Aubrey Jones: Sharing Jesus through sports

Aubry Jones Sr. is a man who knows the transformative power of Jesus.  He lives his life ministering the gospel here at Northwest in our gym and he goes behind prison walls to minster to men who are incarcerated.

Sports & Fitness Minister Brian Lonergan met Aubry when they both attended Lake Highlands Junior High where they both played sports. Outside of school and sports, Aubry life took a turn that he had not planned for.

“I turned to a life of crime, selling drugs, everything in the streets… I joined a gang and I ultimately became a gang leader. And I made a decision that cost me a life in prison. At age 16, I was convicted and given a life sentence.”

In sharing his story with Brian Lonergan, Aubry says he didn’t immediately transform or even want to change when he went to prison.  “I thought I was tough. And I became a monster. I hurt guys and that caught up with me. After being incarcerated, I think maybe 17 years, guys put a hit out on me, and they hurt me. They put me in the infirmary, and that’s when I became broken. And my brokenness is when I cried out to the Lord and he heard me. He met me.”

For most of his life, Aubry lived according to his own rules.  It is easy to think that because someone has lived the same way for a certain amount of time, they can’t change but as believers we know that nothing is impossible with God.

Brian expressed, “I think about 17 years before prison, 17 years in prison, you’ve got this life where you’re running away from God, and then you’re in this place of desperate dependence… but 34 years doing one thing, you cried out to God. And tell us how he met you in that place.”

“I thought I was going to be paralyzed. I mean, and I just cried out to the Lord, man. I said, ‘If you just give me this opportunity to walk out of here, I will serve you. I mean, I will proclaim your name everywhere I go. If you just give me this one opportunity, I will.’ “

After Aubry was released from the infirmary he had to decide if he would truly make a change.  “I had choices to either go back and take these guys out. I was a dangerous guy. I remember this. Or try to serve the Lord. And like I said, and it was hard for me because my whole life, all I knew was my gang.”  Aubry activated his faith and he renounced the gang trusting that God would protect him and he did!  Through Aubry surrendering his life to Christ and trusting Him for protection, he found his platform to share the gospel.

“Man, I started working for the chaplain in prison….I was a changed man.  I was the mediator the guys would come to when they wanted to get out of the gang…ultimately, I made parole. God opened the doors. And like I said, I go back into the prisons now. I go in and minister to the brothers and show them that they too can do that.”

God has blessed Aubry with a son, Aubry Jones Jr. and he overjoyed.  “Aubry Jones the second…He’s two years old, man. It’s just a blessing. I prayed for him before he was born, in prison, and now, I’m just given an opportunity to just raise him to be that child of God. And I’m thankful for that.”