ANTONIO JONES

My Story

I was raised in the Pentecostal tradition. It was during that time that I grew increasingly and probably uniquely aware that I was different—that God had a special assignment for me. By the time I was 12 years of age, I had already been baptized and came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Life was great. I felt complete and most importantly, I knew my purpose. However, facing the daily challenges of peer pressure, poverty and a broken family, revealed how important my relationship with the Lord would be.

It all started when I was three years old and my father, who was a navy man, sent his young family, excluding himself, from Patuxent Park, MD back to our hometown of Memphis, TN. Maybe it was my mother’s new and devout Christian commitment that could have probably been too much for this young relationship. Whatever the case, the key for my mom, sister, identical twin brother and I became survival.

There were often times when we had no food, no electricity only each other. Yet these were truly the best of times. I learned to lean and depend on God—to trust Him no matter the circumstances. Were times hard? Absolutely. They were necessary instruments of purpose-driven change for my life. Those trials and tribulations only made my walk with God stronger. Out of this was birthed a relentless drive, hunger and desperation after God that could only be fulfilled by God. No matter the seasons of doubt, persecution and hopelessness, my relationship with Jesus Christ and growing faith transformed me into an unashamed ambassador for the Kingdom of heaven.

Along the way, God sent men who would help to provide spiritual guidance for me. Apostle Perry Maples of Apostolic Deliverance Temple assisted in my foundation. Later, I accepted my call to ministry and was ordained while under the leadership of Dr. Stacy Spencer, pastor of New Direction Christian Church right here in Memphis, TN.

My formative years were developed at New D in fulltime ministry. In the throws of outreach, evangelism and discipling young people, I had finally found my niche. For years, I served as a musician (Bass guitarist), then youth outreach worker who quickly turned Youth Pastor. Moving to Tampa, FL in 2008, I served as Youth Pastor and Outreach Specialist at the Potter’s House Consortium of Tampa, overseeing youth ministry K-12 as well as assisting to manage the boys and girls’ youth shelters. A short time after returning back to Memphis, I became Campus Pastor and lead a team to plant New Direction’s multi-site located in Holly Springs, MS. These experiences helped to seal my desire to shepherd the flock of God. I received my Bachelor of Science in Bible from Lancaster Bible College. One day I hope to lead a ministry that loves God passionately, reaches people vigorously and disciples them faithfully.

I share 16 incredible years of marriage with my gorgeous wife and best friend, Tasha and the proud father of Myles, Elyse and Nolan Jones, and will be expecting our 4th child December of this year. It's a boy!

My Hope for Harvest

My hope for Harvest is that we continue to be a thriving church maxing out our potential to reach as many people as possible with the gospel message of Jesus Christ from now until he returns.