My Journey: My Family, The Army, The Ministry, Life, And Education Second Edition

By Dr. Roy Jones, Jr

This book is an excellent source of history and insight. It’s full of
inspiration and encouragement. Bringing scripture and history together
with divine purpose is ingenious.
Tammie Dennis
Allen Chapel AME Church
Sacramento, California
I was thrilled to write this review. I’ve grown to respect and see Dr. Roy
Jones Jr. as a mentor, especially as a friend. I am always intrigued by Dr.
Jones as he shares his love for the Lord, his knowledge, and also his journey.
Speaking of his life journey, it takes God, family, ministry, and education
to understand one’s personal journey. My Journey: The Family, The Army,
The Ministry, Life and Education encourages us to stay the course despite
the ups and downs of life, drawing on three phases that provide the basic
combat training that promotes values. Dr. Jones has written a timely
practical book fit for ministry in the twenty-first century. This is a
book all pastors, leaders, and laity need to read and use as a resource for
helping to press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God.
Rev. Derrick Thorpe, DMin
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Graham, North Carolina
Dean of Graduate Studies Carolina Christian College, Winston-Salem,
North Carolina

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887510835

Book preview

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My Journey

My Family, The Army, The Ministry, Life, And Education Second Edition

Dr. Roy Jones, Jr

ISBN 979-8-88751-082-8 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88751-083-5 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Dr. Roy Jones, Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

All Scripture quotations used are taken from the New King James Version or the New Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Book Reviews

Introduction

Pressing toward the Goal

1865

Where Did We Come From?

The maternal family

My paternal family

Growing Up in Stephens, Arkansas

The early years

Christmastime

Joining the United States Army

Requirements

Clothing

Toiletries

Money

Documents needed

Basic Combat Training

Phase 1: Red (Weeks 1–3)

Red phase schedule:

Phase 2: White (Weeks 4–6)

White phase schedule:

Phase 3: Blue (Weeks 7–9)

Blue phase schedule:

Advanced Individual Training

Quartermaster School

Logistics: A Vital Part of Victory

Unit Supply Specialist (92Y)

Overview

Job Duties

Requirements

Training

Helpful Skills

After Training

Leadership Training

Seoul, South Korea

Warrior Leader Course (WLC)

Taking the First Step in Army Leadership

White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

Civilian Life

United States Army Reserve

Ongoing training

Returning to Active Duty

Air Assault School

Training

Day zero

Day one

Combat assault phase

Sling load operations

Rappelling phase

Graduation day

About the Soldier's Creed

Recruiting and Retention School

Keeping the Army Strong

The End of a Journey and the Start of a New Journey

The Ministry

Ministry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Ministry in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

Ministry in the East-Northeast Arkansas Conference

Ministry in New York

Ministry in Camden, Arkansas

Ministry in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Ministry in Little Rock, Arkansas

Leadership Conference

Ministry at Saint Philip AME Church

Making Full Proof of the Ministry

The Death of Community Leaders and Family Members

Biography

Dedication

This project is in loving memory of my father, Roy Preston Jones Sr., who always encouraged me to reach for the stars and often told me that I could do anything I wanted to do.

In memory of Dr. Eugene E. McAshan, who was a great pastor, leader, friend, father, professional associate, and mentor; for his faith and nurturing spirit that kept me guided along this Christian journey.

Also, this book is dedicated to my mother, Alice Mae Jones, who has been consistently supportive throughout my daily life, including my work of the ministry and throughout my constant struggles for justice, equality, and righteousness for all.

Words cannot adequately express the positive thoughts and feelings that I have with regard to the love, care, and encouragement that my parents and significant others had for me while traveling on this Christian journey.

Acknowledgments

First of all, I would like to thank God, who allowed me to complete this project.

To the church I was born and raised in, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, I thank God for allowing me to serve in ministry under the following bishops: Frederick H. Talbot, John Richard Bryant, McKinley Young, Robert Vaughn Webster (who gave me my first appointment), Richard Franklin Norris, Samuel Lawrence Green Sr., Michael L. Mitchell, Reginald T. Jackson, and Richard Allen Chappelle Sr.

I am grateful to the multiple presiding elders who impacted my life: C. E. Jenkins, Thomas William Adair, Willie L. Brown, Samson M. Cooper, James H. McLemore (former pastor), Henrietta Scott-Fullard, Clarence Reynolds, Dr. Roger O. Alford, Michael Washington, Earl Ifill, Thomas Bess, and Thomas Stegal.

Additionally, I am grateful to have been inspired by the many influential pastors, to include the reverends Thomas Ates, Valerie Cooper, Ralph E. Johnson, Leslie Banks, William Watley, and George O'Neal, and the late reverends W. M. Jameson, Irvin Adair, Nelson Adair, Willie James King (Pete), and Wilbur Gray.

Also, I extend my gratitude to the late Rev. Dr. Eugene E. McAshan, who was a great pastor, mentor, friend, and professional associate who provided encouragement and shared wisdom; to Dr. Levenis Penix and Dr. Lori Spears, professional associates who spent time inspiring, guiding, editing, and sharing their experiences in the field of education; and a thank-you to Princess Hill, my former administrative assistant who worked closely with me in editing this book.

Thanks to a special friend, Rev. Dr. Christopher Zacharias, for his insight and guidance.

I would like to thank the late Dr. Terry Thomas and Dr. Rickey Woods, my mentors, for their leadership and experience that always gave me a reason to keep going.

I extend a very special thanks to my aunt Ruby Dickinson for her time, devotion, and loving support throughout the process.

I would also like to thank my home church, New Union African Methodist Episcopal Church Family in Ogemaw, Arkansas, for giving me a foundation and necessary support all of my life.

Thanks to the members of Ebenezer AME Church in Clarksville, Tennessee; Visitors Chapel AME Church in El Paso, Texas; Bethel and Trinity AME Churches in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Payne Chapel AME Church in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania; St. Paul AME Church in Tuckerman, Arkansas; Bethel AME Church in Batesville, Arkansas; Greater Allen AME Church in Jamaica Queens, New York; Bethel AME Church in Copiague, New York; St. James AME Church in Camden, Arkansas; Avery Chapel AME Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Bethel AME Church in Little Rock, Arkansas.

I would like to thank all parents, teachers, students, relatives, and friends who have helped me along the way.

Lastly, I would like to thank my wife, Angela, and my wonderful daughters (Kemyasha, Atavia, Olivia, and Iona) for being patient with me and loving me when I could not always be with them.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow because of those who have shared and are continuing to share in my ministry.

Family of Roy P. Jones Jr.

Foreword

Faithfulness belongs to all of us; it doesn't have to do with the length of our living or the extent of our capabilities. Faithfulness is within your grasp of the least of us as it is within the reach of the noblest of us, but one cannot help pondering the web; what is given, more is required.

The late Dr. Gardner Taylor shared these salient sentiments about the late Dr. Samuel Dewitt Proctor. These are the same sentiments I share regarding my friend and my brother, the Reverend Dr. Roy Jones Jr. I have found him to be one faithful to the call and the cause of the kingdom of God. I found him to be faithful regardless the size of the task or the nature of the ministry. I have seen him pray for those who are facing the depths of despair and offer hope to those who had long given up hope. In every instance, I found Dr. Jones to be faithful, and I am delighted to call him my friend; and I am honored that you would ask me to write this foreword.

It is not often that you meet someone in life who consistently walk the walk that they talk. It is even rarer to encounter persons who live a life of integrity and are impeccable, both in word and deed; Dr. Jones is such a person. It has been my privilege, in various settings and among diverse people, to witness him make full proof of his ministry.

In this narrative account of his journey, you will discover what makes Dr. Jones the unique man of God that he is. You will discover in these pages one whose ministry was shaped by the faith of his family and later sharpened by his service to our military.

I rejoice that Dr. Jones has given up active-duty service in the Unites States Army and is now on the battlefield serving in the army of our Lord. In the pages of this book, we are granted access to the reflections of a servant of the Most High whose only desire is to be found pleasing in the sight of God. Dr. Jones indeed is a model for ministry, he is a minister's minister and, in my estimation, has much more to offer to the kingdom of God.

I encourage you to read this book, and you will soon discover Dr. Jones lives by the ethos to whom much is given, much is required. In this book, you will get a sense of his purpose and his passion for ministry. In these pages, you will get a sense that Dr. Jones is just getting started and that he decided a long time ago that for God he would live and for God he would die.

I am grateful God granted me access to the ministry of this man of God and thankful that through his ministry, I have seen the tangible evidence of the scriptural witness that if we don't grow weary in well doing, that in due season, if we keep the faith and do not faint, we will reap a harvest.

Rev. Dr. Paul D. Flowers Sr.

Pastor, Mount Zion Baptist Church, Mechanicsville, Virginia

Next Level Youth and Family Services, Inc.

Building Relationships for Brighter Futures

Book Reviews

This is a review of this book, My Journey: My Family, the Army, the Ministry Life, and Education, which is authored by Rev. Dr. Roy Preston Jones Jr. and is published by Christian Faith Publishing. Dr. Roy Preston Jones Jr. is one of God's servant leaders who has excelled and achieved with distinction as he travels on his journey of faith, reaching for the stars, maximizing his potentials, developing his talents, and exemplifying himself as a phenomenal leader in the sense that he attracts followers by cultivating their minds and hearts, helping them through covenant renewal, to form the right relationship with God and with one another.

As Dr. Roy Preston Jones Jr. writes, he brings his vision of his ministry into focus, having the will