He isn't exaggerating. Onlookers showered him with compliments this week after he performed before the annual commemorative Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. march and convocation in north Nashville and at a news conference to promote a new gospel/Christian comedy conference and showcase tied to tonight's Stellar Awards.

"You blessed me in there," said Chinnitta Morris, known as "Chocolate," a favorite comedienne on HBO's Def Comedy Jam and BET's Comic View programs. "I was ready to pick it on up and start shouting."

Primm has been a mime for nine years, full time for more than three years.

He uses mime as a tool to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ locally and nationally; he travels on the weekends and at other times that do not conflict with his studies. He is also a dancer and performs to secular and religious music and appears at concerts, weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs and family reunions. At Glencliff High School, he was a dancer with his school's basketball half-time dance team, and among his life goals is to open a school of dance and mime.

As a mime, he regularly visits nursing homes, day-care centers and Woodland Hills Youth Development Center. He was invited to appear at a welcome-home party for a former prisoner who embraced God while incarcerated, but a scheduling conflict prevented it.

"That was a first for me," Primm said, chuckling slightly at the memory. "You don't hear about that that often, but I could tell his family was so happy to have him back home."

It is his goal that "God is the center of my soul, and at all times the focus," reads the beginning of the mission statement posted on his Web site. "I pray daily that He will give me wisdom and strength. I feel that I have been called to do His will and share the gospel in song and mime through the power of the Holy Spirit. I want God to use me to bring the lost to a saving knowledge in His son, Jesus Christ."

What he does is gaining prominence in churches nationwide, where congregations are birthing liturgical dance ensembles and mimes and other means to allow young members to minister in their own way. Church leaders recognize the effectiveness of using mime and sign language for outreach.

Primm, a member of Nashville's Mount Zion Baptist Church, helps observers "see" the Word of God. Every other month, he performs at each of the church's multiple worship services right before senior pastor Bishop Joseph Warren Walker III preaches.

An episode of Showtime at the Apollo television show showcasing a mime pair introduced him to the practice. A job at Walgreens gave him the opportunity to try it out.

"They had a sale on (face) paintfor a dime" said Primm.

At the time, he was a member of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, and he performed for the pastor's anniversary. Encouragement from the Rev. Elton Lee Waller boosted his confidence. Feedback from congregants cemented that he was doing the right thing.

He said the first time he performed in church, it was set to award-winning gospel singer Yolanda Adams' The Battle Is The Lord's from her 1993 Save the World album.

"It's a traditional church and I was nervous that what I tried to do would not connect, but they were very warm and accepting," he said. "A lot of people shouted and I could tell that I reached them. I was very happy to use motion and movement so people can hear and see the word."

By Jeannine F. Hunter
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060121/NEWS06/601210313/1023/NEWS