Steve Cannon

Steve L. Cannon was born to a large family in the country near Coahoma, Mississippi, on July 22, 1957. He was the eighth child of Doyle and Christine Cannon. He was also the seventh son of the only son (Doyle), and there was a custom in those days that the seventh son of an only son had a future as a witch doctor! How wrong customs sometimes declare. Tragedy and problems would come, but God had big plans for Steve.

At the age of five, a truck delivering water to the Cannon family ran over Steve. They had no running water, and a big truck delivered water weekly to the family. He tried to jump on the step side of the big truck, and his foot slipped! He landed under the truck's back wheels. There were four 55-gallon water containers in the back, compounding the weight upon the five-year-old boy. They rushed him to the hospital, and the doctor gave the sad news; Steve would be paralyzed from the waist down. Christine Cannon, Steve's Mom, did not receive the doctor's report! She told the doctor that she was Apostolic and would not accept that report.

Soon the family Pastor was praying for Steve. Christine continued to pray visit after visit, and the doctor said that there was little hope for Steve to walk again. After a prayer meeting, Christine met the doctor to tell him that Steve would walk again. She said to him that she had ten children, all healthy, and Steve wouldn't be the first afflicted child! Five days later, Steve asked the nurse to help him sit up! He then asked the nurse to allow his legs to fall off the bed, but she refused. Steve then moved his dead legs off the bed, and they dangled to the floor. Steve then asked the nurse to help him get up. She called for the orderly, and Steve pushed his weight on his legs! Like the Acts 3 miracle, strength came into his legs, and Steve began to walk. The doctors and nurses were amazed at what happened, but Christine knew God had a plan for Steve! He would be the tithes for the Cannon family, as the only minister in the family.

Steve graduated from Coahoma County High School in 1975. In his last two years of high school, he was the second-fastest boy in school running track. He introduced the then Governor Bill Waller, who told him great things were in store for him! After graduation, Steve attended Delta State University in Cleveland. It was in his college years when he decided to let God make his decisions! In his Freshman year, Steve received the Holy Ghost and was baptized in Jesus' name. At age 19, he felt the call to preach and received his Local License with the UPCI in 1976. While in college, he started working part-time with United States Postal Services (USPS) in Lula. In 1977, he was offered a full-time job as a carrier in Clarksdale by a former Coahoma Rural Carrier that was the Postmaster of Clarksdale, James Thornton. This began Steve's 36-year career with the USPS.

Steve married Rita Hester in Clarksdale, and they had three daughters Vangi, Kandi, and Mauri. He became the Assistant to the Pastor in Clarksdale, then transferred to Oxford, where Steve became the Assistant Pastor at FPC in Oxford. It was there that Steve was elected as the Section Three Youth Director and served 13 years in the Mississippi Youth Ministries.

Steve moved to Batesville and became the Assistant Pastor to Pastor Mike Newsom in 1988. Steve served two years with Brother Newsom before he passed away in 1990. Steve and his family were voted in as the Pastor of FPC Batesville and served in that capacity until 2012.

When Steve turned 36, he stepped down from the Mississippi Youth Department, but Rita continued to serve as the Ladies Dorm Supervisor for over 36 years! At age 37, Steve was elected Section Three Sunday School Director (SS). He loved children, and his first Junior Camp ignited a burden in his life for children! While pastoring in Batesville, all the daughters married and moved away, so he loved other children when his and Rita’s were absent. Those three girls now have blessed them with eight grandchildren, all living in Mississippi. Steve served three years as a Sectional SS Director, three years as a District SS Director, and 11 years as the Mississippi District SS Director. During those years, the Mississippi District broke the $100,000 Save Our Children offering three times! Steve was selected as the SS Director of the Year three times, the most awarded recipient to date.

In 2011, the General Conference of the UPCI elected Steve as UPCI General Sunday School Director! Steve brought a drive to grow Sunday School through evangelism and team management with a team that pulled together to reach incredible goals. UPCI Children's Ministries have experienced eight years of record growth in Save Our Children and evangelism. Junior Bible Quizzing (JBQ) has grown annually and is one of the most vital programs for Children's Ministries (CM), encouraging youth to hide the Word in their hearts! Many former JBQ members now lead and train their families in the Word of God. Holy Ghost Rallies and Crusades in North America and many Global areas were very fulfilling as over 8,000 children were filled with the Holy Ghost. One big dream was the building of an Orphanage in Haiti called "Hope on the Hill." Traveling to every district in five years and doing Holy Ghost Rallies in every district has been a dream come true! In just a few years, every district in North America will have been visited twice. The CM Dream continues to thrive. Steve and Rita live in O'Fallon, Missouri, while serving the National UPCI CM Team. Steve has been an ordained minister with the UPCI for over 40 years. The Cannons love traveling around the country and ministering to thousands annually! They still have a home in Mississippi and are often there visiting their grandchildren.