Just an ordinary guy. That is how Fred Jones, retired pastor of the Dover Christian Church, describes himself.

After 27 years of working together, many of the church members might agree that he is an ordinary guy, but with extraordinary qualities.

“When Fred first started here, we had lost a son a few months earlier in an accident. He visited us and was such a blessing to us during that time,” Vonda Vincent said. “I will never forget that.”

Jones and First Christian Church members try to fulfill the mission of “loving your neighbor as yourself.”

They’ve done everything from wash windows for their neighbor down the block to remodel a seminary and work in an orphanage in the Amazon jungle of Brazil.

“We try to find how we are able to minister to others and then go do it,” Jones said.

Jones gave his final sermon as the pastor of the Dover Christian Church earlier this month after 46 years in professional Christian ministry.

“Fred is so down to earth and has such a gentle spirit,” Kathy Leitner commented. “He is a great man and we will miss him.”

Jones grew up in Iowa. He then attended Friends University in Wichita, Kan., where he received a bachelor’s degree in religion. He later received his master’s degree in adult education from the University of New Mexico.

He dreamed of becoming a missionary bush pilot, taking the love of Jesus to people in remote places. He attended flight school where he earned his aircraft mechanic’s license and pilot’s license.

The next step was advanced pilot training, but life, or God, had other plans.

He accepted his first job as a pastor in Kansas City, Mo., and then in Salem, Iowa.

Then he headed west, to become the pastor for a church in a small Colorado town.

He also commuted to New Mexico and worked as an education teacher for the Navajo Nation. He taught biblical theology to non-English speaking Navajo preachers in preparation for their ordination.

“Most Navajos don’t speak English,” Jones said. “It was like being in another country.”

He learned to speak some of the Navajo language.

“But is a difficult language,” he said. “I was lucky to have good interpreters.”

During the six years Jones worked with the Navajo Nation, he and his family lived on the Indian reservation for three of them.

“We were 150 miles from a bank, 120 miles from a grocery store and 90 miles from a doctor,” Jones said.

“There was no electricity and horse and wagon were a common means of transportation on the reservation,” he said. “We were pretty isolated. It was a difficult place to raise a family.”

His last stop as a pastor before reaching Dover was in Cherokee, where he ministered for four years.

“When I first started in Dover, I went for one Sunday to fill the pulpit,” he said. “They asked me to come back the next Sunday, then the next Sunday and over 26 years later I was still coming back.”

Jones has served over a quarter of a century with Dover Christian Church and many changes have occurred through the years.

The primary service is Sunday morning and attendance averages around 110 members. That is twice the number of people attending when Jones accepted the pastoral position.

There are also ongoing Bible studies that last anywhere from six weeks to several months, Jones said.

“He preached sermons from the Bible and it was always something we needed to hear,” Vincent commented.

The church members come not only from Dover, but from many of the surrounding communities.

“We have all age groups from babies to senior citizens,” Jones said. “That has held true the whole time I have been at Dover.”

The congregation has also implemented two phases of property expansion and construction to the church facilities to accommodate the growth.

Missions, both local and global, have become an important aspect of the church during Jones’ tenure.

“Helping people is very important to Fred,” Vincent said. “He really stresses that.”

The first mission trip was in 2005 when church members went to Brazil.

Since then there have been mission trips to the Gulf Coast to help with Hurricane Katrina clean-up, rebuilding in Kentucky from tornado damage and in Jamaica assisting with construction of a house for a needy family as well as conducting Vacation Bible School.

Vincent went on the trip to Kentucky and she said it was the first time she had been separated from her husband of 50-plus years for more than a few days.

“It was a big change being away from home that long, but it was a great experience helping others,” she said.

Their most recent trips have been to Eureka Springs, Ark., to help rebuild and expand sets at the Great Passion Play. The play is a portrayal of Jesus Christ’s last days on earth and is staged in an outdoor amphitheater with actors and live animals.

“The church is very active,” Jones said. “In the local community the church members have helped with yard cleanup, roof repair, tree trimming, window washing or whatever we find to do.”

“The first time I met Fred was when he visited my husband’s grandmother in the hospital and that really impressed me,” Priya Humphries said.

“He also performed our marriage and baptized our daughter. He has a calm and gentle spirit that seems to bring peace to the church.”

“I just want people to come to Christ and live for him,” Jones said. “I want them to see church as something more than showing up once a week for a sermon. We need to get into the community and be working for the Lord.”

As for retirement, Jones said he and his wife plan to stay in Dover and he hopes to keep preaching wherever he is needed in the community.

His wife Evelyn, or “Evie” as he calls her, works at Interbank in Kingfisher. They have five children and 17 grandchildren and he is looking forward to spending more time with them.

He also likes to work in his shop doing woodworking projects, repairing guns or restoring old cars. He enjoys hunting and fishing as well.

“I like to do a lot more than my health allows. So I shouldn’t have trouble finding something to do in my retirement,” Jones commented.

Actually, his first Sunday of retirement, he was scheduled to preach, filling in for a pastor of a local church.