JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – It’s easy for young people to get involved with crime in the Capital City, but there are good Samaritans who try to minimize this.
Audrey Hall of Holy Temple Ministries has dedicated years of her life to steering youth the right way and improving their quality of life. Her programs and genuine love for her congregation is radiant.
“I was the first female pastor of a Missionary Baptist church in Jackson and in the state of Mississippi,” she stated.
Hall does much more than just lead Sunday services in West Jackson. She created a network of mentors for boys in her congregation who might be heading down a bad road.
“We have young men who may have absent fathers. We assign a mentor to them,” she explained. “They’re assigned in grade school all the way up through college.”
Hall was inspired by a similar program that helped her brother years ago where she grew up in Enterprise.
“Coming to Jackson, small town Audrey, I wanted to do the same thing here in West Jackson, and it worked.”
Within the church’s mentorship program, Hall said they host game nights, worship, sleepovers and other bonding activities to keep these young men busy. The support system is not confined to the walls of the church.
“Sports, debate club, whatever activity that they are in at school, I make sure I pencil it in my calendar and that I’m there.”
Hall is also an active alumna in the local Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Chapter. She said her sisters have been key to helping her pull off these activities.
“They’re teachers, they’re lawyers, they’re doctors. All I have to do is pick up the phone. They say, ‘Audrey, we’ll be there!'”
She said her sisters have helped her spread a message to other girls and women looking to make a difference the way that she has.
“Don’t let people define you. Don’t let them tell you what you can or can’t do.”
Hall also makes sure to spread positive energy to every young person who comes through her program.
