Pastor Effort Alexander of Grace Thru Faith Church. Effort recalls growing up in South Central Mississippi during segregation and how God led him to volunteer to be the first black student in an all-white high school. As a member of the school’s track team, Effort remembers waiting on the bus during away track meets, while fellow team members ate lunch inside the restaurant. His lunch was brought to him on the bus. The youngest of sixteen children, Effort learned how not to hate from his parents who taught him to follow Christ.