Born one of five sons to Reverend and Mrs. L.B. Jones, Sr., Reverend Louis B. Jones, II, the fifth and present pastor of the Pilgrim Baptist Church, accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior at the age of 12.
Louis B. Jones, II is a graduate of the Kansas City public school system where he graduated with honors. He continued his education and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from Antioch University in Venice, California.
In December 1979, being led by the Holy Spirit, Louis II finally acknowledged God’s call to the ministry to build the kingdom of God and preach and teach the Holy Word. He attended both the Talbot Theological Seminary in La Marad, California and Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California in pursuit of a Master of Arts degree in Divinity. The late Reverend Dr. Edward V. Hill, Pastor of the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, California became his guardian, mentor and father in the ministry. Louis B. Jones, II was licensed in 1981 and ordained into the Gospel Ministry on August 11, 1985, at the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, California. With a spirit of service Jones went where the Lord sent him and many of his early sermons were delivered to residents of nursing homes, hospitals, and prisons.
Reverend Jones was blessed to serve as the Shepherd of the Bethany Baptist Church of Los Angeles, California with five years of fruitful and rewarding ministry. After delivering an inspiring trial sermon titled “It’s Testing Time”, Reverend Louis B. Jones, II accepted the call to the pastorate of the Bible based, Bible taught, Pilgrim Baptist Church on April 8, 1990 and was installed in June.
Pastor Jones is a committed Christian with an eminent love for God. He is a gifted preacher, a prepared Pastor, devout teacher, and an accomplished soloist. A firm believer in education and community involvement, he pursued and received his Master of Arts degree in Theological Studies in 1993 from the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and became affiliated with many religious and professional organizations. He has served as past Vice President in California State Baptist Young Adult Convention and held membership in American Baptist Churches of the South and the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Project B.R.I.D.G.E.S., and a former field representative for the Promise Keepers Men’s Movement, and other local faith and community organizations.
In addition to feeding his sheep and community spiritually, Pastor Jones strives to find ways of bringing economic empowerment to his church and the surrounding community. In the pursuit of this goal, and with a thrust toward economic empowerment, Pastor, Jones, II has prayerfully guided the people of Pilgrim Baptist Church in the purchase of five residential properties in the immediate church community. With confidence of God’s hand upon this ministry, five commercial properties located on H Street are included in the properties owned by Pilgrim Baptist Church, which provided an impetus for the revitalization of the H Street corridor.
The Pilgrim Baptist Church, under the leadership and vision of Pastor Jones, has flourished and grown tremendously. With the addition of a 7:45 a.m. morning worship service in 1994, membership grew, church renovations and upgrades took place to establish a greater level of physical comfort for members and visitors. In 1997, The Pilgrim Child Development Center, a Christian Early Learning Child Care Facility was opened and ministries and programs created or expanded such as women’s, youth, substance abuse and outreach, ex-offenders, and job employment and readiness training. To date five ministers have been licensed along with two Evangelist into the Gospel Ministry.
On January 10, 2005, Pastor Jones was installed as the president of the 120 year old Missionary Baptist Minister’s Conference of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. His inaugural address, title “For Jesus Sake, SERVE” epitomizes Pastor Jones’ commitment to excellence in serving God.
The Lord has blessed Pastor Jones with a loving, supportive wife, Michelle Frances, and five children. Pastor Jones is a spiritual inspiration to all who come to know him. Thanks be to God that Pastor Jones allows himself to be led by the Holy Spirit and be used as a vessel from which souls are saved, lives reclaimed, and the Word of God flows.
