Travelers Rest Church will host a revival specifically aimed at the city’s youth April 2, 3 and 4, at 7 p.m. nightly,

“We’re just trying to be the church that everybody can look towards and say, ‘Hey, they’re working for the youth,'” Travelers Rest Youth Pastor Ken’Darion Jones said. “We just want to be a positive influence on the youth.”

At just 20 years old, Jones is still a youth himself, but has stepped into the position of pastor with confidence.

Jones will be joined by two other youth preachers, Marcus James and Anthony Hicks. James will kick off the revival on April 2. Hicks will lead on April 3 and Jones will close on April 4. A choir and band will also participate in the revival.

Jones recently received a big honor when he was asked to serve as the youth and young adult president of the newly formed Southwest Clergy Association, he said. 

“It’s a good thing,” Jones said. “It’s an association for the southwest part of Mississippi. It will have an ordination council. That sort of thing.”

Reaching youth today is more of a challenge than ever, Jones explained.

“If you’re not able to attract them, they aren’t coming,” he said.

Dr. General Bryant, pastor of Travelers Rest Church, added, “If you are not a ministry with a holistic approach, and that’s not only with youth, that’s with anyone . . . you’re not going to meet the needs of those individuals and they’re not going to come. They’re not going to stay. Our youth are in so much trouble and involved in so many things that are not healthy and that are not positive.”

Bryant emphasized how instrumental Jones is in appealing to teens who are close to his own age.

Bryant also said he is happy that the church has space for teens to call their own. He stressed their building is more than just a church. It houses the Storehouse Food Pantry, the Travelers Rest Christian Academy and a thrift store. He said he hopes to expand the space for teens to include a game room and movie room.

Bryant said he has a vision to empower kids with the tools they need to handle life.

“I think we fail our youth when we don’t give them the tools to be able to function,” he said. “I’m not getting the love and attention I need, so I’m angry. I lash out. I shoot, I kill, I hurt, I fight, I steal, I smoke, I sell, I do all those things because I don’t know how to deal with what is truly bothering me. And that’s the thing that is happening with our youth and we have lost our youth because we’re not giving them the tools to cope with life.

“A lot of anger is misplaced. Because you’re in my space, my area, so now you get all the lashing out, you get all the whatever because I don’t know how to deal with it, and it relieves me to be angry and dump that on you in whatever form that comes because I don’t know what to do with it.”

Bryant said the answer isn’t always clear, but that he believes God will provide a way.

“How do you stop doing something that you’ve always been doing if you’ve never been taught anything else?” he asked.

Bryant said he finds teens are receptive to being taught ways to deal with their emotions. He and Jones each said they believe a combination of prayer and behavioral tools are key to helping teens change behaviors that are holding them back.

“I reach kids through social media,” Jones said, adding he has an Instagram following of around 10,000 people.

“But me, I go a lot of places: football games; basketball games; baseball games. They become attracted to you, they’ll start following you. Once they start following you, they’ll start trusting you. And so, that’s my biggest thing, is to go where they are.”

“You’ve got to meet people where they are,” Jones added.