ABOUT Jesher Stevens
ABOUT Jesher Stevens
Jesher Stevens was born in Kinston, NC. He attended Emmanuel Hill Baptist Church. As a toddler, most of the members could find him crawling under the pews during Sunday morning services as usual. As most black churches in the south at time, there was a section in the service where all the youth were called to the altar to be given a message. One particular Sunday the pastor was giving a message about the Children of Israel. The pastor said something similar to, “God told the children to come forth.” Jesher as a toddler sprung up from under the pews to start to go to the altar thinking it was time for the youth message. His older brother knew he was in trouble for not keeping an eye on him. Jesher was very fast and evasive. He eluded the grasps of the ushers to continued his progression to the altar. Some versions of the story have him running between their leges. As he came up to the pulpit. The pastor picked him up and placed him in his seat. Many say that was his call to ministry, but later he would also find out that he was also one of the Children of Israel.
He attended three different high schools in Woodbridge, VA and Goldsboro, NC transferring between them five different times completing his last two years in Goldsboro. Through high school he was the usual kids until he turned 16 and saw a Nostradamus video in school about the end of the world. He never really considered life after death until this moment. It also made him think about what the future world had to bring. He attended church, but thought his involvement was more based on the social experience seeing the lifestyles of different hypocritical clergy members. He thought his path was to go to play basketball with some major colleges interested in his attendance after graduation. That is when his life hit the bottom. He found out he had hereditary heart issues when many young men were dying from their involvement in sports. This is what led him to the college he said he ever wanted to attend which was Campbell University.
At that time, it was a small college in the middle of a small town called Buies Creek. Discouraged, Jesher never tried to apply himself. At the end of the semester, he had a 0.5 GPA. He dropped out of college and was headed for the US Airforce. He was denied entry not for his heart condition, but for his flat feet. He then was denied by every job he tried to apply for even factory work. This lead to hurt, anger, fear, and frustration to a point he came close to committing a criminal act. Thankfully no victim came in his presence that night. His mother who had been in the hospital long-term being treated also for her heart condition was released and advised him to go back to school. He returned before the last drop/add day of classes in the next semester. He returned with a possible loss of financial aid, limited access to funds, a terrible GPA, and a potential upcoming pregnancy. He prayed, “God I have been in church all my life. If you are real, please show me.”
The small and isolated school with a Baptist Christian foundation helped him to focus. He took up a work study job and ended the semester with a 3.0 GPA. The young lady was no longer pregnant and separated from him. The financial aid office said he received an unexpected grant which gave him money back in return. His prayers were answered. When he returned home for summer break, he accepted salvation at the foot of his bed with a pure heart seeking a relationship with Yah through Yahusha Hamashiach who he only knew at time as Jesus Christ. He joined as a member of the church at 18 years old the next day. He then was involved in campus ministry at the predominately white university. He was happy to serve in whatever capacity he could, but he saw the lacking ministry for black students from various countries who were in attendance. He attempted to start Bible Studies and was involved in campus student government efforts to teach the campus about cultural diversity. He saw that many students both black and white were connected more in a religious sense versus relational. He was also called crying into ministry, knowing the severity of the calling. It was Yah’s timing where he was reconnected to his childhood pastor from Kinston who put him in his pastor chair as a toddler. The Goldsboro church needed a new pastor and his old pastor just happened to be the one who applied when Jesher received his calling. Once he received his calling he was challenged with the question, “Where does my knowledge in God meet my faith in Him?” The clergy wanted him to go to Duke University Theology School, but Jesher saw the need to deepen his faith first.
After graduation, he moved to the NC state capital of Raleigh, NC to start in IT. He was married at an early age of 21 and eventually had two children. He also served in various churches as an Associate Minister, Youth Leader, Youth and Young Adult Pastor, Board Member and various other auxiliaries. The youth and young adults asked honest questions about the Bible challenging him to research even the more. In ministry, he started with a heart to evangelize, but saw all the negative baggage that came with it being in ministers’ meetings. He was even called the devil for reading the Bible in truth. After having to leave multiple churches, he was led to Solid Rock International Ministry. His pastor, Bishop Foday Farrar, was the Bishop of International Affairs. He challenged him in many ways to become a leader with his support in an international ministry with a member base of being mostly African American, African or the African Diaspora.
When the pastor died, it led Jesher to seeking the next steps of ministry. He was challenged by a young adult about who he was as Israel when he was attending seminary. This led him to trying to disprove the claim of African American’s connection as Israelites. After close to three years of researching DNA, his own family history, visiting historical sites, attending services of multiple Messianic groups, purchasing multiple books, investing many hours in watching videos, calling authors, speaking with universities professors, and more he came to a point where he could no longer deny the facts. There was too much evidence to ignore that he and his people are the true blood descendant child of Israel. He also saw how his own people’s history had been stolen and hidden during slavery. The referebce materials were in the PWIs, but not in the HBCUs. Jesher then started to embrace the truth after discovering it was also Biblical prophecy (Deut 30). He discovered his name Jesher was in the Bible (1Ch 2:18) which means upright. He started using his material and the knowledge he has collected through his journey to teach and encourage his people, Israel, to live upright before Yah by seeking His Son, Yahusha, and the commandments in these Last Days. He also has traveled to Africa and has reunited with various African Hebrew tribes where he desires to connect the “two sticks” back together all across the diaspora as well. He now wants to share all the information he knows with those who will listen being the reason this website is called J-Shares.
Jesher Stevens