Amenemope McKinney, dressed in a pink blouse and slacks, took the microphone and approached the pulpit.

"Make some noise for Jesus in this house this morning!" McKinney implored amid applause.

Amenemope (a-MEN-e-pay) was addressing the Fire House, the youth wing of Bishop T.D. Jakes' Potter's House. She was about to deliver a sermonette, a 10-minute lecture based on a passage from Scripture that served as a warm-up for the youth service.

With a microphone in hand, McKinney captivated the audience this Sunday in late January with a sermonette she titled "The 300." It was based on Judges 8 and told the story of Gideon and the 300 men who slaughtered an army of 120,000 Midianite soldiers.

McKinney, 17, almost made it look easy – similar to what she does as a senior guard at Arlington Bowie. McKinney, who has signed to play at Rice, averages 9.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game for Bowie (22-12, 10-4 in 8-5A), which surged into the playoffs by winning 10 of its last 11 games.

Basketball, though, was for another time and place. When she's delivering a sermonette, sharing her testimony is what matters.

McKinney's sermonette touched on everything from the familiar warmth of chicken and collard greens to the atmosphere of war and what must have been going through the soldiers' minds. The message reached a crescendo as an animated McKinney inspired worshippers to move forward – no matter how steep the odds – and to finish what they've started.

"You're faint, you're tired and you can't move," she said, demonstrating the feeling, "and you're weak and everything on the inside of you is saying, 'Stop!'

"And you're running and you're stumbling and what the devil wants you to do is give up. The devil can't stop you from whatever it is you're trying to get. He can only discourage you, so you have to be able to keep going!"

McKinney finished her message, and a standing ovation ensued.

McKinney delivers sermonettes about four times a year and often takes her message outside the Potter's House as part of its Reconciliation Team. She has preached to juvenile delinquents at the Texas Youth Commission in Gainesville and spread her message in low-income apartment buildings.

By preaching in front of hundreds of youths at the Fire House and as many as 10,000 at the Potter's House spring revival two years ago, McKinney has another way through which people can celebrate her gifts.

"I think that's part of God's plan," said McKinney. "I think he's using athletics as a platform for my ministry. I think he wants people to see and acknowledge me as an athlete but get to know me as his vessel."

MELANIE BURFORD / DMN

Arlington Bowie guard Amenemope McKinney speaks to the youth congregation at the Potter's House on Jan. 27.

And, based on the responses from audiences, she's effective.

"It's a combination of her personality, her youth and her sincerity," said Kevin Caldwell, youth pastor of the Potter's House.

"You can tell when people are faking it, if they're just being professional and doing their job. This is the essence of Amenemope. This is her nature. This is her passion."

McKinney's spiritual self isn't so visible on the basketball court. But her teammates are aware of, and accept, her spirituality. During a rough stretch, senior forward Ja-Lieshia Trapp said, McKinney will remind the team that, "God has done his part, so now it's up to us to do ours."

"If she can get a prayer through for the team, that always helps," Trapp added.

Damitia and Gregory McKinney turned to the Bible when selecting a name for their oldest child. Amenemope was an Egyptian pharaoh whose teachings of wisdom are believed to be derived from the Hebrew book of Proverbs.

"It was a very special name," said Gregory McKinney, a former minister, "and anybody who says her name has to say 'Amen.' Amen means 'let it be so.' "

McKinney spent her early years in Milwaukee and passed time by throwing a ball in a milk crate hanging in a garage. A friend of Damitia's bought her a backboard with a rim and net, which started a love affair.

The McKinneys moved to North Texas when Amenemope was 7 and joined the Potter's House. She started out in the children's church and began attending the youth church at age 13.

Caldwell was teaching a Bible class when Amenemope stunned him with her answer to a challenging question. Her maturity level and intelligence were too much to ignore.

Within a year, Caldwell had enough confidence to allow McKinney to put together her own spiritual lectures.

"Beyond just preaching, she's always had a tendency to have a different perspective on Scripture, just her revelation," Caldwell said.

McKinney spent her first two years of high school at Colleyville Covenant Christian and led the basketball team to a TAPPS 3A state title as a sophomore. She transferred to Bowie as a junior.

"She has a gift for words, and she writes beautifully," Bowie coach Wanda Talton said. "She's in AP English, and she writes poetry. ... [Preaching] puts together two of her passions – her faith and her loquaciousness."

For McKinney, who's natural position is point guard, being a loyal teammate is important. Talton altered the lineup somewhat to have McKinney playing shooting guard for long stretches, and she has responded well to the change.

"When you're a good teammate and you help build a good team, then you start to win games and, ultimately, championships," McKinney said.

Her long-term future appears bright. Her goal is to leave Rice prepared for life as an entrepreneur, and she eventually plans to earn a divinity degree.

Through both religion and basketball, McKinney is heeding her call to serve God.

"I think he's trying to break a standard," McKinney said. "I just want to be available to him in every arena and try to be a testimony in my field as a basketball player."

School, sport: Arlington Bowie, basketball

Class, position: Senior, guard

Family: Parents Damitia and Gregory McKinney, sister Nzingha, 12.

Residence: Grand Prairie

GPA, class rank: 4.52 (weighted), seventh of 585

Favorite book: Reallionaire by Farrah Gray. "He was a smart businessman and he talks about how to be a 'reallionaire,' which is being rich on the inside and outside," she said.

Favorite movie: Love and Basketball

Favorite Bible passage: Psalms 27

Another spiritual influence: Besides her mentors at The Potter's House, McKinney credits her spiritual development to Ray DeBord, the former girls basketball coach at Colleyville Covenant Christian. DeBord said of McKinney: "She's intelligent, so she has the ability to pull those Scriptures up and use them, and she communicates extremely well in her message."

Class 5A bi-district playoff: Arlington Bowie (22-12) vs. Irving MacArthur (22-10), 6:30 Tuesday, at FW Nolan