JOHN COFFELTEditor

Lexington man passes through Manchester with divine calling

Gregory Jones of Lexington, Kentucky is on a coast to coast mission spanning more than four years to share his faith, a journey that recently brought him through Manchester.

Jones literally picked up his cross, a 7-foot one, adorned now with signatures, and took to walking after receiving his calling in 2019.

“I was at home on Nov. 22, 2019,” Jones said. “I was a manager at Kroger and just felt convicted (by God)…“like I wasn’t reaching enough people…there.”

Jones prayed, but didn’t have to wait long.

“I heard his voice tell me, ‘Drop it all and go,’ ” Jones recalled.

“It scared the living daylights out of me, but I got up the next morning, after arguing with myself all night, I stepped out on faith,” he said.

Jones then quit his job, settled his debts and began walking.

“On the first day, I was scared half to death,” he said. “I’m on the outskirts of Lexington, in front of Thorton’s gas station in Hamburg.”

Jones told the Lord, he was hungry, scared and tired.

“As I finished praying, I looked down in the ditch and there was a $20 bill siting there,” Jones said. “I moved up 10 more feet and I picked up $120 in twenties.”

Jones said that was just the start. He continued day after day, walking with his cross on one shoulder and a knapsack on the other, making his way from Kentucky to Savanna, Georgia and then back to San Diego, California.

“Now I’m going to put the Gospel in every state in the country,” he said.

Jones’ nomadic life is more than just walking, he pauses from time to time on his journey.

“I get a lot of donations along the way, places I speak at,” he said. “Churches take up love offerings for me. The main way I finance myself is finding jobs along the way.”

“I’ve done a lot of construction, I’ve cleaned truck stop parking lots,” Jones added. “A lot of people say (they’re) going to put (me) to work, and then they are just like, we don’t want to hinder you from what you’re doing,” Jones said.

But Jones’ higher calling is spreading the Word.

“When I’m carrying that cross, it grabs everyone’s attention,” Jones said. “When you see a six-foot-seven guy carrying a seven-foot long cross on the side of the road, people pull over, ask for prayer, people tell me their struggles, their addictions.”

“It’s something different every single day,” he added. “I never know who I’m going to meet…run into.”

Jones even met the voice actor of Scooby Doo in Louisiana.

“I get up in the morning, I don’t plan anything because if I do he has something different instore for me,” Jones said with a nod towards Heaven.

“I end up going wherever He tells me to,” Jones added.

Heading west, Jones is making his way to Arkansas. He has no intention of ever stopping in this life.

“We need to love on each other instead of hate… there’s so much separation going on in society,” he said. “I tell everyone God loves every one of us he just doesn’t like what we do – just our sins.”

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.