Biography of Jesse Stevenson

Jesse Stevenson is one that is without a doubt anointed by God to lead his people into his manifested presence. Unlike many, Jesse is a very gifted, highly anointed, multi talented man of God who has been called and chosen by God to prophetically play instruments, melodically sing, and strategically deliver the preached word of God. Jesse is a Pastor, husband, father, teacher, song writer, producer and so much more. It has been said by many that he is envied with a Godly jealousy because of his ability to fluently play just as good as he can sing, just as good as he can preach. He has a passion for seeing and bringing out the personal and spiritual authenticities of those that he encounters.
Jesse Stevenson was born on September 30, 1977 in the beautiful city of Orlando, Florida and is the youngest of two sisters and one brother: Be it that he comes from a musical family of singers and some musicians, Mary, his mother, would begin to train and groom her children to become singers. Constantly taking them to choir rehearsals and many church services, her children were always exposed to an environment filled will vocal and musical elements.He recalls hearing his mother say to him and siblings “If you can’t sing it right, don’t sing it at all”. Jesse took an interest in playing the tambourine in church. “I remember one particular Sunday morning where we were having some good old fashion church and my mother got happy and decided to pick up my tambourine and play,” he calls to mind. “She played that thing so hard that her entire hand went to the skin of that tambourine and boy, was I angry!” as he laughs. On that Sunday morning, the church organist, Mother Mildred Eason saw little Jesse pouting in the midst of the congregation and ordered him to come and sit by her on the organ. Jesse, at the age of six years old would memorize what he heard and would ultimately teach himself how to play the keyboard. By the age of eight years old, Jesse began to play for churches that would give him the opportunity to play for them. He went from playing the drums for the midweek services to playing the piano and organ for those services. This gave him the opportunity to gain experience and in due course grow to become a well rounded and well balanced musician, learning to play the classic hymns of the church to congregational songs to more up-to-date contemporary music. Jesse would go on to play for many churches, both large and small, local choirs, groups and preacher for many years.
Gaining a deeper love and appreciation for music, he would take an interest in participating in choral programs all throughout school except for the sixth grade. Starting out as a lad he attended Ivy Lane Elementary School, but would have to transfer to Molly Rae Elementary School. There, he would only spend a month at this school due to some disciplinary challenges that he had encountered because the school offered no programs that would act as an outlet for him to exercise and develop his gifts. Jesse would later move to Ridgewood Park Elementary, another school in the Orange County Public Schools District. In 1988, Jesse would go on to attend middle school at Robert E. Lee Middle School. Also, this would be the remarkable year where he would perform in his first musical recital at the Malone Memorial Institutional COGIC in front of more than 1,000 listeners. After, completing the sixth grade, he was transferred to Meadowbrook Middle School where he would go on to finish the seventh and eighth grades. He would receive additional musical training. Jesse, would not only excel vocally, but his musical ear would also be trained and finely tuned because of the stipulation of learning how to sight read music as a qualifying factor for competing in state and regional vocal competitions. As he would technically advance in his musical training in school, he would be faced with a different aspect of musical training that would bring him worldwide fame and acclaim in his future. Jesse’s spiritual ear and senses would be groomed by his spiritual mother, Evangelist Erlene Brinson who was also a pianist. She is responsible for educating him on the importance of understanding the atmospheric flow in our worship services and how not to be confined to a specific style, type, or location of worship. She would further instruct him on how to be sensitive to every atmosphere that he steps in and enhance that ambiance or act as an atmosphere change agent.
Jesse would go on to attend Maynard Evans High School in Pine Hills, Florida, one of Orlando’s many small areas. Here is where he would begin to really develop into his own person. He would study under his choral teacher and mentor Dr. David Martin who retired two years after Jesse started high school. Jesse would then study for a year under former English teacher turned choral instructor Victor Milsap who only taught for a year. He then became a student of FAMU Alumni and former FAMU Rattler Drum Major Terrell Freeman who would not only be a teacher, but would later become a personal friend to him. Jesse not only participated in choral competitions. He also served as the Director of the school’s Gospel Choir for five years. There were often times where we would have as little as 10 choir members and as many as 50-60 choir members. It was because of the lobbying of Jesse to school leaders to make the Gospel choir a part of the school’s music program and offer class credits for participating. The lobbying was successful and set in motion for students who would stay after school to partake in this division of the music program. Jesse was mature beyond his years that the principal of his high school at the time, Daniel Buckman trusted him to organize and take the Gospel Choir on several school trips without the accompaniment of school teachers. He was so influential in the lives of the young people that he encountered that many of their parents volunteered as chaperones on many of their trips. Jesse would go on to receive a number of awards and recognitions for his musical abilities and accomplishments in high school. He also voted “Most Likely To Succeed” in high school as well.
After graduating high school, Jesse married his high school sweetheart Sandra Russell where they gave birth to their two children Jayla Zaria and Jesse II both born in Orlando. Jesse has a deep and profound love for his children. He loves spending time with them. During this point in Jesse’s life, the absence of a father would soon come to haunt him. Not having any real examples of how a marriage should work he would go on to make many costly mistakes that consequently ended in divorce. “When I look back over all of the years that I played for many pastors and evangelists, I had many of them to teach me the ins and outs of church, preaching, music, and singing,” he says. “But, I never can recall any of them telling me how to be a husband. Or, how to effectively handle the adversities that we are faced with in a marriage,” he states.
While growing up as a young musician Jesse started to get exposure in the market place from his sister Diane who worked at a local Subway restaurant. His first official job aside from being a musician was a cashier and cook at a local Wendy’s restaurant. He then received a job offer as the minister of music when he was 12 years old at the local Church of the Nazarene which was located up the street from where he lived. He made about seventy dollars a week there. He then went on to become the lead organist for El Bethel Temple also known as “The Rainbow Church” in Orlando. Jesse would continue to travel with different evangelists and pastors from the local area. Later on, he would spend about three years as the minister of music of the Word of Life Church (Eddie Seaverson, Pastor) located in Tildenville, Florida which was a part of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW). There, he would transform into a cutting edge praise and worship leader introducing various styles of music in conjunction with the usual traditional styles of Gospel music. He would go on to also become a preacher of the Gospel at the age of 14 years old. After receiving a recommendation from Elder Byron Stevenson to take over as minister of music of Bay Street COGIC, Jesse would gone to temporarily relieve him of his duties while away at college in the mid ‘90’s. During his tenure as minister of music, he would be trained as a student of the Bible and in the art of prayer and strategic spiritual warfare. After serving at Bay Street for two and a half years he would resign from his position and go on to serve in the same capacity at his God-father’s church, Fresh Anointing COGIC (Supt. Ricky Rose, Pastor). He would later rebuild the choir and much of the music ministry from scratch. After faithfully serving there he would go on to become the director of music at Sanctuary of Praise Ministries (Dr. Jonathan L. McKnight, Pastor) in 1999. Jesse went on to travel with Pastor McKnight up and down the eastern seaboard as a singer/musician. There is where he would tap into his gift of writing original compositions that would lead to him forming an ensemble called Grace which was comprised of about twelve singers. He would teach them all of his original songs and in 2000 would attempt to conduct a live recording that was very unsuccessful due to technical complications. Being discouraged, his lost all desire to record for a while and chose to continue writing and arranging while playing for and traveling with Dr. McKnight. Jesse would have many opportunities to meet many people who are considered greats from preachers to major Gospel artists while acting as Director of Music. One in particular would be Bishop Carlton D. Pearson. Pearson heard him playing while at Sanctuary of Praise and would take him on the road as a secondary musician on many occasions. Pearson and Jesse would develop an awesome relationship. “Bishop Pearson came along in my life at a time when it seems like turmoil was the order of everyday,” he says. “Bishop Pearson would cover me as a pastor when I couldn’t reach my own and he ultimate became a friend to me. Somebody that I know I can go to and share my deepest, darkest secret with and it will never go anywhere,” he deeply expressed. In 2004, Jesse was invited to accompany Bishop Pearson on a trip to Africa. They traveled to several parts of Africa to do ministry, but ultimately to meet with a brilliant American doctor, the late Dr. Gary Davis who had found the cure to AIDS. They would first travel to Johannesburg and then on to Durban where they would participate in a million man march against AIDS and violence against children and women. They would then proceed to Cape Town and then on to the Ivory Coast, Abidjan, and Lagos. Jesse was so modest about his singing that for quite some time, Pearson never knew he could sing until one day hearing him hum on the way to church. Pearson asked him to sing on the spot while ministering in Cape Town. With amazement and greatly astonished, Pearson and the congregation was overwhelmed by the presence of God as he began to sing. After traveling to Africa with Pearson, his next stop would be New York City where he would begin rehearsals with Jada Pinkett Smith’s rock band, Wicked Wisdom playing keyboards and acting as a background vocalist. Jesse, would not only play keyboards, but he would take advantage of his opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus with Jada and Will Smith. He would travel for about three months in Europe playing in arena with as little as 22,000 people to as many as 45,000.

Jesse has encountered many of the greats and has had the privilege of playing for many of them such as Bishop Carlton Pearson, Beverly Crawford, Ronzel Pretlow, CeCe Winans, Christian Comedian Brodrick E. Rice, Blanch McAllister-Dykes, Judy Peterson and Cece Peniston. He has shared the stage with many such as Kim Burrell, Byron Cage, The Williams Brothers, John P. Kee, Dorothy Norwood, Trinity 5:7, Rance Allen, William McDowell, Tanya Baker, Pastor Rodney Posey, John Gray, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Twinkie Clark, William Murphy III, Vicki Winans, Martha Munizzi, Vicki Yohe, Pastor Gary Oliver to name a few. Jesse has ministered in song for the likes of Bishop T. D. Jakes, Rev. Jackie McCollough, Bishop Liston Page, Pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant, Bishop Noel Jones, Dr. John E. Guns, Bishop Joby and Pastor Sheryl Brady, Dr. Juanita Bynum, Creflo Dollar, Bishop E. Bernard Jordan, Pastor Zachery Tims, Bishop Edward T. Cook, Mother Judy Hines, Prophet Kervin Smith, Dr. Tiny Lucas just to name a few.
Jesse releases a fresh and pure sound of worship in the earth that influences and compels men and women of all ages, races, and colors to return to a place of prostration both physically and spiritually. The pure sound of worship that flows from his spirit causes the body of Christ to turn their hearts back to God which was the purpose for which we were created...to worship the living God. The sound of travail through worship that flows from his inner man penetrates the realm of the spirit which brings about life changing results in the life of the believer. Even in this last day, the Lord has raised him up as a song writer and psalmist to both sing and write songs of truth that releases a liberty to those who experience his anointed and powerful life-changing ministry.