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Our founder, Pastor Leol Jones Hall
Leol had a hard childhood. His mother paraded man after man into her house in front of her son. He was often left alone to fend for himself. After some time, the two men listed on his birth certificate wanted little to do with the boy they had fought so hard over before. They did not want anything to do with Leol because of his mother's mean ways and even meaner men. Leol began getting into trouble by the age of 8, when he went joy-riding in a car that he knew was stolen. The boys were arrested and sent to juvenile hall, where Leol was beat up on his first night there. After three nights of beatings, Leol called his father Arthur Jones and asked him to get him out of the juvenile hall. Arthur helped his son, with Leol's promise to not get into anymore trouble. Leol stayed out of trouble for a few months. He began selling weed after he found a stash of it in his mother's room. His mother's current boyfriend would give her weed and after she was high enough to be oblivious to what Leol was doing, he would steal the remainder of the weed to sale. Leol ran that enterprise successfully for over 6 months before he was caught by his mother's boyfriend. When his mother's boyfriend found out about what Leol had been doing, the over-sized man beat Leol so severely that Leol had to be rushed to the hospital. He had a broken nose, three cracked ribs, a broken arm and leg on his left side, and two broken fingers. Leol's pinky finger had to be removed. Pastor Hall has said this of the incident, "Each time he hit me, I said, 'Jesus'. I am not sure why I even said Jesus. Each time the man kicked me, I said, 'Help me'. I was expecting my mother to help me, but she never did. She never said a word to the giant as he beat me. I hated her for that for a long time." Leol was in the hospital for 3 weeks. After his hospital stay, Leol moved in with Evaleena Hall, his paternal grandmother. She was an evangelist at a Pentecostal church. Living with Evaleena, led to Leol giving his life to Christ. When Leol first moved in with Mrs. Hall (as he called her), he had a hard time adjusting to her strict rules. Leol never had to follow any rules when he was with his mother. He continually broke the rules. He even ran away twice. Finally Mrs. Hall sat Leol down and said, "I didn't have to take you in. I did it because I didn't want to see you die. You have to decide what you want to do: LIVE or DIE! If you stay with me, you'll have a chance to live. If you leave and go back to the streets, you'll end up dead and I am sure of that. You pick: LIFE or DEATH and let me know." Mrs. Hall left Leol to think about his decision. Leol decided to chose life. He knew that it meant following a lot of strict rules, but at least he would have food to eat and a decent place to stay. Things worked out for Leol. He became an excellent student and a junior deacon in his church by the time he reached high school in 1976. While in high school, Leol had a relapse into his old behavior. He almost beat a boy to death over a girl. Leol was arrested. Mrs. Hall went to Leol while he was in jail. While there, she said, "This is your last chance. Which do you choose LIFE or DEATH?" Leol smiled, "I choose life." Mrs. Hall smiled back, "Son, this is your last chance with me. Mess up again and I won't be here the next time." Leol looked deep into his grandmother's eyes. They looked sad and hurt. Leol fell over into his grandmother's lap and cried for awhile. When he finished crying, he looked into his grandmother's eyes once again and said, "Mrs. Hall, I won't let you down. I am going to be a pastor one day, just wait and see. Choosing life is going to be a good choice for me." Mrs. Hall smiled and hugged him. She had no doubt in her mind that Leol was going to do exactly what he said he was going to do. After Leol was given probation by the judge in his case, Leol became a new man. The following Sunday, he gave his life to Christ. He became a student of the Bible, reading it everyday as well as any Bible commentary he could get his hands on. Leol graduated high school with honors. He was ranked #4 in his class. He received a full academic scholarship to N. T. Springs College. While at N. T. Springs, he excelled at debate, religious studies, public speaking, and gospel music theory. Leol graduated from N. T. Springs with three bachelor's degrees in Religious Studies, Fine Arts, and Communications. Shortly before graduating, Leol was licensed as a minister by Dr. Martin J. Thomas, Sr., the pastor of Thomas Temple Church of God In Christ. On September 9, 1984, he was ordained as an elder. Mrs. Hall attended the ordination service, where she preached a rousing sermon, which set the entire church on fire.
During his winter break in 1986, he came home to Thomasville, West Maddocha. Mrs. Hall was severely ill. She called Leol to her bedside and said, "Son, it's time for this neighborhood to live. I may not be here to see it, but you need to start a church right in the neighborhood. Son, take back this neighborhood." Leol did just as instructed. He began holding services while he was on break at Mrs. Hall's house. He went back to school for his Spring semester. He came back home after the semester and started Greater Hope Temple of Christ in the fall of 1987. Mrs. Hall lived to see Pastor Hall Jones' installation service. She died seven days later. The last words she said to Pastor Hall Jones were, "Son, you have a Greater Hope. That Hope is Christ. Complete the work He has begun in you. You will do great things." Pastor Hall Jones has done great things. He has been instrumental in cleaning up the Hullen B. Ward neighborhood, notorious for its crime rate. He has started several programs to help the residents of the H. B. Ward neighborhood that include: a job program, an after school program, a youth mentoring program, a summer lunch program, and an abstinence program for young people ages 12-17. The teenage pregnancy rate for the H. B. Ward neighborhood has dropped noticeably since the institution of the program in 2000. In 2000, Pastor Hall Jones was voted in as the Vice-President of the West Headquarters of the Greater Buelahland Fellowship. He has worked hard with his Greater Pastor Hall Jones has two daughters (Eva and Asia) and two sons (Traymont and David). One of his sons (Traymont) serves as the director of the after school program. His other 3 teenage children work hard at the church, mentoring at-risk children and encouraging them to choose life. |
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Questions or Comments
Copyright 2011
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Leol Jones Hall was born in the back of his assumed father's car on August 15, 1961 in Thomasville, West Maddocha. While at the hospital after his birth, his mother, Adele Mayweather was faced with a dilemma, to men were claiming to be her son's father; Arthur Traymont Jones and Victor David Hall. Adele had slept with both men within the same time range, so she was unsure which one of them was Leol's father. Neither man would say that he was not the father, so Adele listed both men as the father and gave Leol both of the men's last names.
Elder Leol Hall Jones enrolled in J. C. Tolbert Seminary in the state Booneland in 1985. He began working on his Master's degrees. While at J. C. Tolbert, Eld. Leol Jones Hall met his future wife, Eltamere Dotson while in a music theory class. It was love at first sound. Eltamere was asked to sing by the professor of the class. Eld. Jones Hall and Eltamere were married on May 17, 1986.
Buelahland Fellowship team to make the West location a noticeable entity within the Greater Buelahland Fellowship.
