Frankie Valens Now A Pastor In Kansas

Frankie Valens has been out of the music game for a little while now but the former pop star has finally found a new gig. Valens will be performing every Sunday at the First Christian Church in Syracuse. Yes, Frankie Valens is now a pastor.

Valens said that he’s been preaching on the road for years during concerts but he’s never done it from behind the pulpit.

The pop star told the Houston Chronicle:

“I have never preached a sermon. I mean, we’ve been on the road and ministered in concert and I’ve told my testimony and stuff like that, but never in the pulpit, you know. I mean, people come to hear me sing, so I’m thinking, ‘Maybe I could sing my sermon.’ “

Valens, who found fame with songs like This Magic Moment and The Lion Sleeps Tonight, said that he’s always seen himself as an “everyday Joe.” Valens has been going by Frank Piper, his original name, for years now and that’s how most people in the community know him.

According to the Washington Post, Valens has been touring the country and doing gospel shows with his wife Phyllis for the last several years. When the pastor position opened up at the First Christian Church In Syracuse, Valens and his wife decided to set up shop.

The Houston Chronicle notes that Valens’ father, Bernie Piper, was a pastor at the church in the 1970s.

Valens said:

“Dad only stayed here two years, but people here loved them. He always wanted me and my brother to be preachers. My brother was for awhile, and that was the furthest thing from my mind. I went to Bible college for two semesters and that was all I could take.”

That, of course, has changed.

Valens is still singing songs at the age of 70 but most of his music is gospel related. The singer is even releasing a gospel album this week.

Are you surprised that Frankie Valens is a pastor?