Pastor Frank Jones is one of the longest serving pastors in Liberty County, and is excited to see how God continues to bless his church.
At 3 p.m. Sunday, he saw Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Walthourville dedicate its new fellowship hall. The speaker was the Rev. Dr. Hermon Scott, pastor of Baconton Missionary Baptist Church of Walthourville and moderator of the Zion Missionary Baptist Association of Crescent.
Jones, a native of Long County, has served in the ministry for more than 40 years. In October, Mt. Olive honored him for his time as pastor.
Prior to serving at Mt. Olive, he was the pastor at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church and assisted his late father in the ministry. At Mt. Olive, he has seen the church grow, both spiritually and physically.
"As a pastor, I have grown in many areas of my spiritual life, as well," Jones said. "I started out green and certainly didn’t know as much and was not as close to the Lord. When I started out, I was not a tither. But as I read the word of God, I found the more you give, the more God will bless you."
Jones said he is grateful for Mt. Olive Missionary.
"I love what I do and have experienced what can be done with a little. Mt. Olive has people who are good stewards, and I have found God will make a way," he said.
"The members of Mt. Olive have been good to me. They sent me to Africa to do missionary work twice, and last year, I was blessed to go Israel. I have always wanted to be baptized in the Jordan River, and I had to opportunity to be baptized and to witness. My good friend, Lelon Frasier, went with me on one of the Africa trips and to Israel."
Last year, the members of Mt. Olive decided to build a new fellowship hall. With excitement and anticipation, they have watched the fellowship hall go from foundation being laid to completion. Jones said a groundbreaking ceremony was held April 29, 2017.
"Our new fellowship hall will allow us to do more things. It seats approximately 80," he said. "My desire is to see more fellowship, and we can host the Community Outreach Conqueror program during the summer. We will also have our Bible study and Sunday school in the fellowship hall."