MARYSVILLE — The Lord’s Kitchen is open.

The chili is hot, and there’s plenty of it. Volunteers dished it up to a dozen hungry people who came to Jesus Is Lord Life Tabernacle church in Marysville for a meal. Every Thursday, the church feeds up to 40 people.

"I always wanted to start a feeding program because my family used to eat in those places when we didn’t have a lot of money," said Pastor Jason Martin, who founded the 150-member church six years ago.

Martin, 38, said he and his family survived on welfare and food stamps after he left the U.S. Navy in 1992 and was unable to find work. He eventually got a job delivering the mail then became a full-time minister.

He hopes the strength that carried him through that time and other difficult periods of his life serves as an example to his congregation and the community. Shaped by his deep faith, he says a key message from his pulpit is simply "don’t give up when you’re under pressure. Don’t be weak."

Martin lived those words last week after he awoke early Wednesday morning to firefighters dousing a burning cross on his front lawn.

He prayed with his son that morning, for his family, for the people who burned the cross, and for strength.

"I believe this was a sovereign act of God. I’ve been able to share the love of God through the media in the past few days to so many people," he said. "I feel like my whole life has been that way. God has used me as an agent for change."

Martin grew up in a racially mixed suburb in Buffalo, N.Y. He recalls hearing racial slurs when he rode his bike through the neighborhood, and days when his elementary school principal would send him and other black students home early "because we heard white gangs were coming."

The middle child in a family of three boys, Martin described his home life as "challenging." He learned early that his father, a heavy drinker, would lash out when he got drunk.

Martin’s mother, a devout Catholic, was often the target, Martin said. A "strong, wonderful woman … She kept things as normal as possible for us boys."

Martin became a Catholic altar boy, seeking refuge in the church.

"When I would go to the church, it brought a lot of peace and structure into my life," he said. "There was a lot of fear and chaos at home."

He also discovered a talent for music and started singing in nightclubs at age 16. He formed his own band, "Systematic Funk," which covered Top-40 music.

He met Charmaine, now his wife, at age 14. He spotted her walking home from summer school, and decided to ask her out.

He was 17 when she became pregnant with their first child, Jason Jr.

"My grandfather, who’d always talked to me about God and gave me my first Bible, said ‘Do you love Charmaine?’ " Martin recalled. "And I said, ‘I do’ and he told me, ‘The right thing to do is to marry her, because she has your child.’ "

Encouraged by his grandfather, he joined the U.S. Navy and married Charmaine.

Martin remembers the night well. Stationed in San Diego, he was tired of partying, tired of drinking every day, tired of fighting with his young wife. He left their house and drank a 40-ounce bottle of beer.

Then he walked into a Baptist church "and I gave my life to the Lord," Martin said. "I was tired of the lifestyle I was living. I was becoming just like my dad."

He stopped drinking, stopped smoking and stopped swearing. When the Martins transferred to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, he became a church deacon.

He started the "Jesus is Lord Gospel Hour" on KJTT-AM radio and formed a gospel band, "Jason Martin and the Anointed Voices."

He also appeared several times on the Trinity Broadcast Network, a Christian TV network.

"My life changed dramatically," he said. "All my old baggage dropped away."

The Martins moved to Marysville when he got a full-time job as a mail carrier there.

Martin and his family, which grew to seven children, were the only black members of their church, Victory Foursquare in Marysville. The pastor there offered to match Martin’s post office salary, and he became the church’s worship pastor and janitor.

After four years at the church, "God gave me a vision," Martin said. "He showed me a church in Marysville that was multicultural that I was pastoring."

Some at his church were skeptical, he said.

"They didn’t think it could happen here. They said, ‘Maybe you should go to Seattle," Martin said.

He started Jesus Is Lord Life Tabernacle with three families on Aug. 9, 1998. They worshiped in a double-wide mobile home on a friend’s property until the church grew to 60 people.

When he started, there was no promise of any income, Martin said. "But the people have loved us, and God has provided for us," he said.

The church moved to 1050 State Ave. in Marysville several years ago. Over the entry to the sanctuary are the words, "Jesus died for all colors of people."

"People assume that because I’m a black pastor, I have a black congregation," he said. "I never wanted that. I’m proud that a 90-year-old white woman calls me her pastor."

Martin, who’s recorded two gospel albums, sings during Sunday services and enjoys playing the keyboard with his band.

But he says his biggest accomplishment is being a husband for 19 years and a good father. After the cross burning, he talked to his children about staying strong when they’re confronted by hate.

"I told them, ‘There are some people who don’t like you for the color you are. It’s not you problem. It’s their problem,’" Martin said.

Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@heraldnet.com.