Robert (Bob) Reynolds Jones Sr. Grave

From Builder of Bridges:

The more I have read of Dr. Bob’s meetings, the more I have come to realize that regardless of how much men try to “blow up” meetings today to make them look big, they fade into insignificance when compared with the meetings of Dr. Bob and other evangelists during the horse-and-buggy days.

Neither time nor space will permit my telling about all the great meetings which Dr. Bob held around the country. In many cities page after page of the local papers was given over to his work in their midst. I have selected only a few meetings to point out the immediate and the
long-lasting results of this man’s efforts in the Cause of Christ. Dr. Bob’s work needs no embellishment. The newspaper accounts from which I quote set forth clearly and in detail the man, the message, and the methods which accomplished great things for God. Many towns dated their history from this man’s meetings. People would say, “this happened before Bob Jones’ meeting” or “This happened after Bob Jones’ meeting.” Because of the mighty impact of his ministry. many dispensaries, saloons, and gambling houses were closed. He left  towns
much better. and moral and spiritual people were never dissatisfied.

Dr. Bob’s method of dealing with people and issues was as important as the message itself. Although modernism was not rampant in those days. as it has been in our day. it was prevalent enough to cause Dr. Bob and others to band themselves in an all-out effort against it. It was Dr. Bob’s policy not to knowingly allow any modernist to help sponsor his meetings. He said, “It is all right to preach to the modernists in the audience. but it is wrong to have them on the platform as sponsoring pastors and call them ‘Brother’ and give them Christian recognition.”

Wikipedia:

Robert Reynolds Jones Sr. (October 30, 1883 – January 16, 1968) was an American evangelist, pioneer religious broadcaster, and the founder and first president of Bob Jones University.

Image Credit: Wikipedia contributors. “Bob Jones Sr.” Wikipedia, 21 Jan. 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Jones_Sr.

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Robert (Bob) Reynolds Jones

“I never had a goal as most men set up goals. My only goal was to do the job at hand, and then to begin another. I never started out to be a big evangelist … I just started out to do the job the Lord had for me at the time.”
(Robert Reynolds Jones)

Early Life and Calling

Robert Reynolds Jones—most often known simply as Bob Jones Sr.—was born on October 30, 1883, in Skipperville (Dale County), Alabama. He was the 11th of twelve children in a farming family. His father, a Confederate veteran, struggled with the economic hardships of the post-Civil War South; the young Jones himself labored on the farm and helped support the family.

Jones came to faith in Christ at the age of 11, and just two years later became involved in preaching revival meetings—by age 13 he began holding his own revival-style services under brush arbors and in country churches. By age 15 he was licensed to preach. These formative years gave him early conviction in evangelism, a love for Gospel preaching, and a determination to serve.

Evangelistic Ministry and Rise to Prominence

Jones’s evangelistic career developed rapidly. He travelled across the U.S., holding large revival campaigns in towns and cities alike. By one account, by the time he reached age 40 he had preached approximately 12,000 sermons to some 15 million people. His preaching was vigorous, often typified by the revival-meeting style of the era: brash, direct, and aimed at decision. He was seen as one of America’s leading evangelists from the 1910s into the 1930s.

During these tours, Jones also adopted media and outreach tools—he was an early religious broadcaster, leveraging radio to extend his message. His evangelical convictions were deeply rooted in fundamentalist theology: the authority of Scripture, the necessity of personal conversion, opposition to theological liberalism and modernist trends. He styled himself as a soldier in the battle for the faith.

Founding of Bob Jones University

Perhaps Jones’s most enduring achievement was the founding of Bob Jones College (later Bob Jones University, or BJU). In 1927 he established the college in Panama City, Florida, as a response to what he viewed as the growing secularism and liberal teaching in mainstream higher education. He described his aim as building a school “that would combat the atheistic trend in education and would become a center in Christian education.”

Over time the institution moved—from Florida to Cleveland, Tennessee (1933) and then to Greenville, South Carolina (1947)—and became a substantial evangelical university with thousands of students, a full campus, and a voice in conservative evangelical circles. Jones served as the first president of the college and remained deeply involved in its direction and ethos.

Character, Convictions, and Controversy

Jones exemplified the revival-era preacher: boldness, conviction, high energy, and a flavor of populist appeal. He believed passionately in evangelistic urgency, Bible authority, and the separation of the church from secular compromise. As he once put it:

“I never started out to be a big evangelist, a little evangelist, or any other kind… I just started out to do the job at hand.”

However, his legacy is also marked by significant controversies. Jones held segregationist views on race, opposed integration, and insisted on racially separate campuses and student bodies at BJU until the 1970s. His stance against the ecumenical practices of other evangelical leaders (notably Billy Graham) also placed him at the center of the “fundamentalist-evangelical” divide mid-century.

Legacy and Impact

Bob James died on January 16, 1968, at the age of 84 in Greenville, South Carolina, yet his legacy endures in several significant ways:

• Evangelism: Jones’s extensive revival tours, tens of thousands of decisions for Christ claimed, and his persistence for more than six decades, made him one of the most prolific preachers of his era.
• Education: Bob Jones University stands as his most tangible institutional legacy—a university still operating, still claiming roots in fundamentalist evangelism, and having trained generations of ministers, missionaries, teachers, and Christian workers.
• Fundamentalist Identity: Jones helped shape the identity of American Christian fundamentalism in the 20th century. His opposition to liberal theology, his insistence on a literal Bible, and his degree of ecclesiastical separation influenced many churches and ministries.
• Media Use: As a pioneering broadcaster and evangelist who adapted to new communication means (radio, then later university media), Jones showed how evangelical outreach could expand beyond the pulpit.
• Controversial Christian Witness: His commitment to biblically-literal theology came with the cost of cultural isolation. His policies on race and integration are now widely regarded as problematic and serve as a reminder of how evangelistic zeal must link with social ethics.

Practical Lessons from His Life

From Jones’s life—and its strengths and failures—several practical lessons emerge:

• Conviction matters: Jones believed strongly in his beliefs and refused to compromise his core convictions, which gave him a strong identity and clarity of message.
• Institution-building can multiply influence: By founding an institution, Jones’s ministry outlived his personal life, training others and creating structures of influence.
• Adapt to new media but keep the message constant: While he embraced radio, his message remained unchanged—evangelism, Gospel, Scripture.
• Culture and mission must be reconciled: Jones’s legacy shows that ministry influences culture; his failure to adapt on race issues signals the danger when mission and cultural blindness meet.
• Long-term service counts: Preaching from age 13 into his 80s, Jones’s career is a testimony to perseverance.

Conclusion

Robert Reynolds Jones, Sr. was a man of his era—but also one who shaped his era. From rural Alabama boy preacher to founder of a major Christian university, his life traced the arc of early-twentieth-century American evangelicalism. He leaves a legacy of evangelistic passion, educational institution-building, and fundamentalist conviction—but also reminds us that the Christian ministry must continually engage not only the Gospel, but the cultural challenges of racial justice, social inclusion, and evolving society.

Whether one views him as a hero, a builder, a controversial figure—or all the above—the impact of Bob Jones Sr. on American evangelical history is undeniable. His life invites both admiration and critical reflection: for faith lived with boldness, for influence built over decades, and for the continual call for gospel fidelity balanced with cultural grace.