Edgar Dewitt Jones - Ministries

Ministries

He became a minister of the Disciples of Christ denomination in 1901 and held pastorates in Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan. Following graduation from the College of the Bible 1901, he took charge of four rural congregations in Boone County, Kentucky, one of which was the church in Bullitsville, which served as the basis of his novel published in 1917 Fairhope, the Annals of a Country Church. He took up residence at Erlanger, KY, living in a boarding house until his marriage to Frances Rumble. He would organize a congregation in Erlanger in 1902, while giving up three of his other charges -- the exception being Bullitsville. From there he was called to Cleveland's historic Franklin Circle Christian Church, which he served for three years beginning in 1903. In 1906 he was called to serve as pastor of First Christian Church of Bloomington, IL. While the pastor of First Christian Church, he served as president of the Illinois Convention of the Disciples (1915-1916). Following this, he served as the President of the International Convention of the Disciples (1917-1919).

Having risen to prominence in the Disciples, Jones looked to move to a congregation in a large urban setting. Thus, in 1920 he became the pastor of Central Christian Church in Detroit, MI. He came to the church having been promised that the congregation was intent upon building a new, larger, facility. By 1922, after the untimely death of the congregation's leading benefactor, Philip Gray, it became clear that the plans would have to be abandoned. Feeling that Central could not fulfill the dreams he had for an influential urban congregation, Jones offered to resign, an offer that was rejected. It was at this time, that a group from within Central began conversations with leadership at Woodward Avenue Christian Church, which sat on Woodward Avenue, about merging. At first these discussions were scuttled, when the pastor of the Woodward Avenue Church voiced opposition.

This meeting was held without the presence of either of the ministers, and when the able young pastor at the Woodward Avenue Church heard of it he was much disturbed, since he had his own plans for a new building and some funds set aside for that purpose. For a time this minister, with whom I had been on friendly terms, suspected that I was the moving spirit in this merger proposition, which I was not at that time. It is always a mistake to go over the head of the pastor, who is the head of the local church and should be consulted in every project. This action, made with the best of intentions, fell through for the time in its purpose, and it was not until years later that that minister understood all the facts and we became friends again.

In 1926, after a new pastor had come to Woodward Avenue, the two congregations were able to complete the merger, with the Woodward Avenue pastor gave way to the more prominent Jones.

The merged congregations then began the project of building a new building on the site of the Woodward Avenue Christian Church, with the new congregation taking the name Central Woodward Christian Church. In a speech given in 1975 on the fiftieth anniversary of the announced merger, Jones's son, Willis R. Jones, noted that the two congregations brought different strengths. Central Christian Church, which lay on Second Avenue, had among its members a number of civic and industrial leaders, along with the financial support of the Philip Gray family, while the Woodward Avenue congregation, besides having a prime location, had a large contingent of younger members, including youth.

Jones remained pastor of this congregation until he retired in 1946. In 1922 he joined the staff of the Detroit News. As a religious leader, he served as President of the Federal Council of Churches (1936–1938) and the Association for the Promotion of Christian Unity (later the Council on Christian Unity), a Disciples of Christ entity.