March 2011 –Todd donned his tattered old T-shirt with the huge, hand-lettered red “S,” tied on his red-towel cape, and climbed atop the family’s backyard swing set. He was a force to be reckoned with, the SuperTodd of South Louisiana. But alas, Todd’s career as an air-borne hero ended more quickly than it had begun – he came crashing to the ground.

His short-lived and painful foray into the world of the superhero led him to look at more earth-bound heroes. But even as a young child, Todd was passionate about whatever he pursued, and he thought seriously about what he would be as an adult – fire fighter, soldier or crime fighter?

Wearing his shiny, cereal-box badge, trusty cap gun at his side, he rounded up the villains (AKA unwilling siblings), handcuffed them with a rope and dragged them over to serve their sentence at the local jail, the back of Dad’s pickup.

At age 13, a life-changing experience gave Todd a new outlook on life and focused his passion in a whole new direction: He gave his heart to Christ, and his new heroes were his pastor and Sunday school teachers, his grandfather and his dad.

His dad spent many a weekend singing tenor with the Fisherman Quartet, a male gospel group. It became Todd’s dream to sing and/or play for a quartet full-time, to make a living using the musical gift God had given him.

Two become one, then three and more
Meanwhile, as Todd was growing up, a young girl named Michelle was growing up in Florida. Her childhood dreams were fanciful, too – she was a princess, and one day her prince would come, marry her and take her away to live happily ever after.

When Michelle’s dad would ask her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she always replied, “I want to be a wife and a mother with lots of children, and I want a huge table where we can all sit to eat.”

In fact, Michelle had a dream that her handsome, princely husband built a home for them, and that he built that long table where she sat at one end and he at the other. Between them, down each side of the table sat their many children.

Todd and Michelle met as college students and married young. Early in their marriage, Todd surrendered to God’s call to full-time ministry, little realizing how much bigger it would be than singing in a gospel quartet.

Fast forward a few years to 1996. This deep-south couple was living in the wintry north and loving it. God had blessed them with four healthy children. Todd was pastor of Baptist Fellowship Church in Waterford, Michigan. Michelle was homeschooling Caleb, age 5, and caring for Gabrielle (3), Joshua (17 months) and Jared (2 months). They had just bought a home, the universal symbol of “settling in.”

Then God stirred their hearts toward a new calling – full-time evangelism. Less than a year after they bought a home, they put it up for sale and were astounded at how the Lord sold it and gave them a profit even in the quick re-sale. Fully committed to this new calling, they sold just about everything they owned and bought a 36-foot motor home. By the end of the year, they had hit the road with a nest egg that would sustain a family of six only for a couple of months.

Not surprisingly, their faith soon met challenges – often financial shortfalls, for they asked only a love offering from churches where they went to preach and sing. Michelle, too, is an accomplished vocalist, and the gifted couple soon began including their talented children in music evangelism, complementing Todd’s sermons.

One miracle of note
At first, invitations were mostly in the Southeast, where they had many connections. But early in their ministry, they received an invitation from a church in California. Too expensive to travel there? Yes, of course. After all, the family budget required $500/week while they were on the road.

Should they go? Yes, of course. They found one other church to host them in Arizona on the return trip, and westward they went.

“A very generous love offering was given from the church in California,” Todd said. “However, our expenses were also very great. We were able to break even on our expenses and meet our weekly financial needs, but there was nothing left over.”

So they headed back eastward, next stop Arizona. When they arrived and met the pastor, he said there would probably be 20-25 people in church. On that cold Sunday morning, the church distributed blankets to parishioners rather than turn on the heat. The Allens ministered, and left with a $60 love offering to stretch over the week traveling homeward.

Their next ministry point was in Shreveport, Louisiana – a Sunday morning service only. And they were $440 behind on their budget.

Todd wondered, “Lord, how are we going to make ends meet?”

Arriving at the Louisiana church, the pastor greeted the Allens with a change of plans. The pastor had been injured and unable to preach for several weeks, and he believed he needed to preach to his people that morning. He wanted Todd and Michelle to sing three songs – only. Of course, they could do nothing but agree. Todd was persuaded that this Sunday service would be the last for the Allen Ministries and their on-the-road evangelism.

But when the church turned over their love offering to the Allens, it totaled $940 – the exact amount to cover the past week and provide for the next.

Six become seven, then eight ...
This year, the Allens and their eight children are celebrating 15 years in evangelism with a series of special concerts in addition to the rigorous regular schedule. They still live in a motor home, this one a spacious 50-footer. They have traveled to minister in more than 35 states, four Canadian provinces, Jamaica, Guatemala and Zambia, Africa.

The Allen Ministries mission statement says, “The family is the heart of our society and Christian families should minister together to influence this world for righteousness sake.” All of the children, including the younger ones – Danielle, Abigail, Zachariah and even five-year-old Christian – are now seasoned performers, joining Mom, Dad and older siblings for beautiful family harmony in almost 300 engagements a year.

For a few years now, the Allens have added to their busy evangelism schedule a fun and inspiring Christmas show in Branson, where they are members of Skyline Baptist Church. Leave it to homeschoolers to add a little teaching and history with creative skits along with the beautiful family harmonies their voices produce.

And a clear presentation of the gospel will be a part of anything the Allens do in front of an audience, for Todd’s calling is, above all else, to reach people for Christ. It’s just what his unique family does in their own unique way.  

Mom Michelle’s FAQ’s
Michelle answers a few of the questions people often ask the Allens.

Q: Are those all your children?
A: Yes. And there are no twins. Maybe we’ll have more … that is for God to decide.

Q: How do that many people live on a bus?
A: The same way you live in a house. Mom and Dad have a bedroom; the children have a bunk room. We [people] really do not need as much as we think we need to live. So, the Allens have learned to live with less. No pack rats allowed!

Q: What do you do for fun and leisure time?
A: The guys love to golf. The girls love to shop. Sometimes we have a family game night and play lots of board games.

Q: Do you have a washer and dryer on that bus?
A: No. We usually do our laundry about every 10 days at a coin laundry.

Q: What about education?
A: We homeschool our children. We choose our own curriculum from various sources and keep our own records. When we travel through historical areas, we try to take time to see the sites. After visiting Gettysburg, we studied about President Lincoln and the Civil War.

Q: Do you have another home?
A: No, and we do not want one.

Q: How many miles do you travel in a year?
A: With bookings from Texas to Canada, from Florida to Arizona, we log about 70,000 miles a year.

Q: How do you get your children to behave in public?
A: We “parent” our children. We have taught our children to respect authority and obey their parents, as God’s Word teaches. In our home, to obey means to do what you are told without delay, without excuse, without complaint and with a cheerful attitude. Anything else is disobedience.

Learn more about the Allen Family, schedule them at your church and order their CDs, DVDs or other resources at www.allenministries.com or call 800-246-0067.