Pastor Paula White

- Bishop T.D. Jakes
(Rated "America's Best Preacher" by TIME Magazine)

Paula White was raised in Tupelo, Mississippi. Until the age of five, her life was what most people would consider typical, including a loving family and a stable home life. White shared a particularly close bond with her father and prided herself on being a "Daddy's girl." At the age of five, White's world was thrown into a tailspin when her father committed suicide. Lonely and disillusioned, White began a decade long search for the love and acceptance that she had only known from her father. White's cries for love were muffled by years of sexual and physical abuse from the ages of six to 13. She experienced bouts of depression and suffered from a serious eating disorder.

At the age of 18, White was introduced to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Compelled to learn more about a Savior who would love her unconditionally despite her past, White spent the next two years buried in the Bible, trying to learn everything she could. As she opened herself to God, He revealed Himself to her. She had visions of preaching the Gospel to millions and seeing people freed from bondage on every level. God showed her how He would use her voice to set millions free.

White began ministering in the inner cities of Washington, DC, in the late '80s. By the early '90s, she was in post-riot Los Angeles, teaching Jesus to children whose neighborhoods had been hardest hit by violence. Today, Paula White Ministries includes hundreds of outreaches to the needy and lost, an orphanage and international relief.

Pastor White is an inspiration to millions around the world who seek God's love. She co-pastors Without Walls International Church in Tampa, Florida, with her husband Randy. In addition to co-pastoring, White travels the world fulfilling her mission and call to transform lives, heal hearts, and win souls.