Outgoing megachurch Pastor Jon Weece launches new ministry to feed deer jerky to hungry children

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Monday, January 05, 2026

A year after announcing he would step down as senior pastor of Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky, Pastor Jon Weece preached his final message as leader of the megachurch Sunday and revealed the launch of a new ministry called Boone Brothers that will feed deer jerky to hungry children.

“I am launching a ministry tomorrow morning because of the immediate need to feed hungry children across the state of Kentucky,” Weece told congregants at the church where he served for 26 years. “Please hear this statistic: 21 percent of children in our state are going to bed hungry every single night, and that should keep and bother all of us in this room as citizens in the commonwealth.”

According to the Boone Brothers website, which lists Trey Benson and Weece as staff members, the organization plans to turn “Kentucky’s abundant natural resources into nourishment for the next generation.”

“When you give, hunt, or serve with us, you’re helping ensure that hungry children don’t grow into angry adults. … Through a partnership with Kentucky Fish & Wildlife, we process and package venison (deer meat) into a delicious form of jerky (Boone Bites) that are protein rich and do not need to be refrigerated,” the website explains.

The deer jerky will then be distributed to local elementary schools, where teachers will serve it to hungry children.

“Deer are an abundant natural resource and the herd needs to be managed to strike a balance between food for people and food for wildlife. So this ministry benefits children and farmers primarily, but also keeps the deer population from dying of starvation and sickness,” it continues. “To put it in perspective — Every deer you donate generates 150-200 well-packaged pieces of deer jerky. If you and your friends each donate two deer each season, we can feed most of the hungry children in our state.”

A report from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources shows that the state has a significant population of white-tailed deer estimated to be around 1 million. The deer population has caused crop damage, landscape issues and a number of vehicle collisions. Despite efforts to manage the population through hunting, it remains high, according to state officials.

Weece, who joined Southland Christian Church in 2000 as a teaching pastor and became the church’s lead pastor three years later, announced in a sermon at the church in January 2025 that he would step down and endorsed his friend, Pastor Scott Nickell, as his replacement.

He said on Sunday that he didn’t know what he was going to do after being a pastor until last June.

“As I said in January last year, four years ago, God was making it clear that my time of leading Southland onto the battlefield was coming to an end. What He didn't make clear to me was what my next assignment would be until June of this past year, June of 2025,” Weece said.

He said in his 26 years at the church, nearly 15,000 people were baptized. In the last year alone, he noted that some 3,000 people were added to the multi-campus church. He praised the congregation for loving him and his family and their financial giving of more than $430 million over the course of his leadership.

“I've never claimed to be a smart leader. … I'm an honest one, but I'm not a smart one. And the reason I can share all the dumb things I've ever done in my life in front of you is because of God's love flowing through you. You have loved me in spite of me and I'm a different man as a result of it,” Weece told congregants.

“I mean, our church has doubled in size. Our budget has quadrupled in size. Central Kentucky is radically different because of the way you express God's love. I also want you to know on this last Sunday that I'm a better man because of your love.”

Weece also urged members of the church to support their new pastor in a healthy way.

“Like me, Scott counts it a high privilege to lead this church into battle against Satan every day. And he's got the scars to prove it. So, as his brother, can I just encourage you with this: Support him. Pray for him. Don't do what a lot of churches do to their pastors, which is stab him and shoot him in the back.” 

“Scott is a man among boys," he added. "He's proven that here. He will do what is right, even if it's not easy or popular. God has taken these stigmas in his life and turned them, transformed them into strengths. His faith has been tested. Thus, it can be trusted.”