Over thirty years ago a seed was planted.
It was February 1979. The choir
director at Jones Memorial United Methodist Church
asked four men from the Chancel Choir to
sing as a quartet as part of the "Winter
Camp Meeting" style services. He
assisted them in preparing a Southern Gospel
Style piece. They worked hard, this
was something none of them had ever done
before. The Sunday came, and along
with it, a very bad snow/ice storm.
Sunday services in the Atlanta area
were called off. But the men kept
practicing and later that month they did
sing their song. They learned they
loved the close harmony of the Southern
Gospel style and from that seed God placed a
desire and calling on their hearts which
began
"The Jonesmen Quartet".
Two of the original
four - Walter Sheppard, lead and Steve White
bass, have sung since the beginning.
Paul Willis, was the original tenor and sang until 1987 and
rejoined the group in July of 2006.
Larry Alberts came on board in 1982.
There were 13 other men who were a part of
the ministry. In the
beginning they used piano accompaniment,
then added 2 guitars, keyboard, and drums.
They found that trying to get 10 men going
in the same direction at the same time was often
difficult. Slowly and reluctantly they
switched to singing with accompaniment sound
tracks. With that, their ministry
really blossomed. Ronnie Wang, who had
played drums with the group previously took
over the tenor part in 1988. Phil
Guptill and Chad Sheppard served as the sound technician and
sang the other parts when someone was out.
The Jonesmen feel their purpose is to
share their love of Jesus through their
music. They never require a fee for
singing and will sing anytime their
schedules permit. They sing in
many denominational churches of varied sizes
- for
worship services, programs, banquets, retreats, at
camp meetings, nursing homes, homeless
shelters, jails, for civic organizations,
benefits for individuals and organizations.
They even sang at the Georgia Dome for the
North Georgia Conference of the Methodist
Church for Vision 2000 and again in Athens.
Although hey have sung
in many churches throughout the Metro Atlanta area,
their
ministry has also taken them throughout the state
of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida,
South Carolina and Illinois. Now in
their 32nd year, their schedules are busier
than ever.
They love to poke good natured fun at each
other, showing you can laugh and be a
Christian.
These men have become more like brothers.
They have been through many good and bad
times, always being there for each other.
They have watched their children grow up.
They have suffered the loss of parents.
Professions have changed. Health
crisis have challenged them from time to
time. Some periods the Jonesmen have
had to slow their singing commitments down a
bit, but the Lord has proved time and again
that he isn't finished with them yet.
The members have changed some over the
years but their purpose has stayed the same.
All praise and honor to our Lord!
Others Who Have Contributed to the
Ministry of
The
Jonesmen Quartet
Singers
Keith Bailey,
Tenor, 1987-1988
Ronnie Wang,
Tenor, 1988-2006
Hugh
MacDonald, Baritone, 1979
Bill Durham,
Baritone, 1979
Jeff McCord,
Baritone, 1980
Mark Stone,
Baritone, 1980
Wayne
Chisenhall, Baritone, 1980-1982
Ray Yates,
Lead, 1990
Musicians
Bill Field,
Piano; David Dillard, Keyboard;
Dick
Williams, Bass Guitar; Rick Goss, Guitar;
Russell
Barnes, Drums; Ronnie Wang, Drums
Sound
Technicians
Phil Guptill and Chad
Sheppard
Webmaster and Photographer
Kimberly Willis,
