DALLAS — A little more than a decade ago, Dytaan Carter was widely viewed as just some dude from the hood who was accustomed to running the streets and getting his hustle on.
DOING IT GOD’S WAY — An ex-inmate who was jailed for drug trafficking, Dytaan Carter deemed it essential to erect a Dallas/Fort Worth-area prison ministry whereby he is afforded the golden opportunity to help enhance and change the lives of current and former inmates. Pictured with Carter is his wife Maranda Carter, and their children, Rana, Dytaan, Jr., and Ryleigh.
At the end of the real day, even those rugged, brutally chaotic streets didn’t have what it took to rob him of his young life.
As Carter vividly recalled, the prelude to God strategically positioning him for ministry began to unfold just hours before Resurrection Sunday in 2007.
“(That’s when) God first spoke to me. I wasn’t even saved yet,” Carter told Making Headline News during a recent interview. “I woke up the next morning with a hangover, going to my wife’s cousin’s church in Oklahoma City, Pastor Cedric Pettis.”
As it turned out, that brief visit to nearby Oklahoma City is one about which Carter credits for essentially opening his eyes to bigger and better things opposite those about which the dreaded street life had to offer.
“I told my wife that the Lord spoke to me the night before and that He said, ‘I want you to teach my word,’” Carter recalled.
YEAR OF THE TURNAROUND — He recently started an online conference ministry as well as a weekly Bible study that take place at his home and is held every Tuesday at 8 p.m. CST — a far cry from his disheartening days during which he was jailed behind prison bars, reading on an eighth grade level while the overall landscape of his life seemed very much in doubt.
So much for setting up shop in the streets as his figurative living room, of sorts, his massive, yet sometimes unfair playground, if you will.
“I was still living in the streets at that time,” Carter said. “When we got to the church, I set in the back.”
Carter, in fact, admittedly tried all he could to prevent anyone from noticing that he was struggling with a hangover. Little did he know, though, God noticed which, to his credit, practically explains why he was single-handily picked out and set aside for God’s use.
“Didn’t want pastor to know that I was hung over and falling to sleep,” Carter jokingly said. “Pastor Cedric said, ‘DT Carter, come up here to the front.’ When I got up there he prophesied over my life. He said, ‘God wants you to preach His word’ and, immediately I turned toward my wife and asked, ‘Why did you tell him?’”
SPIRITUAL LIGHT BULB MOMENT — As it turned out, that brief visit to nearby Oklahoma City is one about which Carter credits for essentially opening it eyes to bigger and better things — opposite those about which street life had to offer.
For Carter’s information, his wife, Maranda, had nothing to do with what apparently was a dramatic sequence of spiritual events.
“She shrug her shoulders and said, ‘I did not tell him,’” said, Carter, alluding to the familiar passage of John 10:27. “Yeah, that was my first confirmation that I was called by God. “My sheep know My voice. They know Me and I know them. Amen.”
Fast forward to some 11 years later, and this is where Carter — a much more spiritually mature human being — is steadfastly fortifying his immeasurable kingdom gifts in ways unimaginable, in ways whereby the streets can’t merely assume any credit.
To his credit, although his present ministry is in its infancy stages, Carter, 36, essentially had become passion about ministering to incarcerated individuals inside of a few Oklahoma prisons between 2007 and 2011.
An ex-inmate who was once jailed for drug trafficking , Carter deemed it essential to erect a Dallas/Fort Worth-area prison ministry whereby he is afforded the golden opportunity to help enhance and change the lives of current and former inmates.
To his credit, although his present ministry is in its infancy stages, Carter, 36, essentially had become passion about ministering to incarcerated individuals inside of a few Oklahoma prisons between 2007 and 2011.
A native of Detroit, Carter was once tried and charged with selling drugs and was sentenced to 10 years in prison and one year in a drug rehabilitation program at a local correctional facility.
Today, unlike never before, Carter has witnessed his life change for the better — all because a little more than a decade ago, he gave up street life and sold out completely to God.
GOD’S SPOKESPERSON — Fast forward to some 11 years later, and this is where Carter — a much more spiritually mature human being — is steadfastly fortifying his immeasurable kingdom gifts in ways unimaginable, in ways whereby the streets can’t merely assume any credit.
“When I got into the county (jail), I picked up Rick Warren’s (book) Purpose Driven Life, and that’s when I started telling people about the love of Jesus,” Carter said. “I continued in Bible study.”
Interestingly, Carter managed to grasp a deeper, more intimate relationship with God, courtesy of some much-needed guidance of longtime Dallas-Fort Worth-area Pastor Andrew Jackson, Jr. of West Irving Church of God In Christ.
While a member of Jackson’s church, Carter built a solid rapport with the membership, considering he was a member of the security ministry, as well as routinely assisted worshipers on the parking lot upon their arrival for service.
In addition, Carter taught Sunday School and was active in a prison ministry sanctioned by the Dallas Coalition. Since December 2017, Carter and his family have been attending The Potter’s House of Fort Worth.
TRUE TEAM PLAYER — Interestingly, Carter managed to grasp a deeper, more intimate relation with God with courtesy of some much-needed guidance of longtime Dallas-Fort Worth-area Pastor Andrew Jackson, Jr. of West Irving Church of God In Christ. While a member of Jackson’s church, Carter built a solid rapport with the membership, considering he was a member of the security ministry, as well as routinely assisted worshipers on the parking lot upon their arrival for service.
“Pastor Jackson helped my family and I come together,” Carter said. “He rehabilitated us. It was hard for me to get back to understanding how to cope with society. He counseled my wife and I and he also married us in June 24, 2007.”
Today, Carter is expanding his ministry just as God commanded him to.
He recently started an online conference ministry as well as a weekly Bible study that takes place at his home and is held every Tuesday at 8 p.m. CST — a far cry from his disheartening days during which he was jailed and housed behind prison bars, reading on an eighth grade level while the overall landscape of his life seemed very much in doubt.
But God…
BACK ON TRACK — Say this about this prisoner-turned-minister: He’s certainly got it and has done it God’s way — all because a little more than a decade ago, he gave up street life and sold out completely to the One Person Who matters most.
“When I went (to jail), I picked up the Bible and, as I read it, I start getting better,” said Carter, who eventually got his GED, then ultimately advanced his education by enrolling at Oral Roberts University, where he studied Theology.
Yep, at the end of the real day, those rugged, brutally chaotic streets didn’t have what it took to rob him of his young life.
“My mother taught me to love and respect women, work for what you want, (love your) family and never hold grudges,” Carter said. “She said, ‘Life isn’t handed to you. You have to go and get it.’”
Say this about this prisoner-turned-minister: He’s certainly got it, has surely done it God’s way — all because a little more than a decade ago, he gave up street life and sold out completely to the One Person Who matters most.
In ways whereby the streets can’t merely assume any credit.
EDITOR’S NOTE:If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, producer, author, athlete, musician, barber, life coach, motivational speaker, cosmetologist, tax preparer, model, or pastor/minister who is seeking exposure and would like to share your story with an in-depth news feature, call Reporter Andre Johnson at 901-690-6587 or Facebook message him under “Andre T. Johnson” for details.
Andre Johnson is the Founder and Publisher of Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former reporter of sports for the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson covers the NBA Southwest Division from Dallas, Texas. To reach Johnson, call him at 901-690-6587 or send email to andre@makingheadlinenews.com or makingheadlinenews@gmail.com. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.
ABOUT ANDRE: Andre Johnson is a longtime sports journalist and a 2000 graduate of the University of the Memphis with Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. A native of Memphis, Johnson is a former sport reporter Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper and Memphis Sport Magazine. He worked as full-time staffer for The Commercial Appeal from 2000-2002, in which he was the beat reporter for the Memphis Houn’dawgs of now-defunct American Basketball Assocation and the Memphis Xplorers of the arenafootball2 league. He has interviewed numerous sports personalities, most notably Archie Manning, LeBron James, George “Iceman” Gervin, Issac Bruce, Laila Ali, Vince Carter, Paul Westphal, Phil Jackson, Ken Hamlin, Cortez Kennedy, Michael Oher, Kobe Bryant, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Marc Gasol, Dwight Howard, James Harden, Patrick Willis, Stanley Morgan, Dirk Nowitzki, Rick Carlisle, Mark Cuban, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, John Force, Lamar Odom, Alexandra Stevenson, Derek Fisher, Penny Hardaway, Phillip Rivers, Colin Kaepernick, Jim Harbaugh, Tyreke Evans, Kirk Ferentz, and O. J. Mayo, among others. To reach Johnson, send email to: memphisgraduate@yahoo.com. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.
Andre Johnson 
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, producer, author, athlete, musician, barber, life coach, motivational speaker, cosmetologist, tax preparer, model, or pastor/minister who is seeking exposure and would like to share your story with an in-depth news feature, call Reporter Andre Johnson at 901-690-6587 or Facebook message him under “Andre T. Johnson” for details.
