utmost importance.

On January 17th, 1981, Danniebelle did a benefit concert for Peniel Ministries Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center and the Executive Director, Dr. Marion Spellman asked PameLa to participate. Six Almond Joy candy bars, and now this!

Then yet another generation of blessing would emerge… PameLa once again sat with great excitement and listened to the most amazing stories of faith in God and courage to continue in His will that she had ever heard. Desperate to hear someone say that it wasn't true that Danniebelle had passed, she heard a message of everlasting hope, though the news of her passing was true. This time it was Cynthia, the granddaughter of Danniebell Jones and the daughter of Danniebelle Hall. The same love for God and encouragement for His people that she experienced from two generations would now echo loud and clear from a third generation! God knit the hearts of PameLa and Cynthia together with "Sweet Fellowship Divine," a collection of devotions written by Pam (that also describes their times of sharing perfectly).Cynthia expressed a desire to share this communion with the website family and PameLa enthusiastically consented. They both agreed on the name "Precious Thought" (a song written by Danniebelle).

PameLa not only comes from three generations of this great family but also her own wonderful family of four sisters, her father and her mother, Pastor Arlene Bates. Pam resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For over fifteen years, Pam has been in the prison ministry (which keeps her on the road quite often). She also does street ministry and loves to network with other ministries. She does backing vocals for the music ministry, Patrice Lyle & Unity (Patrice is her little sister that bosses her around). In addition to working a 9-to-5 job in accounting, she has started her own business of gift poetry and greeting cards. One of her goals is to publish a series of devotional books. Her business "Pretty Personal Poetry" and prison ministry "Free Indeed" are both divisions of a company she named "My Father's Business" taken from Luke 2:49. That is not just the name but it is her earnest conviction that she must be about her Father's business. It is also the ultimate conclusion that she wants people who know her to come to: She is definitely about her Father's business! From her youth, she has won awards for her poetry but her greatest winnings are souls for the Lord.