Master Hilton Rawls, III, is well on his way to making a name for himself and the Lord. The 7-year-old preacher from Greater Grace Church delivered the opening benediction for Newark State of The City Address at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, reported The Grio. 

“Father, we thank you for this place. Father, we thank you for the city of Newark!” Rawls declared while pointing and projecting toward the crowd. 

Following opening remarks, Yazid Sharif, a student at Al-Minhal Academy in New Jersey recited from the Quran, leaving the crowd speechless. 

Mayor Baraka spoke at the cities 4th address to discuss the progress of New Jersey since he has taken office. At one point, New Jersey was plagued with violence. Over the years, the city has shown significant progress.

Homicide rates have been reduced and  economic development has increased. The city of Newark is booming and will potentially see more jobs and growth, especially if Amazon decides to build their second headquarter there. As of now, New Jersey state is a finalist for Amazon's newest location.

During his address, Mayor Baraka said: “Ours is an indefatigable journey forward—not a perfect one. Just a persistent one. It’s the story of our successes, even when others counted us out.”

This isn't the first and hopefully not the last time we see Master Hilton Rawls take to the pulpit. The young preacher has had several viral videos of him preaching and teaching since 2016. Here is a video of him speaking at a youth service. He is black history in the making!