Pastor Shelton was born in Montgomery, Alabama on September 28, 1957. At an early age, Pastor Shelton moved to New York where he lived in the Bronx.

He credits his spiritual nature to his grandmother, Mrs. Mineola Smith, who walked him and his brother to church when she visited them and then charged them to go every week when she returned to her home in Montgomery. Pastor Shelton has never missed a Sabbath since.

He was educated in the New York City Public School System and graduated from William Howard Taft High School in 1975. He then attended and graduated from Oakwood College (now Oakwood University) in Huntsville, Alabama with a B.A. in Secondary Education and a minor in Religion. He met and married Ms. Michelle Renee Black of Los Angeles, California, also a graduate of Oakwood with a B.S. in Mathematics.

The Sheltons have three children, Ralph Jr. age 28; Michael, age 22 (a graduating senior attending Oakwood University and majoring in Theology); and Mya, age 19 (a freshman in college).

Pastor Shelton has been a minister of the gospel for 24 years. He had also help the position of Lake Region Conference Adventist Community Director, Lake Region Conference Disaster Response Coordinator (2006-2010); Lake Region Conference Youth Director and Camp Director (2007-2012) and has been a member of the Lake Union Conference, North American Division, and General Conference Executive Committees.

Pastor Shelton has spoken for Camp meetings, Weeks of Prayer, Evangelistic Crusades, Rallies, and other Events throughout the United States, Bermuda, and South Africa and is currently pastoring the Beacon of Light Church in Rockford, Illinois.