tonight on "nightline" -- kids who preach. an 11-year-old who delivers astounding biblical certainliens to his faithful flock. can barely see over the pulpit. inside the controversial world of the pint-size preachers. and made in miami. from sofia vergara to william levy. these soaps are the hottest breeding ground for latin stars. and now they've moved themselves south of the border to sunny florida. we go behind the scenes of the drama of the shows with millions of fans. plus, being marley.

from three little birds to in love. he's changed history. bob marley's oldest son opens up about the man and the legend. good evening. i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin tonight with religion. it's been said that wisdom comes from the mouths of babes but what about eternal salvation? in an age when many kids are more interested in computer games than spiritual guidance, one 11-year-old has already become an ordained minister with a faithful crowd of followers. and he's not alone, he's just part of a controversial world of preaching kids. abc's dan harris brings us a look inside his unusual life. >> somebody shout glory! hallelujah!

>> reporter: he may not even be in the sixth grade and his voice may not have broken yet. >> with the holy ghost, you got to pray! >> reporter: but grown men and women -- >> amen -- >> reporter: kneel down before ezekiel stoddard as a prophet. >> hallelujah! >> reporter: when did you know you wanted to be a preacher? >> when i was 7. god had a dream and he wanted me to do his will. >> reporter: you're a very confident 11-year-old. >> yes, sir. >> lord, use her right now. hallelujah. use her right now. >> reporter: and of healing. >> heal him, lord, heal him in the name of jesus, lord, we thank you for healing right now. >> reporter: meaning if you put your hand on them and they're sick, you can heal them? >> by the pow of god, yes. it's all about anointing.

anointing means that you're gifted and root ared in christ and his presence is all over you. >> reporter: even though he can barely see over the pulpit, ezekiel preaches in a family church and churches around america. >> what is yours today, the bible, jesus or staying home and watches tv? >> reporter: just a few months ago his mom and stepdad had ezekiel officially ordained as a minister, which has made him increasingly famous and controversial. some people said it's inappropriate for an 11-year-old to be ordained. >> the calling is between god and that individual. >> reporter: you're not married, at least that i know of. you don't have a house that you own. can't drive a car. do you think sometimes you can't really address the spiritual needs of the people in your audience. >> well, some of them, they take it that way, you're still a kid, stay in your place. >> reporter: how does that make you feel? >> more determined to stay in

christ. >> reporter: on youtube, you'll see an explosion of child preachers. >> howdy neighbor, may the lord bless you. >> reporter: child preachers have actually been around for a while, though, they have long been controversial. marjoe gortner created in the 70s a legacy. but he said it was a whole money making thing. it is true in ezekiel's case his parents are making money off of preaching, as well as the gospel act that he and his siblings have put together. ♪ >> reporter: people in my audience will look at you and say this child is really being pushed by his parents. this isn't something he wants to do. it's his parents. what do you say to them? >> i say that is, by far, wrong, this is something that god called me to do, this is

something that god wants me to do and this is something that i want to do. >> reporter: so it has nothing to do with the eagerness of your parents, it's something entirely from you. >> that i want to do. >> i don't have to push ezekiel into preaching the word of god. >> reporter: if he came to you tomorrow and said i'm done with preaching. >> okay. >> reporter: it would be fine? >> it would be fine with me, but he'd still be taught the word of god. >> reporter: ezekiel's parents say they give him a lot of time to do things kid, play tennis and go to the pet store. although bible quiz can happen anytime. >> they show me the strength. they shall look and they should look and not be heard. >> reporter: do you ever get tempted to do bad things? >> you know, the devil tries to step in. he tries to ruin things. he tries to kill and ruin and

destroy. with the knowledge of god and the righteousness and god, i can stick close to god and fight this battle. >> reporter: where ezekiel's prepubescent precociousness can get him in trouble is with a lot of people his age. >> a lot of people will say, what happened to you, are you still ezekiel in there, are you still zeke in there? i say, yes i am, but i'm different in my spirit. >> reporter: have you ever been bullied. >> a couple times in elementary school. >> reporter: what do kids say to you? >> you're a punk. a loser, you're weird, freaky, stuff like that. >> reporter: how did you deal with that? >> go about my way. >> reporter: ignore them? >> ignore them. >> reporter: in fact, the bullying got so bad his mom pulled hill out of school and started home schooling him. this may be a lonely road at times as ezekiel are himself said from the pulpit, being a christian is never either.

>> if you are eye strong christian, you can put on the breast plate of righteousness. the whole and full of god. >> reporter: do you ever look at other ledge-year-olds and say, i wish i can do what they do? >> not really. god will bless me for it. no matter what happens, no matter what you're going through, just remember, god is in control. amen. >> reporter: for "nightline," this is dan harris in capital heights, maryland. our thanks to dan harris. those face-slap iping posts. we'll take you behind the scenes. at purina one,

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what could possibly make miami's sunny shores even hotter? how about a major influx of latin america's most sizzling tv stars. as many of the incredibly popular spanish speaking soaps called telenovelas coming to florida. they're bringing about the kind of star power and plots. here's abc's matt gutman. >> it's like the fish and the turkey bit themselves together with a pepper. >> reporter: before she was making laughs at gloria in "modern family," sofia vergara is in "burning for revenge." and before "dancing with the stars," william levy would youed us as alejandro. [ speaking spanish ]

>> reporter: those stars got their big breaks on telenovelas. and traditionally, those drama-soaked roller coaster shows were produced in mexico and watched by millions of fans around the globe. but increasingly hispanic actors are coming here to miami to film telenovelas, it's even being called the new tinseltown. >> a lot of them wanted to get away from the countries of origins, the colombias, the mexicos. then they found the jobs here. it was kismet. >> reporter: it was the second around third generation of hispanic viewers. >> people don't really fall in love, with the person on that screen. they will transcend that screen and fall in love with you.

that's why william levy, they know his name. they will follow him on "dancing with the stars." >> reporter: on the sit of a hit telenovela with a goddess-like former miss mexico world blanca soto. it's one of the most successful and profitable telenovelas ever. in telenovelas, the stand-byes are a touch of violence. a couple of well-timed slaps and a lot of beauty. >> yesterday, i found out i was pregnant. actually, in the same day, they told me i had cancer and i didn't. i was pregnant. >> reporter: but even as american soap operas like "all my children" have gone away, telenovela directors like maria pereira figured out how to stay on top. how does that compare to what you have seen on american network tv? >> i think it's different

because they have the whole show ready. we don't have the whole show ready. we work day by day. everything change in a day. >> reporter: 10 million people watched the final of the telenove telenovela. it's able to stay profitable because of the break-neck production. and the telenovelas in the u.s. have plenty of opportunity for talent to cross over into the general market. >> when in they see the number 50 million hispanics and the money that we bring to the table and the fact that they're extremely loyal of the talent that's captured their heart, there's an emotional connection. so if you're smart, you're going to capitalize on that. >> reporter: sofia vergara at the age of 17 got a spot on a pepsi ad in latin america. now, she's the multimillion-dollar face of

pepsi international, not to mention kmart. the opportunities for the hot new stars certainly are growing even beyond the set says this woman who works with vergara and blanca soto. so this crossing the way for them? >> absolutely. first of all, they need to be talented. they need to be bilingual and multicultural. >> in normal, you say "i love you." in a telenovela, you say "i love you." >> reporter: she teaches me one of the staples in telenovela acting. miguel depuguttman for "nightli"

next up, where were you when you first heard bob marley? his oldest son ziggy opens up about the legend he knew. ♪ ♪ i said i shot the sheriff ♪ ♪

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even though who know little about jamaica know about bob marley, the most wildly known performer of reggae music of all time. and now his son ziggy wants to show his father in a different light, as he told abc's nick watt. ♪ oh get up get up stand up your rights ♪ >> reporter: he sings like his old man. ♪ get up get up and don't give up ♪ >> reporter: he seems to channel bob. >> i'm relaxed. i'm very relaxed. i'm very relaxed. >> reporter: when you laugh you look frighteningly like your dad. more than 30 years after the reggae legend died the city of los angeles declared it a bob marley day. we spent it with ziggy. >> ziggy marley is in the city hall here.

♪ all i ever had >> reporter: your father had a huge popularity among white people, does that matter? does it have an issue in it? >> it had an issue in america because he wanted african-americans to hear his message. >> reporter: how do you feel when you play his music? >> i just feel i'm playing music. ♪ for you for you >> i'm surprised, if i'm doing a concert and i have a problem with the audience -- i just bob marley's son. ♪ i shot the sheriff >> and i go, all right, let me go back and do some of my stuff. >> reporter: bob marley died at the age of just 36 of cancer. and ziggy has taken on the mantle. first singing with his brothers

and sisters in the melody makers now a solo artist. his latest album is "wild and free" in which he sings a song of freedom for marijuana. ♪ fruits of the tree, the herbs of the field. ♪ >> mostly i smoke it if i feel like it. when i smoke, i feel like reading my bible or playing a song. that's what i feel like to do. that's another story. >> reporter: ziggy lives in l.a. with his wife and kids. his sister karen lives here, too. so you guys have how many brothers and sisters? >> i think it's 12 -- no, wait. >> reporter: the kids, the band mates, the wife and the girlfriends agreed to tell bob's story in a mammoth documentary called simply "marley" released this month. >> from jamaica, bob marley!

>> this is what i did. >> he would call to get woman out of his dressing room. i became his guardian angel. did you know his dad was white? i didn't know he was discriminated against because of that? >> i didn't know that. >> reporter: you didn't know that either? >> no, i didn't know that, like that. the songs have a certain style of dressing or dancing. his music is timeless ♪ two little birds on my door step ♪ it's like i'm listening to his music and it's good now. this music is bad now. in 3013, this music is bad now. ♪ everything little thing is going to be all right ♪ >> reporter: i'm nick watt for "nightline" in los angeles. >> thanks to ziggy and to our nick watt. thank you for watching abc