The RenewaNation Review 2020 The Collingsworth Family Special Edition | Page 12

Phil
& Kim
As a teenager, Phil Collingsworth knew what God wanted
for his life. “I was 14 years old when God distinctly called me
to music ministry as a result of listening to a live recording
of Henry and Hazel Slaughter. I felt definitely directed that
I would be doing exactly what I was hearing on that record-
ing of Henry, Hazel, and their three kids,” he said. To equip
himself for this ministry, he attended college and earned a
bachelor’s degree in Sacred Music.
Early in his college career, Phil’s sister, a high school
instructor, introduced him to a student at her school:
a pastor’s daughter and gifted pianist named Kimberly
Keaton. “I was given the gift to play the piano at about three
years of age and began playing for church around age seven,”
Kim recalled. “That’s all I wanted to do.”
Phil knew immediately that Kim would be his life partner.
“I never doubted that she was the right one from the time we
met. She was fiercely loyal and held my same values, which
I knew she would teach to our children, and she enjoyed
making music as much as I did,” he said.
Kim felt the same way. “My career plan after high school
was to marry Phil Collingsworth. That’s the truth!” she said.
“We met when he was 19 and I was 14. Sometimes you just
know that something is right. We both loved the Lord, loved
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music, and loved each other deeply. My parents loved him
and totally approved of him even though I was very young.
God put no roadblocks in our pathway.” In May 1986, Phil
graduated from college, and Kim graduated from high
school. The two married four months later when he was 22
and she was 17. “Best day of my life!” she said.
God did not immediately lead the couple into full-time
concert ministry. Instead, for almost 15 years, Phil worked
in the health insurance industry, Christian higher educa-
tion, and in church music ministry while Kim cared for
their growing family at home. Daughter Brooklyn joined the
family in 1989, followed by daughter Courtney in 1991. The
Lord then gave them a son, Phillip, in 1994, and daughter
Olivia in 1998. Phil and Kim quickly learned that their chil-
dren had musical talent, and one by one through the years,
each joined their parents on stage until the entire family
performed together on a regular basis.
“We were singing nearly every weekend while I was work-
ing at my alma mater as Dean of Enrollment Management,”
Phil stated. “Through a series of interesting circumstances,
the Lord shut doors at the college, yet the singing invitations
increased. When it became evident that there was no future
at the school, God made it unmistakably clear that we were
to walk through the doors open to us. We started thinking
about the direction of full-time concert ministry in the fall
of 1999. By January 1, 2000, we were off and running.”
“The Lord had to do a little talking to me about this step
of faith,” Kim stated. “The idea of Phil quitting his job and
having no guarantee of income was frightening to me, espe-
cially having four children at the time. He was convinced
this was right. I was in agreement if he was sure it was God’s
will, even though I was terrified. Looking back, he was right.”