This month’s Youth in Southern Gospel is a young and talented girl named Kennedy Hayes. She is from Hudson, North Carolina and sings full time with her family, the Mylon Hayes Family.
Kennedy sings mostly lead and a little bit of everything in the group. She is 16, turning 17 very soon and has two older twin brothers, Conner and Bailey. Kennedy’s favorite fast food is Chick-fil-a, and one thing on her bucket list is to visit the country of Israel. She plays the piano and says that shopping is definitely one of her hobbies.Â
If she wasn’t singing and traveling, cosmetology/makeup is something Kennedy could see herself going into. Kennedy says that she doesn’t have plans to go to college and really believes that music is what she is called to do. If she does attend college, it would be through online studies, so she can continue in full-time ministry with her family.
A day off from the road for Kennedy currently looks like school, school, and more school, plus cleaning the bus and getting things ready to go out singing again. When traveling, you can sometimes find yourself in interesting situations. When singing, many things can go wrong and sometimes funny things happen that are out of our control, and you just kind of have to roll with it. Here’s a story Kennedy shared with me about a funny thing that happened to them while on stage:
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“Not long ago we were singing, and a lady came walking in while we were singing an up-tempo song and she was dancing. We all looked at each other and completely lost it, we had to just end the song right there,†Kennedy laughed.
The group has been traveling for eight years in full-time ministry. Kennedy has been traveling and singing almost since she was born. Kennedy’s dad traveled and sang with his family, the Hayes Family for over 40 years, so Kennedy actually learned to walk while on a bus, which she says is not an easy thing to do.Â
The Mylon Hayes Family sings approximately 120 dates a year, sharing the message of Jesus Christ to all and any who will listen. They recorded their first CD in 2011, and say that they honestly just made it for themselves. They started getting asked to sing locally at churches, and that’s when they decided to become full time in ministry.
Lauren Talley and Melissa Brady have had a huge influence on Kennedy’s love for Southern gospel music.Â
Often times when traveling, it can get tiring just like everything else in life, so I asked Kennedy what is something that keeps her motivated to keep singing. She said, “When I get messages or letters and someone tells me their story, or how our music has in some way encouraged them or helped them, that’s why we do what we do. And that’s what keeps me going.Â
“You’re never too young to serve the Lord. Living for God doesn’t come with an age limit. II Corinthians 5:15 says, “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. He died for us, let’s live for him!†Kennedy states.
I trust you have enjoyed getting to know Kennedy Hayes. Please go check out themylonhayesfamily.com to find out more about her family and their ministry.
By Lyndsey Chandler
First published by SGNScoops Magazine in October 2019
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