TD Jakes Fun Facts: 10 Things You Might Not Know About Evangelical Leader

Thomas Dexter, primarily known as evangelistic Bishop T.D. Jakes, has turned his lifelong love of Scripture into a thriving empire. Although Jakes is well known for his work, here are 10 things you might not know about the evangelical leader.

1. Jakes was nicknamed the "Bible Boy" when he was a youth because he would preach to an imaginary congregation and always carried a Bible to school.

2. Time magazine featured Jakes on the cover in 2001, with the caption "Is This Man the Next Billy Graham?"

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3. In 1982, Jakes became the pastor of Greater Emanuel Temple of Faith in West Virginia. When he started out he had only 10 members in the congregation. According to the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library, the church grew fast, leading Jakes to move it several times to accommodate the larger congregation and following.

4. Jakes moved his church from West Virginia to Texas in 1996. He also moved 50 families involved in his work and created a campus environment for his congregation, which was 14,000 at the time.

5. Jakes has been honored several times for his work. He has been ranked in Ebony magazine's Power 100 and is the winner of several awards including BET Honors, Stellar Award, NAACP Image Award, Keeper of the Dream Award and McDonald's 365Black Award for his humanitarian efforts.

6. Jakes is also a Hollywood force to be reckoned with. To date he has been part of eight films and continues to work on more in a producing role.

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7. Technology is seen as a great tool by Jakes. When the country was on the verge of a technology revolution in 2000, Jakes decided to embrace the change. He told PBS he was excited about going high tech in his church because it enables the message to get out to more people.

8. Jakes isn't solely about promoting his own church. In the wake of racial violence in the United States he is reaching out to other pastor's about the racial divide in the country. He told The Washington Post he would like to see other churches reaching out, bridging the gap and sharing resources.

9. Jakes was given a key to the city of Dallas in 1997 for his work to provide the homeless with clothes and shoes for the winter, according to Texas Monthly.

10. Oprah Winfrey is a big Jakes fan. In 2013, she taped "Oprah's Lifeclass" at his megachurch event and even had him cook for her. Jakes made her a banana pudding at her request. "If he wasn't already a bishop, I'd hire him as a chef," Winfrey told The Dallas Morning News.

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