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Rev. Dr. Annette Jones is a caring pastor, compassionate teacher, and confident leader committed to touching lives.
Ordained into ministry in 2006, Dr. Jones is the Fifth Senior and First Woman Pastor of South Suburban M.B. Church in Harvey, Illinois. She is a woman of integrity, excellence, and great faith with the gifts of leadership, administration, and prophecy. Dr. Jones is a sought-after preacher and teacher called to share a message of God’s favor to all creation. Confident that the Gospel cultivates love and hope, she counsels couples and singles in family, marriage, and relationships.
Compassionate in her service to humankind, she develops grassroots initiatives that heal the underserved and promote total wellness. Her care for those without food prompted the founding of a Food Justice Ministry and a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program for those seeking financial literacy. Through Dr. Jones’ transformational vision, the VITA program continues to prepare tax returns for over 200 taxpayers in the Harvey community since 2007.
Dr. Jones is an advocate for learning and teaching with 25 years of life-changing experience in leadership and religious education. She edited two volumes: Sermons of Praise: 25 Years of Ministry in honor of Pastor Michael Jones (2017) and Fulfillment in a 4-part L.I.F.E. Application Series (2020). She shares her teaching gifts at conferences and training meetings across the country, coaches young professionals, and mentors ministry leaders toward achieving career, personal, and spiritual goals. She leads and facilitates groups to attain higher levels of success through effective leadership and education.
Dr. Jones is a Certified Public Accountant and Senior Manager with 30+ years of service in her field. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois-Urbana and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Keller Graduate School of Management and a Master’s degree and Doctorate in Ministry from Midwest Christian College and Seminary. She was inducted into the Board of Preachers of The Martin Luther King, Jr. International College of Ministers and Laity at Morehouse College in 2017.
Since 1985, Dr. Jones was happily married to Pastor Michael Jones until his passing on August 30, 2019. Their union birthed one lovely daughter, Rev. Melanie Chanté Jones. In her leisure, Dr. Jones enjoys writing and publishing poetry and songs.
Minister Stephen Barrett discerned a call to ministry and service in his formidable years and ordained a Deacon by Pastor Michael Jones. His call to preaching commenced January 2020, where he embarked on a journey to minister God’s Word. He and his wife align and serve as team members with a Marriage Ministry called “Couples Committed to Becoming One.” Their energy enlivens the Marriage Ministry of South Suburban MB Church as they lead and enrich the lives of married couples and those becoming married. Minister Barrett is a man of service and honor. In 2019, he became the first African American Fire Chief of the Sauk Village Fire Department, where he served 15 years prior. Minister Stephen attended Central State University, Wilberforce, OH and later graduated from Prairie State College, Chicago Heights, IL, with a degree in Fire Science. He believes strongly in being active and involved in community service, ensuring department diversity, hiring within the community, and collaborating with agencies to ensure public safety. Minister Stephen’s strongest passion is being a family man, the husband to Clinette, father to Arnell and Tyler, and affectionately “PauPau” to Arnell Jr, Aniyah, Adonis, Noah, Alise, and Anise.
Minister Zaneta Y. Dabney is an emerging preacher, whose desire is to shift the narrative of what a Baptist-bred, millennial black woman preacher looks, sounds, and feels like in today’s world. She is the daughter of the late Reverend Zonas L. Dabney, Founder of South Suburban Missionary Baptist Church. With mic in hand at the tender age of 4, Zaneta sang her first solo of “Walk with Me Lord.” This song became the soundtrack to her Christian journey as she navigated through ministry lending her gifts through song, dance, and exhortation. Minster Zaneta accepted her call to ministry and preached her first sermon January 2020. She is the Minister of Education focusing on “Equipping the People of God by Educating in Excellence.” She fostered a Financial Foundations six-series workshop, and Crisis Care panel discussion on Pastoral, Social, Mental, and Spiritual Health. As spiritual growth and outpour to those in need has always been a priority, Minister Zaneta equally has a passion for education growth and strives to leverage her Christian beliefs in her secular passions. Minister Zaneta’s collegiate success has led her to fortune 500 corporations and allowed travels nationwide and internationally. She is the first African American woman to lead her company’s Finance Diversity and Inclusion initiatives for experienced professionals and speak at conferences on the criticality in inclusivity within finance.
Minister Dennis Foster II is a gifted singer, activist, and preacher. He has had a fulfilled Christian journey where he served as a youth leader, praise and worship team member, and worship leader. His brass undertones and full range scale makes him a sought-after Psalmist, often giving of his time, talents, and treasures to aid others in social and spiritual projects. Minister Dennis is in a recording contract to produce his first single and album. In 2020, Minister Dennis preached his first sermon culminating years of ministry work. He has a message of influence and healing desiring to see others shift into a knowledge of wholeness and wellness. He is the minister of music at SSMBC and leads the youth ministry. He also works in the field of mentoring and educating youth. He attended Gwendolyn Brooks High School, where he was the soloist on many of the music projects and where his singing gift emerged. He also is completing his studies at Southern IL University, Carbondale, IL.
The Reverend Melanie Jones Quarles, is a womanist ethicist, millennial preacher, and intellectual activist embodying radical love and revolutionary justice in the Church, classroom, and global community. Melanie earned a Bachelor of Arts at Howard University and Master of Divinity at Vanderbilt University. Currently, Melanie is completing a Doctor of Philosophy at Chicago Theological Seminary. Melanie’s research engages womanist theological ethics, sacred texts, millennials and faith, Black aesthetics, and popular culture. Committed to enlivening a world where Black women and girls are whole and free, Melanie is Co-Founder of The Millennial Womanism Project (TMWP) and co-host of The Womanist Salon podcast. Melanie is the youngest ordained Associate Minister at South Suburban Missionary Baptist Church in Harvey, IL. A third generation ordained Baptist preacher, sought-after lecturer, and global leader serving professional societies and international boards, Melanie is an emerging millennial voice with noted academic and popular publications as well as features on television, radio, and news outlets. You may follow Rev. Melanie at revmelanie.com and @revmelaniej via social media.
© South Suburban Missionary Baptist Church 2024