Chatham County GaArchives History .....The 1st African Baptist Church, Chapter XIII 1925
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 11, 2004, 10:10 pm

CHAPTER XIII

   Rev. Willis L. Jones, who succeeded Dr. Carr to the pastorate of the First
African Baptist Church, was born in Gwinnett County, Georgia, in the year 1859.
His special training was in the Atlanta Baptist Seminary, now Morehouse College,
where he did academic work and graduated from the Theological Department. He was
an earnest student of the Bible and a great gospel preacher. For a number of
years he had been the very successful pastor of Beulah Baptist Church, Atlanta,
Ga., during which time the church enjoyed its greatest era of prosperity. The
present brick house of worship of that congregation was erected by him.

   Casting about for a shepherd, the church knew of no one who was in harmony
with the work and policy of the Missionary Baptist State Convention, who could
fit into the scheme of things in general quite so well as he. And he had been a
friend of the church for years. Just as the church began to seriously consider
preparations for the call, a certain minister visited the church, and, by
forceful preaching and familiarity with certain classes, became a formidable
candidate for the pulpit and apparently had a multitude of the membership
disposed to support him. His conduct, however, with certain females of the
church failed to commend him to the leaders. How to avoid a calamity became a
matter of serious contemplation. Some of the officers saw what was essential.
They telegraphed Dr. Jones on Sunday to come on the next train. He arrived on
Monday night in time to preach. He remained through the week while the church
prayed. His name was then placed before the church and he was elected unanimously.

   Dr. Jones came feeling the tremendous responsibility of leading this grand
old church. He preached hard and proceeded slowly and cautiously until he had
won the hearts of his people. Finding a heavy debt hanging over the church,
incident to the purchase of the pastorium and the pews, for which the church
edifice was mortgaged and the church becoming discouraged, Dr. Jones, with the
assistance and suggestions of his officers, instituted a "clock" rally and
raised sufficient money to liquidate every penny against the church. The church
celebrated the event with a spectacular mortgage burning, and hailed Dr. Jones
as a deliverer. The church still remembers him as a great financier.

   Dr. Jones held many positions of trust among his brethren, being one of the
founders and a trustee of Central City College and Moderator of the Hopewell
Association. He visited the Holy Land in 1897 and often elucidated his sermons,
with some of his observations in that country.

   He died October 23, 1913, wept and honored by his grief stricken followers.
Appropriate funeral services were conducted; and by request of the family,
interment was at Norcross, Ga., his old home. The church sent Brother John
Gordon and Deacon Lee Gilmore to accompany the family and corpse to its last
resting place.


Additional Comments:
From:

THE FIRST AFRICAN BAPTIST CHURCH OF NORTH AMERICA

BY REV. EDGAR GARFIELD THOMAS, A. B., B. D.
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

Copyright, 1925
By E. G. Thomas, Author.


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/chatham/history/other/gms384the1staf.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/

File size: 3.7 Kb