J. Paul Williams received his B.M. degree in voice from Oklahoma Baptist University and his M.M. degree in theory and composition from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

He served as Associate Pastor Minister of Music for churches in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas for thirty‑five years, including seventeen years at Calvary Baptist in Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1992, he became a full time lyricist/composer and has written over 900 songs in collaboration with sixty‑one composers. His songs have been sung by choirs across the U.S. and in four continents, and for such events as the unveiling of the Pentagon Memorial Benches, the commemoration of the Oklahoma City Bombing, on Normandy beach for the fiftieth anniversary of the allied invasion, and the dedication of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library.