Montell Jordan
Author, Pastor, Grammy Award Winning Artist
2023 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
Montell Jordan is an author, pastor, Grammy Award-winning artist, and recipient of the 2023 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 1995, along with artists such as Coolio, TLC, and Madonna, Montell Jordan’s breakout hit “This Is How We Do It” was a chart-topping success, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten Singles for seven weeks and the R&B charts for eight. Over his nearly twenty-year music career, he produced seven studio albums and 14 singles, ultimately selling over 10 million records worldwide.
As a student at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Montell was set to attend law school when a professor told him his biggest regret was missing his chance to pursue music. Montell realized, in a flash, that if he was ever going to get a chance to pursue music on the level he wanted, he had to move forward with his dream. He recorded a demo tape that made its way to Def Jam Records Founder Russell Simmons. “This Is How We Do It” took off, and the first of many number one records was created.
Montell began to realize the difference between his gift and calling. He was gifted as a musician, but he was called to minister. Speaking, teaching, mentoring, counseling, and writing are ways Jordan fulfills his ministry purpose today. After serving as an executive pastor for Victory Church in Norcross, Ga., for nearly a decade, he now has a marriage ministry with his wife, Kristin, where they assist public marriages to heal in private. Their ministry, Marriage Masterpeace, is a 501c3. Montell and Kristin also pastor a virtual church called Master Peace Church that launched November 6, 2022, and streams live every Sunday at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST.
Montell has written two books – “Becoming Unfamous” which is his autobiography, and “This Is How We Do It! Making Your Marriage A Masterpeace” which he co-authored with his wife, Kristin. Throughout his musical career, Montell had already shown an ability to stretch boundaries of genre and style and uses this same ability to influence, impact, and inspire today. Montell brings the word of God and personal experience from the music business to provide a practical and applicable understanding of music and worship to light. He still performs on world tours and loves to bring the love of Christ outside the four walls of the church to concert venues all over the world. Montell is a Champion Ambassador for Special Olympics North America and a public speaker on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Montell and Kristin have been married for nearly 30 years. They have six children — Christopher, Catherine, Sydney, Skyler, Elijah, and Samantha. They are “Mimi and Big Poppa” to four grandsons: Karden, Cruz, Cash, and Kainen.