On March 1, 2024, one of our own, Dr. O. Wyndell Jones was called home to be with his Lord. Dr. Jones was the key leader during the formation of Baptist Convention of Iowa, serving from 1985 until his retirement in 2001.
Remembering the Life & Ministry of Dr. O. Wyndell Jones
Dr. Wyndell Jones began serving as the Executive Director-Treasurer in 1985 of what was then the Iowa Baptist State Fellowship. He began to lead the process toward becoming a state convention. He came to Iowa from a state convention staff position in Alabama. Dr. Jones provided essential leadership for many years as a Fellowship and throughout the transition into a full-fledged convention.
The Path to Becoming A Convention
BCI Staff Ed Gregory remembers, “Dr. Jones was called to the Iowa Fellowship with the view that he could lead the organization to becoming a Convention. He came with a vision to make that happen and he and his wife Audie really tried hard to become Iowans.” There had always been a strong drive toward cooperation but there was an increasing desire among all the church leaders to move forward as a state convention. Former BCI staff member John Shaull remembers the process, “The discussions were so affirming and uplifting that I can’t remember any disagreement or frustration by anyone involved. Dr. Jones provided strong and decisive leadership in a time when we really needed it.”
Family Reflection on Dr. Jones’ Legacy
Dr. Jones’ grandson Adam Gauthier shared many fond memories of his grandfather’s impactful life. Recalling their relocation from Montgomery, Alabama to Des Moines in 1985 when Dr. Jones assumed the role of Executive Director, Adam witnessed firsthand the transformation of the “Fellowship” into a thriving “Convention.” Though he provided strong leadership throughout the process, central to Dr. Jones’s legacy was his unwavering kindness and approachability, as he embraced everyone he encountered with the same warmth, whether a stranger or a lifelong friend.
Affectionately known by Adam as “Papaw,” Dr. Jones taught his grandson invaluable lessons in humility, generosity, and dedication. Adam fondly remembers Dr. Jones’s selflessness, such as one memorable story when, while on a mission trip to India, he gave away all of his white dress shirts to local pastors, a prized possession in that region. He literally “gave the shirt off his back” and, as a father figure to Adam, Dr. Jones shaped his character profoundly.
“Our Time Has Come”
Although the process of becoming a convention took many decades to come to fruition, the diligent service of Dr. Jones and other leaders ultimately culminated in the establishment of the Baptist Convention of Iowa at the 1995 Iowa Southern Baptist Fellowship meeting. “The title of the constituting event was, ‘Our Time Has Come,’ and we felt it captured the spirit of what God had been doing,” said Ed Gregory, who served with Dr. Jones as the first president of BCI during the transition. At the conclusion of that meeting, the existing organization was dissolved and a new entity called the Baptist Convention of Iowa was born.
