Bennie S. Triplett collection

Bennie Stevens Triplett was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, January 5, 1929, to John Preston Triplett and Sarah Margaret (Freeman) Triplett. His father abandoned the family before he was born, and at age seven, his mother died. Bennie lived with his grandparents until he was ten years old and they were unable to care for him. They placed him in the Church of God Orphanage in Cleveland, Tennessee. When he was sixteen years of age he persuaded the manager of the orphanage to send him to Bible Training School in Sevierville, Tennessee. There he met his wife, Helen Celine Williams. They were married April 21, 1947. Two children were born to them, a daughter and a son: Susan Rene' (Triplett) Pyeatt and Bennie Stevens Triplett II. The senior Triplett received formal education at Bible Training School (Lee College), in Sevierville Tennessee; Minot State College, in Minot, North Dakota; Memphis State University, in Memphis, Tennessee, and received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religion and Philosophy, with a minor in music, from Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens, Tennessee in 1967.

Reverend Triplett was a minister in the Church of God since 1950, becoming ordained in 1958. He began his formal ministry as an evangelist in 1949. Triplett and his wife Helen spent the next four years speaking across the country until accepting their first pastorate in Minot, North Dakota in 1954. He served as pastor, evangelist, state youth and Christian education director and state overseer. In 1959 he was appointed as the first Program Director of Forward in Faith, the radio and television voice of the Church of God. In this position, he served eight years. In 1968, he accepted a pastorate in Nashville, Tennessee. After serving there for two years, the Church of God appointed him as state overseer of North and South Dakota. While there as overseer, he served as chair of the Board of Directors of Northwest Bible College in Minot, North Dakota. Triplett was also a member of the Church of God General Evangelism and Home Missions Board from 1968 to 1976 and vice president of Lee College Alumni Association from 1958 to 1962. In 1972, he became state overseer of Indiana where he served for four years, which was the maximum length of time. From Indiana he went to Florida as state overseer in 1976.

He represented his church by speaking in dozens of state youth camps, numerous camp meetings, National Sunday School Association, and preaching missions in Tallahassee and Jacksonville. He has traveled to international church gatherings in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Europe, the Middle East and Russia.

Music was a vital part of Bennie's ministry. He has distinguished himself as a musician and a writer of gospel songs. He has appeared on radio and television in New York, Atlanta, Nashville, Indianapolis, Tampa, and Miami. He has written approximately two hundred songs with one hundred and fifty in print. During the 1976 General Assembly, Reverend Triplett received the Golden Mike Award for the best song of the year, "Jesus Heals the People." He is a member of the Gospel Music Association. His published works include A Contemporary Study of the Holy Spirit, Sermons: For Holidays, Holy Days, and Special Occasions, and Praying Effectively: Bible Studies in Prayer. He also received an honorary doctorate of Sacred Music from the Pentecostal Theological Seminary where they also inducted him into the Hall of Prophets.