God Directs Freedom Church, Windsor Mill
By Madison Wells-James
Seven years ago, Jay Jones believed the Lord was calling him to preach at his former church, Church at Riverside. Almost one year later, he felt God calling him to step into the role of pastor. Little did Jones know that God was planning to take him one step further than he imagined for himself, his family and his community.
Jay Jones preaches at Freedom Church Windsor Mill. (Screen Capture)
In order to gain clarity about his calling, Jones sought counsel from a close friend and mentor in ministry. He recalls his trusted friend asking if he believed the Lord was directing him to pastor a church or plant a church. “In my mind, I said pastor a church, but what came out of my mouth was plant a church,” Jones said.
Sometimes God has a way of making His will very clear. In Jones’s case, it was God literally putting the words in his mouth.
Freedom Church Winsdor Mill was born in 2018 after the Baltimore Baptist Association gifted Jones and his core group of church planters the space previously occupied by Temple Baptist Church. “I kind of had this distinct awareness that this is where the Lord was calling me to,” Jones recalled when he visited the space for the first time. However, the road to building and sustaining the church was not a linear path.
The initial challenge for Jones was figuring out a way to bring the people he felt called to serve unified under one body. This included members from their sending church (Freedom Church Baltimore), the remaining members from Temple Baptist that were looking for another home, and new people from the surrounding community.
Once Freedom Church had established a small congregation, the pandemic temporarily stunted its growth after less than two years of being active. The rapidly spreading virus and isolating lockdowns deterred large gatherings making life, including church fellowship, contingent on technology and the will to engage with 
computer screens for several hours a day. As a result, many people left Freedom Church, which was discouraging. However, Jones and the other church leaders worked hard to build closeness amongst its members despite the lack of physical proximity.
Thankfully the Lord was also faithful in his plan to establish this church through an abundance of financial provisions. During the pandemic, Freedom Church experienced an increase in giving that allowed them to continue growing what God had already begun. “It was a miracle,” said Jones. “It can’t be explained any other way.”
Right now, Freedom Church is going strong with almost 100 people regularly attending.
In essence, Freedom Church strives to raise up disciple makers who in turn raise up more disciple-makers, all for the glory of the Lord.
Consistent discipleship and relational fellowship for all members is an integral part of this Christ-centered community. Once a month the church will have “Manhood Monday” where the male members get together to converse and break bread as brothers in Christ. There is the Ladies of Legacy group, which facilitates Bible studies for women and other fun events, including taco nights. Recently the church also began investing more energy into discipling children, which sometimes grants the adult members intentional date nights.
Jay Jones with his wife Megan and children Devyn, Jael, Chaise and Kalib. Megan serves as the BCM/D communications director. (Photo submitted)
Jones also expressed how ministering to people doesn’t always have to be structured. The church has begun hosting “family meals” for the entire congregation where people can relax, eat and spend quality time with one another as a body. “Discipleship looks like a relationship. Discipleship doesn’t always look like the classroom,” said Jones.
Freedom Church celebrated their five year anniversary in August. They praised God for his sustaining grace, reflecting back at where He had taken them and looking to the future and enjoyed a meal together.
Moving ahead, the church has a new emphasis to: “Serve the King. Be the light. Take dominion.”
With a State Missions Offering Grant, Freedom is building a new playground at the church to draw local families.
“I love my church,” said Jones. “It’s just a great, understanding, wise group of people, and I would not be able to do my job without that,” he said.
Jay Jones will be a speaker at the BCM/D Annual Meeting on Nov. 10-11 at Kettering Church.
Madison Wells-James is a freelance writer and photographer. Sharon Mager contributed to this article.
Prayer Requests:
- Diligence for the church to continue pursuing the harvest
- A renewed vision for the church that is grounded in unity
- Continual financial provisions and growth