While most 13-year-old girls like to share texts on the latest posts involving celebrities, fashion and entertainment, Jazlene Cherry gets excited about sharing the love of Jesus, a passion she shares with her father, a minister.
Jazlene, who goes by the name Jazzy, is fascinated by how her dad doesn't let things bother him and the ease with which he approaches people he doesn't know.
"I'm very inspired by my dad," she said. "I tell him all the time that I want to be like him. He always teaches me if God asks you to do something just be obedient to Him and don't be nervous about what the people are gonna say, just know that you're gonna be helping them."
From a young age, James Cherry, pastor of Frontline Outreach Ministry, taught his daughter how to share the gospel, which she has been doing at her Bakersfield, California school.
Those lessons were supplemented with evangelism training they both received through Cru® Inner City, offered in connection with Easter Bag and PowerPack® outreaches. Easter bags are distributed each spring and contain candy, toys and gospel beads, while PowerPacks® are colorful backpacks filled with school supplies. Both include gospel literature designed for children. Inner City provides the items to local ministry partners who already have established relationships in their neighborhoods, increasing the opportunities for meaningful gospel engagements. Frontline also uses Boxes of Love® and Homeless Care Kits, Cru's fall and winter campaigns.
"We're doing a lot in the community, thanks to Cru." Pastor Cherry said. "They really do help the ministry, and I like that."
Jazzy's exposure to Cru's training has prompted her to become a bold witness at school.
"One thing I learned is trying to make conversation with a person and try to see how they're doing, and not just to give them what you came to give them, but also talk to them about Jesus and pray with them," the now-eighth-grader said. "For outreaching, we don't just give them food or whatever we're handing out that day, we also would like to minister."
Among those she serves is John, a classmate she's known since kindergarten, and his brother, James.
After finishing her initial Inner City training in spring 2021, Jazzy asked her dad if they could deliver two of the Easter bags to John and James. Because of COVID-19, the daughter and dad met the boys on the porch. During the conversation, Jazzy asked to borrow a pen to fill out a visitation card provided by Cru.
The boys disappeared into the house for a few minutes until they re-emerged with a tattered backpack with absolutely nothing inside. No pens, no pencils, no paper. At that point, Jazzy flashed back to other campus moments when John borrowed basic school supplies.
It was a pattern.
She recalled previous talks when John admitted his parents struggled financially, sometimes because of poor lifestyle choices, often leaving the brothers with little of the basics of life.
Touched by their dilemma, Jazzy and Pastor Cherry turned to their local Inner City team, asking them for several PowerPacks. Although the backpacks are usually distributed at the end of the summer, just in time for the new school year, the father-daughter team didn't want to wait because the boys' need was so great.
Chris Frech, with the Inner City team in Bakersfield, was able to fulfill the request.
"(John) always used to come up outside of his class to ask for a pencil or a piece of paper," said Jazzy, who hopes to go to college at the University of California, Los Angeles or Loyola Marymount University. "And now he doesn't have to do that because he has his own stuff."
A year later, the boys still attend the house church whenever they can get a ride. John, who has made a personal profession of faith, has also become a dedicated outreach volunteer whenever someone can drive him. In the meantime, Frontline is trying to secure a van to help accommodate transportation needs.
"He has helped us pass out stuff to the homeless and things like that," she said. "He still has the backpack that we gave him and it still has supplies in it. He'll come to the car washes. He'll come to food giveaways. He'll come to fundraisers. He'll come to anything. If he knows about it, he'll come.
"That he wants to help out with stuff that has to do with God and Jesus makes me feel that I've done something, that I've encouraged him."
Jazzy also serves the church through sacred dance and the worship team. Even with their ongoing commitments, she and her family continue to meet the physical needs of John and his brother.
"They don't have any food so we cleaned out our freezer and refrigerator and our cabinets," she said of a recent gift. "We gave him a whole bunch of food."
At one outreach, John was able to get some clothes. Their faithfulness is already paying dividends.
"I see God really touched John's heart," the pastor said. "I mean, he really came to God because he's seen what God was doing in Jazzy's life."
Jazzy sees the change, too.
| “He says all the time that he prays now more because he knows that God can help him and answers prayers …” | "John was not always a kid who was good," Jazzy said. "He always used to get into fights. He was bad. He was rude to teachers, but now he's more calm and knows how to control himself. He knows to come to me and ask me for advice or prayer or talk to him about what would Jesus do. In my eyes, it shows that is very big growth. |
"I'm teaching him how to love more kind-heartedly… that he has people to look up to, that he has a person who can basically be there for him — God and Jesus," Jazzy said. "He says all the time that he prays now more because he knows that God can help him and answers prayers because we helped show him that."
John has developed his own style of sharing his faith, showing more comfort as a networker than a preacher. He loves to tell his classmates about Jazzy's commitment to her faith and the church. If someone needs prayer or advice, he sends them her way.
"I love to speak to children about Jesus," she said. "That's why, if I ever get the opportunity to do it, I will take up that opportunity because when I was out there when I was little, no one really took the time to speak out to me and that was something that I would love to help young people to do."
Jazzy, who enjoys painting, reading and making bracelets, said she relishes the chance to share Jesus with her friends and offer spiritual direction, something she didn't receive until moving in with her dad at age 5. She decided to follow Jesus soon after.
"(Jesus is) somebody I can call on, I can be with, but also somebody that I can worship and I can do things for, be obedient. If I have a question or I'm going through something, I can go to Him with my prayers and ask Him for what I need," she said, adding, "If I'm asked to do something by somebody I would do it because that's what I'm called to do."
Part of that calling is a natural desire to inspire others.
"I'm encouraging other kids to do things that I do," she said. "When I go back to school this year, I'm going to do the same exact thing. I don't feel embarrassed to talk to them about what they're going through. … I'm always there to help them out."
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Lori Arnold serves as senior writer for Cru's inner-city ministry.
Jazzy's bold faith and heart of evangelism are a great reminder we are never too young to inspire others. Share Jazzy's story on Facebook or other social media platforms by using this link:
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