Bishop Dr. Melvin F. Ingram

Obituary For Bishop Dr. Melvin F. Ingram

Bishop Dr. Melvin F. Ingram is known as “Pops” to his 6 children, “Papa” to his 15 grandchildren and “Papi” to his 7 great grandchildren. They are truly the loves of his life. He was born on July 5, 1943 in Fort Pierce, Florida to the late Jonathan “Buster” and Louise Ingram. He was the son who was the closest to his mother.

Bishop Ingram received his formal education in the St. Lucie County School system. Serving as President of the student council, Bishop Ingram graduated with honors from Lincoln Park School in 1962. He was the first in the Ingram family to graduate from high school which led to doors being opened for educational success for the Ingram family. Bishop Ingram continued his education beyond high school earning a doctorate degree.

On Thursday, March 31, 2022 in the early morning hours Bishop Ingram made his transition to be with his Saviour. He was surrounded by his loving daughters at this time. He was preceded in death by his parents Jonathan “Buster” and Louise Ingram; brothers, Cleveland Ingram, James Ingram and Vernon Ingram; sisters, Beatrice Moore, Josephine Towns, Doris Wright and Dorothy Wimes; brother-in-law, Charles Houston; sister-in-law, Odessa Ingram and Norma Jean Joe.

Bishop Melvin F. Ingram was a born leader; even in his family he set the tone and standard for others to follow and aspire to reach. On October 5, 1963 Bishop Ingram married Cleopatra Ingram and God blessed their union with six children. Bishop Ingram leaves to cherish his precious memories and celebrate his homegoing service: his sons, Shantell Ingram of Tallahassee, FL, Javoris (Renell) Ingram of Wellington, FL and Tavoris Ingram of Port St. Lucie, FL; daughters, Trunita Ingram of Weldon, NC & Port St. Lucie, FL., Decreta Ingram-King (Dale) of Halifax, NC & Port St. Lucie, FL and Rashawda (Chris) Gamble of Fort Pierce, FL; grandchildren, Detavioun Ingram-King, Deshawnosi King, Traquita (Karl) Edmonds, Dalvoris King, Tianna (Isaac) Jones, Jaspen Mosley, Ranecia Ingram, Jakai Ingram, Chrishaun Gamble, Madeline Richardson, Tishante Ingram, Chrishauna Gamble, Tavoris Ingram Jr., Jaden Ingram and Trevor Ingram; great grandchildren, Decrecia King, Dekavioun King, Kaya King, Ayla King, Detavioun Ingram-King Jr., Da’Lana Ingram-King and Ariyanna Seay; brothers, Rev. Jonathan (Delores) Ingram of Fort Pierce, FL, Edward Ingram of Marietta, GA, and Rev. Clarence (Gloria) Ingram of Fort Pierce, FL; sisters, Elease Green of Fort Pierce, FL, Apostle Dr. Rebecca Ingram of Miami, FL, Dr. Evelyn (Lee) Rhyant of Woodstock, GA and Antoinette (David) Souls of New Jersey. Also left to celebrate his life and cherish his memories are a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Bishop Dr. Melvin F. Ingram dedicated his life to the service of God and to the community. At an early age Bishop Ingram gave his life to Christ and quickly excelled in ministry. He has traveled the world ministering in numerous revivals and crusades. He became well known for his Crusade for Christ Ministry where he preached tent revivals and at fairgrounds. He went into the highways and byways and compelled people to come. Countless souls came to Christ under his ministry yet he maintained his spirit of humility. He never got caught up in accolades or titles. He most often was referred to simply as Bro. Melvin. The work of Christ was his priority.

After numerous years of traveling the world evangelizing, Bishop Ingram received a promotion from God and was called into the Pastoral field. In 1994, Bishop Melvin F. Ingram was ordained as Senior Pastor of St. Paul Church of Deliverance. His leadership skills were quickly manifested as he came and established a firm stable foundation for his church. He legally established a new name for the church as St. Paul Church of Murfreesboro and incorporated the church through the state of North Carolina. Bishop Ingram implemented a radio ministry in the church broadcasting the Word of God every Saturday morning at 9:00 am. Through this ministry, Bishop Ingram also founded and established the St. Paul Educational Center. This facility encompassed a child development center as well as tutoring and programs to assist at risk youth. He also founded the St. Paul Food for Families Pantry which provides food for well over a thousand families each month and covers four counties. This pantry quickly became Bishop Ingram’s passion because it afforded him the opportunity to change the community on a much larger scale. He incorporated a community service program into the pantry where the courts could send in offenders to complete work hours. Through this program he took advantage of the opportunity to minister to the people society had counted out. Bishop Ingram came into Pastoralship with the motto “Here to Make a Difference” and he did just that. He made a tremendous difference in the lives of everyone he came into contact with. Bishop Ingram swiftly became an avid leader not only in his local community but in the entire state of North Carolina; which led to him being awarded the Governor's award for Volunteer of the year as well as the Futrell-Ruffin Community service award at Chowan University. His strong character and leadership skills made him an asset to the Hertford County community and the many professional organizations he actively served on. Until the time of his transition he served as President of Hertford County Habitat for Humanity, Vice Chairman of Hertford County Partnership for Children (Smart Start), Roanoke Chowan Chapter Chair and Program Manager of the North Carolina Juvenile Crime Prevention Council and was an active member on the board known as The North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Bishop Ingram was inducted as a lifetime Alumni of Elizabeth City State University where he also received an honorary doctorate. To further establish himself as a leader in the community Bishop Ingram was instrumental in starting a community fellowship; where every church in the area no matter the race or denomination came together twice per year for fellowship. This allowed him to step into the position of Representative of the Faith Based community for many years and he served as Chaplain for Vidant Roanoke Chowan Hospital as well as a volunteer for Hospice. In the midst of all this, Bishop Dr. Melvin F. Ingram always made time for people. He went out of his way to help people, pray for people, and would give all he had to be a blessing in someone’s life. In 2017, Bishop Ingram encountered a life changing experience when he found himself hospitalized and being told there was nothing the doctors could do. God manifested Himself miraculously in his life and not only brought restoration; but elevation as well. He was ordained to the position of Bishop and continued to preach the Word of God until the time of his transition.

Bishop Ingram enjoyed traveling. He has traveled all over the world and is credited for opening up the love of travel to his family. What he enjoyed the most; besides preaching was spending time with his family (especially his grandkids). He taught his family the value of hard work and being strong leaders. He was and forever will be a legend in their eyes. It is because of his strong character and integrity as a Husband, Father, Papa and Papi that his family has vowed to continue his legacy. Bishop Dr. Melvin F. Ingram was the epitome of a man of valor.

Known for years by his inspiring benediction “Look at your neighbor. If you can’t look them in the eye then look at the bridge of their nose and say: I am so glad you came. I have been blessed by your coming. I am praying for you that the Lord will forever bless and keep you, remember for you I am praying. I love you and Jesus loves you too. Now take it home with you.”

Bishop Dr. Melvin F Ingram: Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter the joy of the Lord.

Public visitation for Bishop Dr. Melvin F. Ingram will take place on Friday, April 8, 2022 from 3:00pm-6:00pm at Saint Mark Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Pierce, FL. Home Going Services will convene on Saturday, April 9, 2022 at Saint Mark Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Pierce, FL beginning at 1:30pm. Burial will immediately follow in Pine Grove Cemetery.

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