by Jesse Florea

Meshach Jackson calls himself just an ordinary kid.

"I like to sing, preach, play on the computer, do games, talk, hang out with my sister Sierra, eat . . . that’s about it," he says.

Did he say preach?

Yup.

Meshach, 11, is the youngest associate minister at Victory in Christ Church in Durham, North Carolina. But he doesn’t just preach at his church. Meshach can be heard on the radio, and at other churches and youth events.

"I like to tell my friends about God," he says, "because everybody needs to know Him. The most important thing is to get in line with God and know Him. Because you never know when He’s coming back."

Sometimes his boldness to share his faith brings him under fire, especially at school.

"The kids at school make fun of me," Meshach says. "One girl pushed me down the stairs, and I had other kids throw their social studies books at me.

"But when those things happen, I just say, ‘I know the Lord is on my side.’ In the Bible it says, ‘Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.’ So whatever they do, it won’t work because God’s all over me."

Faith Like a Child

God has helped Meshach his entire life.

Before he was born, doctors told his mother, Tammie, he would come into the world with only one eye or no limbs. And after he was born perfect, he caught a disease in the hospital and almost died when he was 3 days old.

While Meshach was growing up, his mom noticed he wasn’t like other children.

"When he was 3, he would take his sister’s baby dolls and his trucks, line them up and preach to them," his mom says. "Everything he’d seen in church, he would come home and act it out."

Pastor Marion Davis of Victory in Christ also recognized Meshach possessed a special gift from a young age.

"I’ve known him since he was in diapers," Pastor Davis says, "and I knew he was different. He always said he wanted to preach."

Pastor Davis works during the week as a public school counselor. She loves children and believes in giving them an opportunity to serve God. One week when Meshach gave the message, his friends participated in the service as Chris Cox played drums in the worship band, Tobias Davis sang and Azaria Lunsford read Psalm 23.

"I don’t believe in holding people back," Pastor Davis explains. "I want to encourage them in their calling."

Meshach was 5 when he first thought he wanted to be a preacher, but he didn’t have a personal relationship with God. He didn’t even like attending church.

"When I was a little boy, I wasn’t into church," Meshach says. "I was like, ‘Man, what’s the need going to church?’ But now that I’m older and I prayed to ask Jesus into my life when I was 7, I understand why going to church is important. I want to read my Bible. I want to pray. I understand the concepts of being a Christian."

Words of Truth

Meshach shared the ABCs of being a Christian when he preached for the first time: June 18, 2000.

"A is admit to God that you are a sinner," he told the congregation. "B is believe that Jesus died on the cross. And C is commit your life to Christ."

That message had an especially powerful effect on his step-dad, Sylvester.

"He did his first sermon on Father’s Day for me," Sylvester says. "At the time I wasn’t going to church. But his preaching got me back going to church."

Today, Sylvester and Tammie are deacons at Victory in Christ.

Since that first message, Meshach has encouraged many other kids and adults to get serious about God.

"Sometimes after I’ve talked, kids have asked for my autograph and said, ‘I want to be like you,’ " Meshach says. "Well, I say, ‘Nope, you don’t want to be like me. You want to be like Jesus.’ "

Associate minister Darlene Wall enjoys seeing congregations respond favorably to Meshach, because she helps him with his sermons.

"The main thing I do is encourage him to pray and ask God what He wants him to give to the people," Darlene says. "I’ve seen him grow and become more focused now."

His growth as a speaker showed during one of his recent talks. Eyes set, face serious, Meshach delivered his message:

Some of these folks out here, they think it’s cool to smoke, but I don’t think so. They try to impress their friends with drugs. But they’re just nobodies. And guess what? Anybody can be a nobody. Because where there is dope, there is no hope . . . .

But God has a plan for our lives. God always uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary . . . .

Like he said, he's just an ordinary kid.

	Q: What is a bird’s favorite game? A: Air hockey. Adam O., 9, Arkansas Clubhouse Jr. Click here to subscribe