The Texas Gospel Music Excellence Awards (TGMEA) was founded by Pastor Larry Davies and First Lady Sharon Davies over 26 years ago.  Pastor Larry and Sharon’s desire  was to reward independent gospel music artists  for excellence in the music industry that they are a part of.

Prior to starting TGMEA in 1998, Pastor Davies assisted with a similar event called the Texas Gospel Music Awards. It was very similar to the TGMA, however, with the hiring of a camera crew, and renting of an elaborate   Downtown Houston hotel space, it required a much bigger operating budget. Unfortunately, after several attempts over a 3 year period of time, the Founder of the TGMA decided to end the ceremony. Pastor Davies sized up TGMA and made some changes. The results was a significant increase in attendance over the 2 day period.  

After the first few years, of TGMEA, Pastor Davies and his wife, Sharon Davies, decided to add an educational component to the event which is known as the Power2Praise Workshops. The workshops are designed to educate the   artists about the industry and are always headed by gospel entertainment    industry professionals. Kirk Franklin, Kim Burrell and James Fortune are just a few gospel artists who have helped out with previous workshops.

Pastor Davies and his wife have developed and trained a highly qualified staff. All of the staff members began as dedicated volunteers to help with the TGMEA Ministry. When asked to sum up his experience with TGMEA in just a few words, Pastor Davies had this to say, “This ride has been marvelous. We just let the Lord lead us.”

The Texas Gospel Music Excellence Awards recognizes independent gospel artist across the state of Texas as well as nationally and internationally. This four day gospel experience has been the cornerstone of Gospel Music in   Texas and is the longest running independent gospel award celebration in the nation. The popularity of TGMEA has required the need for Ambassadors to serve at the national and international level.

On the state level, artists are recognized in at least 18 categories.  TGMEA also recognizes outstanding gospel music and artist across the United States. This part of the award celebration recognizes at least 20 categories. Beginning in 2020 at the 22nd Texas Gospel Music Excellence Awards, artists, ministers, announcers and media outlets from across the world will be recognized for their contributions in the gospel arena.