Chaplain
LELAND LaMAR JONES, SR.
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Leland LaMar Jones, Sr. is the new Chaplain of the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel on the campus of the historic Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Born in Kansas City, Missouri and reared in Akron, Ohio he is the son of Ardie Mae and the late Cleveland Jones, Jr. While in high school he accepted the “call” to preach the gospel and was licensed by the Rev. Dr. T. DeWitt Smith, Jr. at the New Hope Baptist Church in Akron. Upon completing high school he moved to Atlanta to attend Morehouse College on a football scholarship. While at “Da’ House” he gained an understanding and an appreciation of what it means to be “young, gifted and black.” While in college he joined the West Hunter Street Baptist Church and was later ordained by the Rev. Dr. Ralph David Abernathy, Jr.
In 1991 Dr. Jones began serving as pastor of the Mount Calvary Baptist Church in the beautiful hills of Tate, Georgia. He was honored to serve as a “lil’ ol country preacher” for twelve years where he helped to grow a small rural congregation into a thriving and spiritually directed Christian fellowship. In 2003 he began pastoring the Greater New Light Missionary Baptist Church in Southwest Atlanta. Their union proven fruitful to the cause of Christ. New members, and old, were joining or re-uniting and the fellowship consistently grew. Greater New Light became a place of togetherness that took on Dr. Jones persona to lead in a “hands on” manner.
July of 2006 Dr. Jones answered to call to military duty and began serving in the Middle East with the United States Army. His experience was a blessing to him and to those he served along side. Deployed for fifteen months Dr. Jones, or Staff Sergeant Jones, experienced God’s choicest blessings in Kuwait, Iraq, and even in Djibouti, Africa. Whether serving as a military postal supervisor, volunteering for convoy missions, preaching the Gospel services, leading the choir or conducting Bible Study, the Lord truly his deployment experience.
As Chaplain, Dr. Jones is responsible for preaching the Gospel and maintaining the spiritual growth and continuity for the Sunday Morning and Evening Worship Experiences; he will also work to challenge and direct the efforts of the Chaplains Assistants Program; develop a volunteer Gospel Choir utilizing the talents of all students from throughout the Atlanta University Center; and helping to build a bridge between Morehouse and the community.
Dr. Jones is married to Kathie L. Jones of Connecticut. Combined they have three daughters (Tiara, who lives in California with her husband and three children; Taylor and Sydney) and one son (Leland, Jr. who attends Alabama State University).
Dr. Jones holds an Associates Degree in Philosophy from Atlanta Junior College; a Bachelors Degree in Religious Studies from Georgia State University; a Masters in Ministry (Cum Laude) and a Masters of Divinity Degree (Summa Cum Laude); along with a Doctorate in Ministry (Cum Laude) from Covington Theological Seminary in Rossville, Georgia.
