Well, it all started on a Friday the 13th, in June, of the year 1980. Sometime during the lunch hour I came screaming into the world in the wonderful town of Martinsville, VA.
As I grew up, I attended a church called Martinsville Christian Fellowship (it’s now called ‘Wellspring’), and it was during those years that I accepted Christ into my heart and decided that I was best off pursuing his will for my life (I figured, him being God and all, he would have a little better idea how to make it in life).
I began working around around the age of 15, when I got a job as a janitor at Stanley Furniture. Being too young to operate any equipment, I acquired the attractive job of mopping the lunch room and cleaning the bathroom. Real invigorating stuff, trust me. The next year, I turned 16, got my license and became a professional burger flipper at a local Wendy’s for the summer. My skills on the grill have only grown since then, which might explain why the grill is used about as often as the oven or stove for cooking in our family.
I attended Magna Vista High School, and the summer after I graduated I went back to Stanley Furniture, working on the grounds crew. That was exciting, intriguing, and also gave me an education I would never have acquired in the classic classroom setting. Also experienced some things I could have lived without ever having knowledge of (specifically, if you must know, certain aspects of a sewage system…).
My collegiate education was carried out at Lee University in Cleveland, TN. I worked as an RA (resident assistant – I got to write curfew violations and stuff!) for five straight semesters, and then decided I needed to get experience in the Music Ministry (since that’s what I was getting a bachelor’s in). So God provided the opportunity for me to work as the Director of Student Music Ministries at Westwood Baptist.
On May 10 of 2003 I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Art’s in Church Music (and a minor in Bible!) from Lee University and moved back to Roanoke, VA. God again provided for me, providing me an opportunity to work with New Life Temple as a Minister of Music.
While I was at New Life Temple, I met a beautiful young lady, whom I proceeded to pursue, court, and marry on June 4th, 2005. Terra made me the happiest man in the world when she said ‘Yes’!
After serving at New Life Temple for two and a half years, God called Terra and I to seminary. So we enrolled and began taking classes at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. In our second year there, we found out that our first son was on the way. Zachary Keaton Jones was born at 9:08 am on Easter Sunday, April 8th, 2007. Then another 16 months later our second son was born. My life was forever changed!
Now we are looking forward to the birth of our third child. We are going to let this one be a surprise (boy or girl?) and are bracing ourselves for the time quickly approaching when our children will outnumber us.
Occupationally, at present, I am working full-time at CarQuest presently. I started off as a loader, but most recently stepped into the RGR department. Basically I help process returns from stores.
In the meantime, I have had the opportunity to intern in a mentorship program at our church, North Wake. I have really been blessed and challenged through the leadership there. Presently I play on the praise team and lead worship occasionally.
So who is Zach Jones? A man who is striving to wholeheartedly seek God in all areas of his life. A man who desires God’s Word to define who he is and what he is becoming, as well as all he does. And he is a worshiper who loves to exalt the Lord, and cherishes every moment he gets to lead others in exalting the Lord.
