Bobby C. Jones

Robert Cleveland Jones, Jr (always known as Bobby) was born on April 15th, 1944, in Columbus, Georgia. It was a Saturday. In 1955 the National Deadline for Tax Returns moved to April 15th, and his birthday would forever be marked by Tax Day. He was born to his father Robert Cleveland Jones, Sr otherwise known as Keetah and his mother Ruth Ira Jones whose maiden name was Robinson with an older sister of 10 years Paula Sue. Keetah was an Assembly of God minister and at one point the Superintendent of Georgia, and Keetah’s maternal grandmother Cornelius was a pioneer church planter in the Assemblies of God, and Ruth’s father Charles Costley Robinson was a long-time minister in the Assemblies of God and a professor at the AG Bible College in Waxahachie, Texas.

Bobby would eventually meet his future wife Sharon at that same Texas Assembly of Bible College and after a short engagement they were married in 1963 and left college early to travel on the evangelistic field for five years. They were known for their talent singing gospel music and made several albums of their recordings. In 1968 they gave birth to their son Robert Jones the 3rd in Dallas Texas while preaching at a revival service, and then one year later in 1969, gave birth to their daughter Jenifer Suzanne Jones in San Antonio Texas where they had begun serving as Associate Pastors at the church that would eventually be purchased by John Hagee Ministries and Trinity Church and later became known as Cornerstone Church. Dad pastored in Cleveland Texas for a short time before being elected to serve as the District CA President or DCAP of the South Texas District. In 1976 his father Keetah or Papaw passed away and in 1977 he was elected the Senior Pastor at First Assembly in Napa California later known as Hillside Christian Center where he served for 10 years becoming sectional presbyter, then regional presbyter and after merging with another Assembly of God church, built a gorgeous new facility on 35 acres on the freeway and was awarded by the Napa Chamber of Commerce as the Most Outstanding Architectural Contribution to the Community. His niece Debi would become his secretary and Ruth Jones or Mamaw would eventually join him in Napa as well.

In 1988, Bobby and Sharon were elected the Senior Pastors of Cameron Park Christian Center in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Sacramento, California. On April 26, 1990, they received the news that their daughter Jeni had been tragically killed in a car accident. This was a season of great grief and difficulty in their lives until his son Robert married a beautiful young gal from Tennessee named April Cook whom he met in Bible College and became a wonderful daughter-in-law and joy in their lives. Robert and April would go on to give them four beautiful grandchildren Elise, Evan, Ethan and Robert Cleveland Jones the 4th, and one great grandson Oliver Noel Jones. In 2004, after their son Robert and his family became missionaries to Spain, Bobby and Sharon joined them on the mission field as missionaries pastoring an international church in southern Spain. They would eventually return back to Cameron Park Christian Center in 2007 until they eventually retired in 2014 after 51 years of full-time ministry at the age of 70 years old. Their son Robert was elected as the new Senior Pastor of the church and the family enjoyed being close together for nearly five years. After retiring, Bobby and Sharon would serve for nearly 10 years in various part-time ministry positions as interim pastors and academic teaching positions, before being elected to serve in their final pastoral role at First Assembly of God in Brownsville, Tennessee.

Bobby grew up as a typical boy who loved to play Cowboys and Indians with his western hat and six shooter cap guns. His creative talent became evident at an early age as his mother nurtured his incredible tenor voice into an award-winning singer. He won competitions and even sang at the newly opened Disneyland Theme Park in 1957 at 13 years old as a soloist with his father’s church choir. His talent was also seen in intricate leather work, photography and one of his greatest talents, oil painting. Bobby was also an avid sportsman and excelled as a prolific golfer, and achieved four different holes in one epic moments. He also loved fishing and hunting, especially with a compound bow.

Memorial Services will be held on Monday, March 16, 2026, at 11:00 AM, at the First Assembly of God Memphis Chapel Facility (front building), 8650 Walnut Grove Rd., Cordova, TN 38018.

Luke 19:17 (KJV)

“Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.”