Walking ‘Cross’ Country

“Drop it all and go.” That was the message that Greg Jones, 41, of Lexington, received from God more than four years ago. This was the beginning of his journey across the country sharing the Gospel of Christ.

Jones, along with the cross that he carries with him, made his way through Ohio County last week on his way to the West Coast for the second time on foot.

It all started on Nov. 22, 2019, when Jones was working at a local grocery store.

“I just started feeling this heavy conviction like I wasn’t doing enough to share the gospel with people and telling people about Jesus,” he said. “I got home that night and began praying asking God what I could do to reach out to more people in this country. As I was in prayer, I heard a voice telling me to ‘drop it all and go.’”

So, the next morning he quit his job, gave his roommates everything he owned and took that first big step of faith with just the clothes on his back.

As he got to the outskirts of Lexington on his way south for the wintertime, he stopped to pray. He told God he was scared, hungry and tired. At the end of his prayer, he opened his eyes and found a $20 bill on the ground. He moved up 10 more feet and found $140 in $20 bills scattered on the ground – the last two in a puddle of water.

“That showed me he had my back,” Jones

aid. “He took all that fear I had and anxiety and stress and worry I had and completely blew it out the window.”

Jones walked to Savannah, Ga. and from there to San Diego, Calif. where he turned around and headed back to Kentucky. Once he arrived home he turned around to do it all over again. He made it all the way to Texas on his second trip to California when he had to hop an Amtrak back to Kentucky to check on his ailing uncle. Now he is headed back to Texas where he will be just two states away from completing his second trip to the west coast.

He isn’t sure how many miles he has logged as he lost count around 4,000. Walking from town-to-town, he typically averages about 20 miles a day walking from sun up to sun down. He said that it was too dangerous to be on the road at night. When he arrives at a town, he will settle in for a couple of days until he feels it is time to move to the next destination. While in a town, he averages about seven miles a day as he walks around talking to people and sharing God’s word.

“The cross usually does most of the talking for me. It speaks for itself,” Jones said. “A lot of people will see it and pull over. They will ask for prayers. They will want to take pictures. They will share their testimony. It is a wonderful ministry tool.”

Without an exact plan, itinerary or timeline, Jones just takes days one step at a time while letting the Lord lead him. In over four years, however, Jones has never gone hungry or had to sleep outside.

He does get love offerings from churches he speaks at along his route as well as random donations. He also does odd jobs to help earn money to assist in his endeavor.

“God has always provided,” he said.

Jones said he has met a lot of people along his journey, but the ones that stand out most during his time on the road are the 17 people that God put in his path who were “literally moments away from suicide.”

While in Ohio County, Jones was treated to a meal at a local restaurant, prayed with residents, had his damaged cell phone fixed for free, shared coffee with local business owners and spoke at Hartford Baptist Church. He called his time here, “Amazing.”

On Monday afternoon, Jones was staying in a cabin in Rochester and planned to head out toward Muhlenberg County. He has no plans of stopping his pilgrimage any time soon, but he said it really wasn’t up to him.