Young T.D. was the part-time music director at the Baptist church where he grew up and was preaching part-time since college. In 1982 the Charleston-area chemical plant where he worked closed, his father died of kidney disease and he began full-time ministry. Two years earlier, Greater Emanuel Temple of Faith had opened its storefront doors to an initial congregation of 10 with Bishop Jakes as its Founder and Pastor. In a short time his fresh and inspiring messages transcended racial lines, spread word-of-mouth, and drew a large and growing integrated congregation in a historically divided community.
Bishop Jakes’ style has always been intensely his own. From the pulpit, his Pentecostal fervor blazes most frequently on the subjects of restoration, reconciliation and healing. His sermons are dense with poetic commentary, startling insights, and contemporary applications of the Bible’s timeless message. In the audience, his words are punctuated by passionate praise, worship and spontaneous dancing.
Charisma Magazine’s Ken Walker wrote that Bishop Jakes’ message, "Is about God’s supernatural ability, bestowed by a Lord who is color-blind and cares about each person. . . . [Bishop Jakes] delivers the Word in such a lightning-rod fashion that he makes you believe that all things really are possible with God."
In May 1996, Bishop Jakes relocated his family and 50 other families to Dallas. He founded and now serves as senior pastor of The Potter’s House, a multiracial, non-denominational church with more than 17,000 members. The facility is situated atop 28 acres of rolling hills in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas. His ministry has earned a national reputation for deep healing and changed lives and his “Woman, Thou Art Loosed” and men’s meetings are held to capacity crowds wherever they are held.
|
