“I continue to serve children at Watermark because I’ve seen God bring about so much transformation in my own heart, and I want to share it with them.” – Darian Jones
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that
in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7)
“I had way too much to drink – more than anyone should and still drive,” said Darian Jones. “I was living in Amarillo at the time, starting my career at a local bank. As I was driving home from a company event, I pulled up to a stop sign and fell asleep at the intersection. The next thing I remember was an officer tapping on the window trying to wake me up. I tried to throw the car into drive and ended up getting arrested for driving under the influence (DUI). “The legal system worked slowly, but when the DUI charges were finalized, it was announced in the newspaper. After that, my manager called and asked about the incident, which I had to discuss with the human resources department. I was fortunate to keep my job.
“I wish that DUI had been my wakeup call. But rather than turning to Christ, I just tried really hard to be a better person and change my behavior. It took something else to shock me into changing. After drinking with some friends one afternoon, we took a boat out to go waterskiing. One of the guys did a back flip off the boat and landed on top of another person who sunk to the bottom of the lake. We went back to the house with one less person in the boat. They found his body three days later.
“I always said that one day when I was older I would follow the Lord. I was just waiting to get all the fun out of life first. But that day on the boat taught me that tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us. “Shortly after that I was listening to a song with these lyrics: ‘I had a dream I could buy my way to heaven. When I awoke, I spent that on a necklace. I told God I’d be back in a second.’ The guy who wrote that song kept spending his money on what the world said would bring happiness, and it always came up empty. It was the same for me – the corporate America dream job, women and money – all those things deteriorated. That’s when I recognized that God had a call for my life. He wanted to use me for something.
“I had some friends at Watermark, and I’d come visit when I was in town. That was in 2007, and the Lord continued to work on me as I lived in Amarillo. Two years later, I made one of the hardest decisions of my life. I resigned from my job and moved back home to Dallas. I knew that God had more in store for me.
“I started visiting Watermark and coming to the Porch on Tuesday nights. But as time passed I fell into the same old scene. So I prayed that God would help me dive in and start following Him consistently. I prayed that same prayer again when I was at the Porch one night. I was sitting by myself, when this guy waved and asked if I wanted to sit with him and his buddies. At first I thought that was weird.
But then I realized that maybe it was God telling me that this really was my home.
“I got into community, went through the first Equipped Disciple class and really started to understand what salvation meant. The words of Ephesians 2:1-10 were life-changing to me. God placed this incredible gift of grace into my life. I wanted to be more equipped to share that good news with others.
“Crossroads45 is the place I chose to serve here at Watermark. They were looking for guys to lead 4th and 5th grade boys, so I jumped in. Bobby Rodriguez, who leads that ministry, and Kevin Gober, a leader at Crossroads, became my friends. They invited me into their lives and showed me more of what it was like to follow Christ each day.
“As I disciple boys here at Watermark, I can definitely say that our Children’s Ministry is like no other. The leaders have such a heart for kids. The kids are engaged in learning the truth about God’s character and memorizing Bible verses. They know more Bible than I did growing up. I continue serving children at Watermark because I’ve seen God bring about so much transformation in my own heart, and I want to share it with them.
“Now I am married to my wife, Kim, and we have a daughter, Camille. I’m constantly reminded of the legacy that we as men pass along to our kids. That thought makes me rely even more on Christ. The world is going to tug on her, and the only thing I have to give my daughter is Jesus. God sees all of us as His precious children, in spite of our blemishes, sins and faults. In Christ we have a solid foundation, and it’s great to see my daughter and the other kids in my life grow and change in Him.”
Looking for a place to plug in and serve? Our Children’s Ministry is looking for volunteers. Please email kids@watermark.org for more information on how to volunteer.