At only 19 years of age, Ken’Darion Jones might be young, but he’s often described as possessing the maturity and discernment of someone much older. With all that he’s experienced in his short life, his positive outlook is a feat in and of itself.

Jones is the youth pastor at Traveler’s Rest Baptist Church. He says he has a zeal for teaching young people and hopes to combine his passion for kids and teaching into a future as a coach and pastor.

Jones has experienced loss during his young life, including the death of his father, serious illness, depression, and surviving a drive-by shooting.

As the fourth of five children, Jones was just two months old when his father died. Growing up without a father was difficult, he said, but Jones felt a pull to the church he couldn’t explain and found a father figure in both God and the pastor at Traveler’s Rest, the late Thomas Bernard.

“After I heard him preach, I didn’t want to go to Children’s Church,” he said.

Instead, Jones wanted to stay in the sanctuary and listen to Pastor Bernard’s sermons.

Jones recalled an altar call in 2013 when he was just nine years old.

“God hit me for real,” he said, with a smile. He was baptized shortly after that and couldn’t stop preaching.

“I had a microphone plugged up (at home), and I’d be preaching, and my mama would come up and ask me why I was making all that noise. I had my towel, my water . . . a whole church set up,” he said.

He carried his ambition everywhere he went, from home to his neighborhood to school, even delivering sermons on the playground.

“I always got wrote up (in elementary school) for preaching, singing. They said I was disrupting the class with preaching and singing,” he said.

In high school, he credits football coaches Josh Morgan of Warren Central and Chris Lacey of Vicksburg High for encouraging him to excel.

“They helped me become a better me,” he said. “But God was preparing me for this greater ministry. You cannot get the bliss without having burdens.”

And Jones said the last year has been a difficult one.

“I lost a lot,” he said.

Shortly after his 18th birthday, he was shot in a case of mistaken identity during a drive-by shooting.

“I was commissioner of the league for city basketball,” he said.

He’d left his jersey at a friend’s house and was on his way to retrieve it when he approached another car at a four-way stop. His
mind was fully on getting to the game, an important one for his undefeated team.

“I’m going east, they’re going west (at the stop sign). The other car just sat there . . . so I proceeded to drive. As I was driving, the car just started shooting. About 10 gunshots. That’s when faith came into play.”

He credits faith with his protection. If he had been going faster, he might have wrecked. If he had been going slower, the gun shot might have been fatal.

Jones was shot through his left hand. He made it to the hospital, but his mind was still on the game. He begged the doctors to release him so he could get to the game. When they finally agreed, he raced to the game. As he walked in, the game stopped
and everything became quiet.

“I looked up. My team was down 19 points,” he said. “I rushed over to my bench and told them, ‘Come on, guys. There’s seven minutes left on the clock, I just got shot and I ain’t come over here to lose!’”

His team went on to win by six points.

Jones said he has forgiven the shooter, who is now incarcerated.

After the shooting, he had a serious health incident. Waking up one morning with excruciating stomach pain and unable to walk, he was eventually diagnosed with a severe intestinal disorder.

Shortly after being diagnosed, and while struggling to recover, depression set in.

“That’s when I’m like, OK, from burdens to blessing. God works in mysterious ways,” Jones said. “God stepped in and turned it around. Everybody’s going to have some ‘but, God’ moments. I was sick, ‘but, God,’ I got shot, ‘but God,’ I was broke, ‘but, God.’ Those were my ‘but, God,’ moments.”

Following his 19th birthday, he celebrated his ability to purchase a car. His health has improved, and he is thankful.

Jones is currently a student at Hinds Community College. He has plans to eventually attend Mississippi State University and seminary. In addition to preaching as often as he can, he coaches a traveling youth basketball team and frequently visits the Vicksburg Gator football team practice sessions to provide encouragement.

Jones even compares life to a football game.

“Football is a process, you’ve got to go through the steps to get to the end zone, then score a touchdown,” he said. “That’s how I manage my ministry, in football terminology. You’ve got to go through the steps: first down, second down, third down, then at the end you’ll score a touchdown. If you’re making the right plays, if you’re doing the right thing, you’re gonna make it.”