Mission Makers

A Birmingham native, Gerrel Jones experienced a tumultuous childhood. His mother was 15 years old when he was born, and his biological father was a drug addict. “My mother didn’t want to marry my biological father so she married a soldier thinking it would bring security,” Jones shares. The marriage caused Jones to become part of a military family often moving around the world. He was diagnosed as legally blind at the age of seven. Once he received glasses, he academically excelled in school, but his home life was difficult. “By the time I was 17, my mother was the first person to put a gun to my head,” Jones shares, adding, “I hated my parents.” 

After graduating high school in Germany, he returned to the Birmingham area and became involved in criminality. “In 1987, I got hooked on crack cocaine and committed armed robbery,” he says, adding, “I went to prison until I was released in 1990 and was worse off than when I went to prison.” Jones committed homicide in 1992 in Pratt City, turned himself in, and received a life sentence. Jones also had a spiritual experience. “The god that I grew up with in my family was not the God I would discover,” Jones says, adding that he witnessed hypocrisy in the church growing up. “I had a life sentence in prison, so I decided to study religion.” As he began to study the Scriptures, God revealed Himself to Jones and his life changed. As he got to know Jesus personally, Jones started to mentor fellow prisoners. “I settled into prison, but my idea was to change the prison around me,” he says. One prisoner he mentored was named Eric. “I walked him through the Scriptures, and he broke down and cried,” Jones shares. Jones was introduced to Eric’s family during a family day. Eric’s brother, Doug, felt called to help Jones get released from prison. “I had just been denied parole for the fifth time and was like that’s probably not going to happen,” Jones says, adding, “Doug’s family lawyer was a former state senator. I don’t know what happened in the background, but I was released in 2012. I knew it was a miracle.”  

Once he was released, he started looking for a job. Jones shares it wasn’t easy considering he was in prison for 20 years. He met Micah Andrews, CEO of The Foundry Ministries, and started working at ministry’s warehouse. He worked there until he was recruited for a job with the Birmingham Violence Reduction Initiative. “This job opened up the doors to people in the nonprofit world,” Jones says. Jones felt called to contribute to the Ensley community where he was living and developed the Ensley Renaissance Festival which is an annual community outreach event. “I continued establishing my footprint in putting the neighbor back in neighborhood by working with the Build UP school in Birmingham and Blight Free Birmingham.” Jones was introduced to Richard E. Simmons, III of The Center for Executive Leadership who “shared that he felt he heard God say we need to do something for the poor in Birmingham, but he wasn’t sure where to begin,” Jones says. He told Simmons III about the outreach he was doing in the city and was offered a position at Renew Birmingham and became the Executive Director on July 1, 2022. Renew Birmingham focuses on “empowering residents in five key areas.” The areas are housing, adult education and workforce development, job opportunities and transportation, youth education programs, and community health and wellness. To learn more about Renew Birmingham, visit www.renewbham.org. As Jones looks back on his life and where he is today, he can only describe the journey as “revelatory and prophetic. I should not have survived the pistols and shotguns that were pointed at me. I should not have survived the prison life sentence. I should not be out here. It’s miraculous.” 

-Melissa Armstrong

Parenting Points

Many families view hope as a fantasy, leading to disappointment. Dreams end up as empty promises. But for those who follow Jesus, His resurrection points to our ultimate hope – one that will never leave us wanting. So, what hope does the resurrection of Jesus offer our families this Easter?

Resurrection Hope Reminds Us that Death Is Not the End. Death is a great fear for many people. It is an unexpected ending that no one can escape or predict. Death marks the end of relationships and causes pain, hurt, and brokenness, which marks those left behind. In His resurrection, Jesus conquers death and can offer us eternal life. In speaking with Martha, who had just lost her brother Lazarus to death, Jesus reminded her of the hope that death is not the end of the story: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26 ESV). Because of the resurrection, death is not the end for us or our families.

Resurrection Hope Leads Us to a New Way of Life. Jesus’ resurrection doesn’t just change our view of death, but it also transforms how we live our lives every day. Paul writes to the church at Rome of this new way of life: “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (1 Corinthians 5:14-15 ESV). Jesus’ resurrection is an invitation to a new way of life. Our families can now live for Jesus and seek to bring the hope of the new life He brings to everyone around us.

Resurrection Hope Is a Living Hope. Jesus’ resurrection invites us into a living hope. Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:3 ESV, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Our hopes do not have to be smashed by the disappointments and failures of this world because Jesus offers a different kind of hope. We have a living hope in Him. Jesus is faithful, and by His resurrection, He reminds us that His hope never ends.

-Dr. Ben Birdsong 

Missions Minister at Christ Church Birmingham 

Writer and Speaker

www.benbirdsong.com

Miracle Moments

Brought to you by: Molly Maid of Birmingham, www.mollymaid.com/birmingham

“I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God…” Psalm 40:1-3

As a child, I was hurt and ashamed. Forced to carry the struggles of the adults around me, I frequently moved from place to place. The only consistency I experienced was the physical abuse, neglect and yelling. Because of its consistency, I didn’t realize at the time that it was abnormal. But somewhere deep inside I questioned it. Why do I feel so helpless? Why do the people around me not see me as a child who longs for love? I had so many questions, no voice to express them and no one to help me find the answers. Until I came to Big Oak Ranch.  

Excited, but nervous, I arrived at Big Oak and even the permanence of the Girls’ Ranch sign reassured me that this would be different. I walked through the doors of the office and the smiles on every face told me I was wanted. They would hear me. They would see me. I just knew it.  As I settled into my new home, I was encouraged to ask hard questions and to talk about my feelings. For the first time, people listened. I found the freedom to grow and heal as my Big Oak family helped me navigate the difficult answers to my questions. As I walked this journey, I was surrounded by people who were patient with my mistakes, firm in discipline and unconditional in their love for me.  

Big Oak showed me not only what childhood should look like, but what parenting truly is. I saw marriages that operated from a desire to elevate and love one another, with the intentionality to build a family that is strong and equipped for the future. We did chores on the Ranch together and I learned how to budget – how to tithe, pay bills, and save and spend wisely. From a girl with so many questions and no voice, to a wife and mother who has found healing, I might not understand every answer, but I do now understand how God intended family to be. I do understand that there is hope. My husband, Colton, is my best friend and we work together to ensure life is different for our beautiful daughter, Haven.

When I visit Big Oak and see each new Family Beach Trip photo hanging on the wall, I am filled with gratitude for a home where other children can find a place to belong, a place to also find their voice. To read more, visit www.bigoak.org. 

-London Heiser

If you have a Miracle that you would be willing to share, please email [email protected]. Subject Line: Miracle Moments or call 205-408-7150.