Life for Matthew Jones may have ended but his vision for local teenagers lives. Jones, 20-year-old-son of Steve and Natalie Jones of Jennings, FL, who was killed in a motorcycle accident March 11, had big plans for this summer. According to his youth pastor, Jones was helping to raise money to send teenagers to Fort Bluff Camp in Dayton, Tennessee, in July.

Michael Wisehart, youth director for Faith Baptist Church in Valdosta, said that Jones’ goal was to double the number of teens who went last year. Wisehart’s youth group is raising funds for the camp through car washes, garage and candy sales and now through a camp scholarship fund set up in Matthew Jones’ memory. Wisehart said that Jones’ family requested that donations for the fund be sent to the memorial service instead of flowers.

To date they have raised between $2,500 and $3,000 for camp scholarships. This could send between 13 and 15 teens to camp, but some of the money will be designated for transportation.

“Matthew started going to the camp two years ago and it changed his life,” Wisehart said. “It set him on fire, and he liked to help turn people to God.”

This July would have been Jones’ first year as a counselor at Fort Bluff Camp. Wisehart said that Jones was outgoing and worked well with youth. “He put teens under his wing,” Wisehart said. “Some of them said that he was their best friend.”

Wisehart said that while at a friend’s house, Jones saw a kid named Tyler on the street riding a skateboard, befriended him and invited him to a Monday night Bible study. Tyler attended the group and later got saved. Jones had been picking up Tyler for church.

Jones was engaged to be married in May. Stephanie Emery, Jones’ fianc, said that she first met Jones at The Body Shop in the mall where she worked.

“He and a friend came in, and he was flirting and stuff,” Emery said. “His friend persuaded me to give him my number.” Emery said that while working at Ellianos Coffee Shop, Jones sold bead jewelry he had made as a fund-raiser for the camp.

Jones was a secondary education major at Valdosta State University. “He wanted to teach social studies or economics,” Emery said. “He was also toying with the idea of real estate.”

Jones was also involved with VSU’s volleyball and football intramural sports and was involved with the Spectator, the student newspaper. Wisehart said that the volleyball team was considering naming the team after Jones next year.

Fort Bluff is a one-week youth camp located atop the mountains of Dayton in Tennessee. The founder, Mike Crain, is a world renowned martial arts trainer who fights national champions.

Crain visits other countries to fight and minister. Wisehart said that the camp features miniature golf, Olympic pools and water slides down the mountain. “They try to get the kids away from the TV and the Xbox to focus on positive things,” Wisehart said.

Wisehart said that six or seven churches participate, but it is also open to the community. The camp is set for Monday through Friday, July 11 through 15. Teenagers and some 12-year-olds may attend. The cost is $190 per child.