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“font-family: Verdana;”>“My grandfather’s attitude was to remain in this community, and it became the church’s mantra that we will stay,” said Rev. Dr. Michael Jones, senior pastor of Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Since we were staying, we had to find a way to serve this community and transform it.”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>His grandfather, Robert Fulton Davis, founded Friendly Temple in 1955 with three members. He called himself “a ghetto preacher.”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“It is certainly bigger than what we thought it would be,” Jones said about Friendly’s expansion.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>On one side of the campus is the dilapidated area that used to be the heart of Wellston. On the other is one of the most depleted neighborhoods in North St. Louis. Thanks to Friendly Temple, midway through the 5000 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, there is now new life in the area.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Having fought for the name of the street, having known the mission and the message of Dr. King, and then to be in this community and not have life and not transform it would have been an indictment,” Jones said.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“We are hoping to employ a lot of people, not only to put people to work but to provide services and products in their community so they can spend it here.”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The church has grown to include two senior buildings, two new sanctuaries, a school, early childhood development center and a not-for-profit development group focusing on economic empowerment, education and evangelism. In the spring they will open Arlington Grove, 115 units of family housing.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>All of this growth has come during Jones’ nearly 20-year tenure. When he preached his first Sunday sermon as senior pastor back in 1994, the church barely had 100 members.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Everybody had their own pew,” Jones said, laughing. “I could call people out from the pulpit, ‘Hey, Sister Brown. Hey, Sister Blue.’”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>His grandfather lay dying, and the church seemed destined to follow suit. But last Sunday, its 2,500-seat auditorium-style sanctuary was filled to capacity for the 10:30 a.m. service.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Out of modesty, Jones wouldn’t offer a specific headcount for his church members. But it would be safe to say the number is several thousand – with notable members such as Urban Strategies’ Sandra Moore, Johnny Furr Jr. and Comptroller Darlene Greene.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“This church is rich because we have people who sacrifice much, who bring their skills, their profession and they give it away,” Jones said.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“People began to say, ‘I’m not going to only be connected with my church on a Sunday, but if it’s Monday and I need a job, I should call the church. If I’ve just gotten burned out of my home, I should call my church.’”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Friendly Family Affair
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Not only was Jones’ grandfather the founding pastor, but his late mother Pat Johnson was Friendly’s longtime pianist. Jones’ brothers Mark, Larry and Leslie Johnson have stepped in where their mother left off.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“It makes me proud to look over on the piano, see a brother, on the organ see a brother, and a brother directing this choir,” Jones said. “This goes against all statistical data as far as African-American brothers who grew up in poverty and grew up in the worst of situations.”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>And while plenty of first ladies operate up front, First Lady Phyllis Jones is behind the scenes getting the babies in order in the nursery and children’s church while services are underway.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Growing up in his grandfather’s church, Jones finally bent to the will of God at age 19.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“God gifted me because I had a lot of mouth, and he just put me in the pulpit so I could use it that way,” Jones said. “With a North St. Louis upbringing, you have to talk your way in and talk your way out.”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Jones has gone on to provide his daughter and two sons with the family environment he so longed for. “I was this kid that was lost and in search of purpose and didn’t grow up in that nuclear home,” Jones said. “I don’t know if I would have survived if I hadn’t accepted this, refocused and gotten away from that.”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>His son Mike and daughter Kawonza are pursuing graduate studies, and his youngest son Josh is in his second year at DePaul University.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Jones said, “I hope at the end of the day someone will say, ‘He was here, he did what he was called to do and then he went home.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>For more information about the programs and services offered through the church, visit
“http://www.ftmbc.org/”>www.ftmbc.org
