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Local singer-songwriter Celeste Crenshaw reached the top of the Radio Airplay Experts gospel chart on Nov. 14 when her worship song “Come into This House” reached No. 1.

“The song got real good airplay,” Crenshaw said. “I have several songs that have done really well over the years.  I’ve been writing music for 27 years, but this is my first song to reach number one.”

The song has been played across the nation, Crenshaw said. She has toured in several states, including Texas, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee, and currently boasts over 5,000 Facebook followers.

Crenshaw said she began singing in church at just 9 years old and once aspired to become an R&B artist before answering God’s call to ministry.

“I’ve always loved singing gospel music,” Crenshaw said. “I’ve been in church all my life and sang my first little song, Sweet Chariot, at 9 years old.”

Crenshaw toured with R&B groups in the 1990s before returning home to Lowndes County where she felt God’s urging to write gospel songs.

“I was standing at the sink, and God came to me,” Crenshaw said. “He said, ‘You told me you would write me a song.’ I started singing the song. That was my first song called ‘Spirit.’”

Crenshaw’s music receives airplay on several local stations, including 93.3 in Tuscaloosa, 96.5 and 93.9 in Montgomery, 102.3 in Camden, and 102.7 out of Selma.

Theresa Jones, a dear friend of Crenshaw’s. Said what she loves most about Crenshaw is her love for people and for God, which are both evident in songs like “What You Have Done for Me.”

“She truly loves the Lord,” Jones said. “For someone to tell the good news and preach like she does without getting a salary, you know they love the Lord. She has a really good heart and always wants to help people.”

Crenshaw has volunteered in local jail ministries and is senior pastor at Radical Anointing Full Gospel Missionary Baptist Church in Hayneville where she has served for 14 years.

She is the founder of Mind on the Mission Pastors and Leaders, an organization which seeks to bring pastors and leaders together to celebrate and honor those who are working together to improve their homes, schools, communities and churches.

“I love God,” Crenshaw said. “I love people. Folks were calling me a preacher when I was nine years old.”

Crenshaw’s music is available on digital platforms and fans can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Tik Tok.

The artist tours to sing for church groups and said she didn’t set out to make music her career, but simply listened to what she felt God was telling her to do.

“I just wanted to sing for the Lord because I love Him,” she explained. “Whatever I share with people is what God gives me.”