“But if I say I’ll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!” — Jeremiah 20:9:
A row of old warehouses along the railroad tracks in downtown McComb has sat long abandoned, with weeds growing wild and adorned with graffiti. Outside, just visible through an open doorway, old cars, a bus and a boat are eerily strewn and covered with spray paint.
On the surface, J20:9 could easily be mistaken for a post-apocalyptic place where nothing good can happen, but it’s actually a place where souls can be saved and people can be led to Christ.
Inside there are signs of life, with pool tables, table tennis boards, TVs and basketball goals.
J20:9 Downtown owner Les Mulkey, 27, said the old building is a metaphor for life.
“What I like about this building is that it was run down and people wanted to get rid of it,” he said. “It’s like my wife’s and my life was before we gave it to Jesus. It was — and still can be when we don’t let Jesus handle it — a wreck.”
Mulkey said that just as the community helped him and his wife Chelsea renew the building, by the grace of God, they are renewed, too.
The couple, married for five years, said they chose the name J20:9 Downtown based on the Bible verse that they most identified with, Jeremiah 20:9.
“After God set us free from our sin and problems, we experienced His love and forgiveness,” Chelsea Mulkey said. “This verse just stuck with me.”
The building, located at 224 N. Railroad Blvd., will be the site of a free Christian concert for all ages at 7:15 p.m. Saturday.
Performing are We are Leo, Driven and George Moss. Concessions will be sold.
Chelsea Mulkey, 28, said she made bad decisions as a teenager and young adult, and it wasn’t until she dedicated her life to Christ that things improved.
“Through coming to know Him and how much He can empower you to overcome the sin in the world and change the desires in your heart for the good. I want to share that,” she said.
Chelsea said the couple knew they wanted to get involved in youth ministry, but they didn’t know how.
“We knew that God was calling us to some type of ministry. He totally flipped our lives upside down with His grace,” she said. “He saved our marriage. We came to know the love of Jesus Christ like we didn’t know before.”
Les said he remembered being in his teens and the activities in which he would partake.
“There’s not much to do for high schoolers to do, short of drinking at a party,” he said.
Chelsea said she and Les took their two daughters, ages 3 and 4, to the train display in McComb and started looking around.
“Les wanted to sit in the chairs near the bridge, so we went over there and saw the old warehouse. He said, ‘This is it. This is where God wants us,’ ” she said.
Chelsea said they stopped and prayed at the building where they spoke to God and asked for His guidance.
“When He led my husband to the abandoned warehouse we knew he wanted to light a fire in McComb just as He had in us,” she said. “We like to say God brought together two messed-up humans and has been cleaning us up for His plan ever since.”
In December, the Mulkey’s opened the warehouse doors and started cleaning. Their first peek inside the building was what most would find less than motivating.
“There were homeless people living there,” Les said.
Chelsea said they found bodily waste and garbage strewn throughout the old building.
It was a long process, but the two never gave up, Les said.
“I just felt like God was tugging on my heart to do more. I feel called to youth ministry and I have a desire to bring kids to Christ,” he said.
Scott DePaula, 21, works with Les at his pest control business, and is Chelsea’s cousin.
DePaula said he’s always been willing to help out when he can.
He said being around Les and Chelsea after they fully dedicated themselves to Christ made him want to change as well.
“I saw the positive change in them and I wanted a part of it,” he said.
Chelsea said one of her greatest goals is to help young girls find confidence in themselves through Christ.
“I want to help young women find confidence in Jesus. I want to let them know that God’s given them each a gift and they are made how God needs them to be in order to change the world and make it a better place,” she said.
Les said this isn’t a place where teenagers will be preached to, but it where they will receive the Word.
“We want to bring lost kids to know Jesus,” he said. “This isn’t a church but kids will receive the Gospel — not through preaching but through relationships.”
Above all, Les said he wants the public to know this isn’t about him.
“This isn’t me,” he said. “If it wasn’t Jesus, I would still have $30,000 in the bank and probably be spraying bugs today.”
Les hopes that by seeing the positive changes in his life, teens will look to the Lord to change their lives too.
“Today, the only thing I’ve done right in life is mess it up,” Les said. “Jesus showed me grace.”
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For more information, call 601-684-6626, check out The J20:9 Downtown on Facebook or @j20downtown on Instagram.
