It's been 35+ years since Bishop Thomas Dexter Jakes answered God's call to minister. According to The Christian Post, Jakes expressed: "I set out to preach a day, and a day became a week, and a week became a month, and a month became a year. And we're here."
In 1980, Jakes started his first congregation of 10 members in Montgomery, W.V., moving several times, then finally settling in Dallas with a congregation of about 30,000 members.
We honor Bishop Jakes for his unwavering dedication to ministry. Watch us honor him on Sunday, August 17 at 10P/9C during the TD Jakes 35th Anniversary Special only on BET.

(Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images)