Linda Mary Jones

Pastor Linda fought a fierce battle against cancer for the past 4 ½ years. During that time, Linda and her family believed and contended for her healing because they wholeheartedly believe in a miracle working God. Over 20 family members worshiped and prayed by her bedside until she ran into the arms of her loving Father. In that moment, the families’ worship transitioned to praise and thanksgiving for the hope of heaven, knowing Linda is free of all pain and suffering and they would see her again.

Linda Mary Jones was born February 16, 1953, in Newark, NJ. Her parents, Jean and Tony Soto lived in Elizabeth, NJ until 1957, when they decided to move the family to Southern California. They built a house in Covina, CA, where they raised Linda and her two younger siblings, Bonnie and Jon. Linda lived in Covina until her early twenties.

Linda met Gary in 1971. While dating, they started attending Bethany Baptist Church. Linda accepted Jesus as her personal savior on February 9th, 1974. Shortly after she received Christ, Linda felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to lead the mid-week children’s program at her church. With the encouragement of Gary and his parents, Linda accepted this first ministry position. Little did she know how stepping into this role would impact her life.

Linda and Gary were married on June 28, 1975 and moved into a small apartment in Rowland Heights. During this time, they left Bethany Baptist to help their friends start a new church; Faith Bible Fellowship.

In 1977, they bought their first home in West Covina, CA, where they had their three girls; Tammy, Danielle, and Shannon. Soon after having Shannon, the family moved to Upland, CA, where they lived for the next 30 years.

When the family moved to Upland, Linda took time off from ministry to focus her attention on her young children. The Jones family found a new church home at Community Baptist Church (CBC) in 1985. The Lord began to open doors for Linda to serve in the children’s ministry. He placed strategic people in her life that recognized her giftings and gave her the courage to pursue ministry full time. Linda was the Director of Children’s Ministry at CBC where she was ordained and given the opportunity to preach for the first time. Linda worked at CBC for 14 years.

Her desire to grow both spiritually and academically led her to go back to school and completed her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religion at Azusa Pacific University.

In 2001, the Jones family began attending Water of Life Community church where Linda had accepted a position as Director of Assimilation. Linda worked for Water of Life for 22 years and retired June of 2023. Over the course of her time there, Linda was pastor over several different ministries. One that was especially dear to her heart was the women’s ministry, Positively Pink. This ministry was created from Linda’s passion for mentoring and raising up women in the church. She continued to speak into the lives of hundreds of women throughout her years in ministry.

Linda’s passion for learning continued as she received her Masters in Practical Theology from King’s University, and culminated in 2018 when she received her Doctorate of Ministry from Shiloh University, becoming Dr. Pastor Linda Jones.

Linda and Gary’s children soon were married to the most amazing Godly men. Tammy to Troy, Shannon to Brad, and Danielle to Rich.

Of all these accomplishments, Linda was proud of, her greatest accomplishment was being a Mema to her grandchildren: Jordan, Caden, Brooklin, Adelyn & Nathan. They were her greatest treasures and brought her so much joy.

Linda’s life will be celebrated on Friday, November 10th at Water of Life Community Church, 7625 East Ave., Fontana, CA 92336. The service will also be streamed live online.

The family kindly requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Agua De Vida Orphanage in memory of Pastor Linda.

For more information visit:

ahopfmm.org or aguadevidaorphanage.org

Facebook.com/aguadevidaorphanage