A lifelong love of gospel music has brought Jacqueline Sterling all over the world, but for the past 17 years her gift has been the benefit of Lighthouse Missionary Baptist Church where she has served as musical director.

Sterling said her gift from music stems from her mother, the Rev. Lois Dejean who is known in New Orleans as the “gospel voice of the city.”

“I developed a love and passion for music at the tender age of 8 in a house where music was the platform for my gift to be manifested,” Sterling said.

Singing was Sterling’s first love, and with the gift she traveled extensively with the Youth Inspirational Choir and her family group the Johnson Extension throughout the United States and abroad.

“I sung in churches and shared several stages with some of the world’s greatest gospel singers,” she said.

Some of those including James Cleveland, Pastor Shirley Caesar, Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, Ricky Dillard, Pastor Donnie Mclurkin and many others.

Sterling started music directing First Zion Baptist Church in New Orleans under the leadership of Rev. Donald Berryhill Sr. Sterling said she directed there for nine years until she was displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

After traveling for one year seeking God’s direction for her life, Sterling said she placed her membership at Lighthouse Missionary Baptist Church in Franklin under the leadership of the Rev. Allen Randle Sr.

Sterling has been a member of the Lighthouse for 17 years, and has duties that include music selection, providing uplifting songs that “put the people’s hearts and focus on God that prepare them for the spoken word and serve as a support role in the worship service,” Sterling said.

“What I enjoy most about teaching gospel music is seeing God’s people engage in worship and how it encourages through difficult times as well as the mountaintops of life,” she said.

For her personal life, Sterling said music and faith have always been connected and both have been pivotal for her life.

“It brings joy and hope to my daily challenges along with my faith,” Sterling said.