Cedric Ballard

Biographical Sketch

Inspired to give God glory in all that he does, Cedric Ballard insists on using his gift of song and preaching to worship and magnify the Living Savior, encourage those who are a part of the Body of Christ to be steadfast in their faith, and to compel those who have not experienced salvation to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.

While Cedric is often called upon to minister to youth and young adults, his love for all people, young and old, motivates him to consider all backgrounds when ministering in song. This yearning to reach all people, no matter their background or status in life, is exemplified in his much anticipated sophomore project, "Transparency", which is a collection of both traditional hymns and soulful contemporary gospel music. Although this Houston native has been expressing his love for God and God's children through music every since he was a young child, Cedric was blessed with the opportunity to sing professionally nearly a decade ago.

He and four other young men formed the award winning singing group Damascus, which debuted on World Wide Gospel Records in 1999. Damascus' success afforded Cedric the opportunity to have his songwriting abilities, highly technical vocal skills, and musicianship as a drummer showcased all over the country. While singing with Damascus, Cedric clearly demonstrated his passion and love for God, thereby causing him to capture the hearts of audiences everywhere the group was blessed to sing.

In addition to being featured as a lead vocalist in Damascus, Cedric was also blessed to minister in song alongside Karen Clark-Sheard, Donnie McClurkin, Kurt Carr, Daryl Coley, Shirley Ceasar, Kim Burrell, Gary Mayes & Nu Era, Beyonce Knowles, and many more gospel and R&B artists. Cedric has also served as praise and worship leader, choral director, and minister of music for several of Houston’s most notable and progressive churches.

The Lord has directed Cedric to form Ballard Ministries, which is a vehicle to help organizations and individuals ascend to higher echelons in music ministry. Cedric shares his expertise in various aspects of ministry, such as praise and worship, vocal training, church music administration, and studio engineering with churches, choirs, and solo artists throughout Houston and the United States. Cedric integrates sound biblical teaching and musical instruction in all of his workshops, seminars, clinics, speaking engagements, and consulting services.