1. D. Jones, M. Maramot, A. Le, M. Evans 1
Case Study: The Living Gospel Church
Deborah Jones, Marmi Maramot, Alexandre Le, Michelle Evans
MGMT 500 Management, Dr. McGuire
November 20, 2008
The Living Gospel, a non-denominational Bible-based Christian church headquartered in
Los Angeles, was not your typical church. For one thing, it had a money-back guarantee.
Its donation policy was “If you give and you are not blessed, then you can ask for your
money back.” In the church’s entire history, only one person felt he was not blessed and
asked for his money back ($800).
The leader of The Living Gospel (LG), Bishop D.L. Jones, held an MBA in marketing
from UCLA. With his skills in management and finance, he helped LG grow to include
locations across the US. But after seventeen years of serving in this capacity, he was
ready to step down as Bishop. Would the church suffer without its unique leader? Who
would be able to succeed Bishop Jones?
Background
D.L. Jones came to Los Angeles from the Austin, Texas, area while serving in the U.S.
Navy. He was stationed at El Toro Marine Base in Santa Ana, California. While on
leave, he would visit The Living Gospel because he had several relatives who were
worshipping at this church. There, he gave his heart to the Lord under the pastorate of
the late Bishop P.H. Jefferson. Still serving in the Navy, he was shipped to Great Lakes,
Illinois and later to Camp LeJune, North Carolina. In 1966, he returned to California,
stationed at Camp Pendleton. He received an honorable discharge from the military in
1968 and rejoined The Living Gospel, where he served as local youth leader and then was
appointed to serve in this capacity on the state level. Later, he was appointed as the
International Youth Leader of The Living Gospel Fellowship. He also served as
Treasurer of the Fellowship.
He began his formal education at East Los Angeles College in January 1969. He started
as a pre-med student but changed to Sociology and graduated with his Associate of Arts
in January 1971. He furthered his education at California State College, Dominguez
Hills and, in December 1971, graduated with a Bachelors. While at Dominguez Hills, he
completed the work for a Masters in Behavioral Science in June 1972. He started UCLA
in September 1972 and graduated with an MBA in May 1974. Upon graduation, he was
employed by Metropolitan Life in its newly-formed MBA Graduate Program. In 1977,
he became Vice-President at a financial group, Tom Klein & Associates. Desiring to
own a business of his own, he became partner in Friday’s Beauty Supply and managed
seven stores until November 1978.

2. D. Jones, M. Maramot, A. Le, M. Evans 2
History of Establishment of The Living Gospel Churches
The Living Gospel Outreach – Los Angeles, CA
In 1975, D.L. Jones left the Living Gospel Church, under the pastorate of the late Bishop
Jefferson, to pastor full time. He named the church The Living Gospel Outreach. It was
started in a modest building; however, in 1977, a church building was secured. He
pastored in Los Angeles until August 1985, when he moved to pastor The Living Gospel
– Houma.
Houma, Louisiana
In February 1983, Pastor Jones was led by the Spirit to go to a city called Houma,
Louisiana, where a former member of The Living Gospel Outreach had relocated. He
began to minister in Houma to a small group in a home Bible study and, in 1983, this
small group became the foundation of The Living Gospel Church of Houma, Louisiana.
In August 1985, he gave up the pastorate in Los Angeles and moved his family to
Houma. In Houma, the church group secured a small building, but as the membership
grew, they secured a larger building in a strip mall, which was converted to a church.
Then, in 1988, the church purchased property on which a permanent edifice was erected
with a fellowship hall. In May 1991, the founder of The Living Gospel passed away, and
Pastor D.L. Jones succeeded him as Bishop of the work and moved his family to Los
Angeles.
Financing - The Living Gospel Fellowship Fund
As previously stated, Pastor Jones succeeded the founder of the work in 1991 and was
ordained as bishop of the work. Bishop Jones had a vision to open churches in cities
across the United States. Utilizing his knowledge in management and finances gained
from his studies at UCLA as well as experience in his own business, he realized that if he
were going to expand, capital would have to be generated to assist the start of new
churches. Therefore, he started The Living Gospel Fellowship Fund. Each member of
the Los Angeles and Houma assembly was requested to donate $25 a quarter. This was
the beginning of the fellowship fund and has grown to finance the growth of churches.
The initial church he pastored was combined with The Living Gospel Headquarters and
sold, proceeds of which were donated to the Fellowship fund for the future development
of the work.
Rayville/Monroe/West Monroe, Louisiana
Another family from The Living Gospel Outreach, the Hollins family, moved from Los
Angeles to Rayville, Louisiana, a small town approximately 10 miles from Monroe.
Unable to find a church that fulfilled the family’s spiritual needs, Pastor Jones
encouraged Johann Hollins, a minister, to start a church in the city of Rayville. They met
two educators, Bro. and Sis. Plains, who owned a church. They allowed Pastor Hollins to
teach a community Bible study there. This was the start of The Living Gospel – Rayville.
Through a 3-day teaching seminar, the church miraculously grew from 24 members to
125. With the assistance of The Living Gospel Fellowship Fund, a church with a seating

3. D. Jones, M. Maramot, A. Le, M. Evans 3
capacity of 350 was purchased in 1992. Thirteen years later, the membership purchased a
church in West Monroe, with a seating capacity of 1200.
Dallas, Texas
In 1990, Pastor Jones related to Bishop Jefferson that he had had a dream about a church
in Dallas. Two weeks later, while Pastor Jones was in Houma, he telephoned Bishop
Jefferson who, coincidentally had his daughter-in-law, Sarah Jefferson from Dallas, in his
office. From this encounter, a church was started in Dallas in December 1990. For the
first five months, Pastor Jones traveled from Houma to Dallas every other week for Bible
study and Sunday morning worship. Once the church was started, Emanuel Jones, a
minister from Los Angeles, was assigned to pastor. The church grew rapidly, and in April
1995, with the assistance of the fellowship fund, a church was purchased with a seating
capacity of 350. The site included a gymnasium, a day care center, and 6 acres of land.
Presently, the gymnasium is being converted to a church, which will seat over 600 people
when completed.
Longview, Texas
As stated previously, Pastor Jones traveled frequently to the Dallas assembly to oversee
the work. Passing through Longview on the way to Dallas, the Spirit said to Pastor
Jones, “There will be a church in Longview one day.” A couple of years later, Leanell
Wolfe, the lady who assisted Pastor Jones in establishing the church in Houma, moved to
Longview. It was through this reunion that a Bible study was started, and thus the
creation of The Living Gospel – Longview in 1990. Ronald Glover, a minister from the
Los Angeles assembly, was sent to pastor in 1996. A church building was secured in
2000. After massive renovation, funded by the Fellowship fund, the building was ready
for occupancy, with a seating capacity of 1,000.
Marrero/Harvey, Louisiana
In 2003, the church started as a Bible study in New Orleans, where Bishop Jones
assigned Pastor Jerry Winston from the Houma assembly as pastor. The church was
moved to a community center in Marrero, Louisiana. Due to disruption from Hurricane
Katrina, the church held worship services at the Holiday Inn in Marrero. In September
2005, a facility was purchased in Harvey, Louisiana, where the church presently
worships.
Denver/Aurora, Colorado
This church was already in existence as Agape Missionary Church. In 1995, a couple
from the Los Angeles assembly moved to Aurora, Colorado, and introduced Pastor Hurd
to Bishop Jones. Through this meeting and subsequent fellowships, the church became a
subsidiary of The Living Gospel Churches. The Living Gospel Fellowship has purchased
the church and all its adjoining properties.

4. D. Jones, M. Maramot, A. Le, M. Evans 4
Pittsburg, Texas
Pastor John Griffin became a member of The Living Gospel Church in Los Angeles in
1954. He relocated to Pittsburg, Texas, in 1980 and started The Living Gospel –
Pittsburg.
Oxnard, California
The church was started in 1991, when Pastor Isiah Walker was appointed by Bishop
Jones as pastor. The church met in a community center until April 2007, when a church
facility was leased.
The Living Gospel – Main Street (Los Angeles)
This church was established under The Living Gospel Fellowship of Deliverance
Churches under Pastor Erwin Grant. Upon his demise in 1992, the church was given to
Bishop Jones to oversee. He appointed a pastor and the church began to operate as The
Living Gospel – Main Street in 1992.
Good Samaritan Church - San Diego, California
The church was already in existence as Good Samaritan Church and in 1973, it became a
subsidiary of The Living Gospel under the pastorate of Henry Mitchell. The present
edifice was erected in 1983.
Good Samaritan Church – Brooksville, FL
Douglas Maura, formerly a member of Good Samaritan – San Diego, relocated to
Brooksville, Florida and started Good Samaritan Church – Brooksville in 1993. Starting
in a home, this church relocated to it present edifice in 1997.
Holy Community Church – Adel, Georgia
George Horne, pastor of Holy Community, became a member of The Living Gospel –
Los Angeles, in 1980. He moved to Adel in 1984 and started Holy Community Church
in 1988. This church became an affiliate of The Living Gospel Church in 1998.
Barbados – West Indies
Under the pastorship of Darnley Worrell, this church became a member of The Living
Gospel Churches in 1974. The work in Barbados is the thrust of LG’s foreign missions
work.
Moreno Valley, California
This church was established in 1994 under the pastorship of Robert Bean.

5. D. Jones, M. Maramot, A. Le, M. Evans 5
Name of Church/Affiliate Location
Date
Established
1 The Living Gospel Los Angeles, CA 1951
2 Good Samaritan Church San Diego, CA 1973
3 The Living Gospel Barbados, W.I. 1974
4 The Living Gospel Pittsburg, TX 1980
5 The Living Gospel Houma, LA 1983
6 The Living Gospel West Monroe, LA 1986
7 The Living Gospel Longview, TX 1990
8 The Living Gospel Dallas, TX 1990
9 The Living Gospel Oxnard, CA 1991
10 The Living Gospel – Main Street Los Angeles, CA 1992
11 Good Samaritan Church Brooksville, FL 1993
12 The Living Gospel Moreno Valley, CA 1994
13 Agape Missionary Church Denver, CO 1995
14 Holy Community Church Adel, GA 1998
15 The Living Gospel Harvey, LA 2003
Plans for Future Churches
In the Board’s original conceptual plan of expansion, churches were to be established
around each geographical area. Most recently, LG was gearing to initially establish and
build three assemblies in the Austin area. LG planned to accomplish this goal by starting
Bible studies in three or more locations in the Austin area. As of late 2008, two Bible
studies had been established - one in Taylor, Texas, and the other in Cedar Park, Texas,
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6. D. Jones, M. Maramot, A. Le, M. Evans 6
both suburbs of Austin. Bishop Jones planned to move to the Austin area in February
2009 to assist and train ministers in church development and organization.
Racial Composition
LG’s members were representative of the neighborhoods in which the churches were
located. The congregation was about 95% Black, 3% Hispanic, and 2% White.
The Church Industry
Make no mistake – churches are big business in America. Religious organizations
receive more than $56 billion per year in donations from individuals.3
There are 300,000
religious congregations in the U.S.,4
and 80 million Americans go to church every
Sunday.5
But despite these numbers, there had not been a comprehensive, representative
survey of the U.S. church industry until the 1998 National Congregations Study;4
below
are selected statistics.
People Activities Money
Percent of congregations at
least 80% white 66
At least 80% black 16
Percent urban 44
Percent rural 41
Percent with a black head
clergy person 20
With head clergy holding a
graduate degree 45
Percent of congregations
with activity:
Any worship service 99
Any religious education
class 99
Any musical activity in the
last week 96
Any social service activity
in the last year 57
Having a website 18
Median income received
from individuals $52.8k
Percent of congregations
w/formal written budget 73
Owning their building 86
Receiving income from
sale/rent of property 23
Median salary for full-time
clergy with graduate
degree $40k
Organizational Structure of The Living Gospel Church
LG’s fifteen member churches were each headed by a Pastor and operated autonomously.
However, each one was ultimately accountable to Bishop Jones, whose base was the
original Los Angeles location (see Appendix, Exhibit 1). There were general meetings to
which all the member congregations were invited, with the location rotating among
several cities (however, the convention held in August was always held in Los Angeles).
In addition, there were meetings of the 11-person Board of Directors held every January
and June. The purpose of the board meetings was to make executive and financial
decisions for all the churches.
In addition to the member churches, LG also had an affiliate network of other churches in
the U.S. and around the world, including Africa, Jamaica, Haiti, India, and the
Philippines. The relationship between LG and an affiliate church was analogous to a
mentor-apprentice relationship. The affiliate churches sought guidance from LG on how

7. D. Jones, M. Maramot, A. Le, M. Evans 7
to conduct their affairs and occasionally also financial assistance, so that eventually they
could become completely autonomous. In this regard, LG was very different from for-
profit companies and even from other non-profit charitable organizations and churches.
Instead of seeing other churches as “competitors,” LG used the term “fellows” to describe
its relationship with its affiliates.
Finances and Operations
It took a lot of resources to successfully run a collection of churches, just like any other
business enterprise. Bishop and Mrs. Jones had to sell some assets that they owned as
well as contribute their own funds in order to build new churches. It was a long process
to first find a building that has a community room where Bible study classes and small
prayer services could be held, increase membership numbers via word of mouth, then
find an entire building to rent and eventually to buy or build one from the ground up,
secure various approvals from the city and a safe place for churchgoers to park, etc. Even
after the founding of the different LG member churches, Bishop Jones continued to make
substantial donations of his own money. There was one year during which he gave
$109,000.
The main source of funds for LG’s operating budget, however, was actually the offerings
from its members. Even though the entire church was supported by only 8% of the
congregation (according to Bishop Jones, in the Catholic Church the figure was 80%-
90%), LG usually received $1.5 million per year in offerings. Other sources of funds
were two retail spaces, three rental properties, and a condominium given to LG which
generated $200,000 in rental income annually (see Appendix, Exhibit 2).
Under Bishop Jones’ leadership, the market value of LG’s asset portfolio had increased
by $15 million. Besides the rental income properties, LG also owned all of its member
church buildings. In fact, they were all owned free and clear except for one church,
which owed $300,000 but was appraised at $2.1 million. The way LG achieved this was
through a process that Bishop Jones called “internalizing the debt.” This meant that LG
bought back from the bank the mortgages it had taken out on the church buildings, so that
it became the lender and the borrower at the same time. The member churches then made
loan payments back to LG, and the interest rate charged was less than the rate that the
bank originally charged. This process helped to provide liquidity for LG’s operations.
Each church was required to compile its financial statements at least once a month (newer
churches had to submit theirs weekly) to facilitate the preparation of the annual joint
report that was presented at the January meeting of the Board of Directors. Any
expenditure over $10,000 had to be approved by the Board, and every single penny had
to be accounted for. “If there is a discrepancy of a quarter, it must be found,” said Bishop
Jones.
As a result of LG’s performance in the stewardship of its finances, it had gained the
complete trust and loyalty of its members. This is a key reason for their willingness to
give, not just to the regular collections taken up during services, but also to the fund

8. D. Jones, M. Maramot, A. Le, M. Evans 8
drives for specific purposes. For example, LG at one time needed $158,000 for its
building fund, and it raised this money in only three weeks. All it had to do was to ask
for the money. As Bishop Jones remarked, “People realize we wouldn’t ask for it unless
we really needed it.” In fact, LG had been known to voluntarily give money back to
members who contributed amounts that were beyond their means. “We don’t want your
necessities of living,” said the Bishop. Following are more of Bishop Jones’ philosophies
on money:
• Some churches require tithing (10% of income) in order to be a member. At LG,
there was no obligation to give; the only guideline it provided was “Give
according to the way you are blessed.” Most people gave more than 10%.
• Some members gave a little, some gave a lot. Middle-income members, not the
richest members, actually tended to give the most. But, “it all counts the same [to
God].”
• “It’s only money, it doesn’t mean anything.”
Mission and Programs
LG had “a holistic approach to Christianity.” Accordingly, there were two components
of its mission to help in the total personal development of its members: the spiritual side
and the natural side. The spiritual side included the usual religious and charitable
functions associated with a church: holding several worship services, two Bible study
sessions, and one New Converts class each week; and paying visits and giving food to
members who had experienced a death in the family or were pregnant or ill. The Usher
Board, Music Department, and Hospitality Committee were examples of groups that
served the spiritual side of LG’s mission. The pastor of each church and Bishop Jones
were ultimately responsible for what was being taught at worship services and Bible
study. If a minister wanted to preach about a potentially controversial topic, he had to
discuss it first with the Bishop.
All the other programs that LG administered fell under the natural side and were
collectively known as “auxiliaries.” Two auxiliaries mainly provided opportunities for
bonding with fellow members: the Women’s Department and the Youth Department
(members 30 years of age and younger). These two departments were headed by a
Leader and gathered on a regular basis. The Youth Leaders organized an annual retreat
for all the Youth Departments throughout LG to meet. This not only gave all the youth
across the country a chance to socialize with each other, it also taught the Leaders
organizational and event-planning skills.
Other auxiliaries had more to do with nourishing the minds and bodies of its members.
As Bishop Jones said, “You can’t serve God if you can’t pay the bills.” Members with
medical concerns could avail themselves of the Nursing Department’s free blood pressure
and other health screenings. People who needed to use a computer with Internet access
or a fax machine to look for jobs and send out resumes could visit the Career Counseling
and Computer Center. The Educational Task Force (ETF) assisted kindergarteners
through Ph.D candidates with scholarships, cash rewards upon graduation, and money for

9. D. Jones, M. Maramot, A. Le, M. Evans 9
books and school supplies. For students who needed help to improve their grades, the
ETF offered free tutoring in all subjects. The tutoring services were provided by
members who had at least a bachelor’s degree in their area of expertise (this was a
requirement of anyone who wanted to be part of the ETF staff). Every month, students
who had earned the highest GPA in their grade level were officially recognized and
received a $50 prize (see Appendix, Exhibit 3). As an example of the ETF’s impact, the
LG had helped one member who had only an 8th
grade education to enroll in a master’s
degree program.
All these auxiliaries were found in LG’s Los Angeles location, and it encouraged all
member churches to also carry these functions. However, there was one auxiliary that
every member church had – the Men’s Department. Compared to other religious
organizations, LG had a higher proportion of men in its congregations. This is because,
according to Bishop Jones, they really needed “training” in how to be responsible
husbands and fathers. To be blunt, the goal of the Men’s Department was to help men
stay out of trouble and become model citizens by showing them the proper way to treat
their wives and children and teaching them job skills.
LG provided its members not only the traditional services of a church, but also an array
of programs to aid in their non-spiritual personal growth. The programs were staffed by
highly skilled and educated members. Since LG had such a large operating budget, it
must have offered decent salaries in order to attract and retain such employees, right?
The reality was that all the staff members were volunteers. The only LG employee who
was paid was the secretary. This was another significant way in which LG differed from
all other organizations, be they for-profit or non-profit.
Challenges
In 2000, Bishop Jones had eye surgery that caused his retina to detach. As a result, he
became blind. However, this had slowed him down only slightly in terms of being able
to serve as LG’s leader. He had the help of a CFO and secretary who gave him the
information that he needed, which he used to make decisions for all the churches. His
delivery of sermons wasn’t affected at all since he had completely memorized the Bible.
The only thing that Bishop Jones became unable to do that he could do before his
blindness was to review in fine detail all the affairs of each church months ahead of time.
According to the Bishop, churches go through business cycles just like every other
organization. He used to be able to anticipate the exact needs of each church and foresee
problems, then plan accordingly so that the churches would be able to continue
operations as normal. Examples of this included preparing for hurricane season in the
Louisiana churches and aggressively raising cash during the months of October through
December to be used in March, when offerings tended to be lower (probably because
members had less money to give after having to pay income taxes due every April 15).
Another challenge faced by LG was in finding the right people to work for the church.
The problem of attracting talented leadership was an ongoing one experienced by

10. D. Jones, M. Maramot, A. Le, M. Evans 10
American congregations.4
The Bishop said “it’s easy to get preachers, but hard to get
administrators” and the reason why churches failed was because of poor upper
management. LG was also looking for people with accounting skills. Bishop Jones
believed that “ministers have to understand a balance sheet.” But the reality was that
prospective seminary students taking the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) scored
significantly lower than the national average on the quantitative and analytical sections.4
For a church, the handling of financial affairs posed a particular problem. At LG, it was
mostly women who were in charge of this, because Bishop Jones found that women were
better with details than men were. However, women do get more emotional and are more
likely to get on the phone with their friends to share the latest gossip. In a tight-knit
community, such as a church, many times a situation could come up in which a person
working on financial statements would recognize the names of members as being friends
or acquaintances. If someone were to share or otherwise misuse the personal financial
information of LG’s members, then that person could get into legal and moral trouble, not
to mention lose her job.
The last major challenge faced by LG was that Bishop Jones, by his own admission, had
allowed the other churches to become too dependent on him for everything. He had
always done most of the work but failed to transfer his knowledge, skills, and abilities to
other people. Bishop Jones regretted that he did not just let the other churches learn how
to better manage their own affairs through a slow process of trial and error. For example,
when he started many of the churches in other communities, he just outright gave them
the money. Eventually those churches had grown even larger than the Los Angeles
location, but they still depended on financial assistance from Los Angeles.
The constant travel to other member churches and the huge volume of work took a toll on
Bishop Jones, who was planning his retirement from LG. Brother Shelton, LG’s CFO
who was a former vice president at Coca-Cola, looked to be the Bishop’s likely
successor. Although Brother Shelton did have the management and financial experience
from the corporate world, he needed to learn how to work with a variety of people,
according to Bishop Jones. This meant that Brother Shelton had to realize that not
everyone had the same mental abilities as him, and not everyone had held a top position
in such a well-known company as Coca-Cola.
Conclusion
A non-profit organization that guaranteed your life would be blessed or your money back,
where all the employees (except for one) were unpaid, that could simply ask for and get
tens of thousands of dollars whenever it needed it. A social service provider of food and
nursing programs, educational services, and career counseling, all free of charge. A
church headed by a blind bishop who was as adept at dissecting a cash flow statement as
he was at delivering sermons. A multinational business with assets and annual revenues
in the millions. All these entities were actually one organization – The Living Gospel
Church. Could it continue to be all these things in the future after Bishop Jones’
retirement?

11. D. Jones, M. Maramot, A. Le, M. Evans 11
References
1. Interview with Bishop D.L. Jones, October 12, 2008.
2. The Living Gospel Church website, http://www.thelivinggospelchurch.org.
3. Buford, Bob (1998). “How Boomers, Churches, and Entrepreneurs Can
Transform Society,” The Community of the Future. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Publishers.
4. Chaves, Mark (2004). Congregations in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
5. Nelson, Reed E (1998). “Authority, Organization, and Societal Context in
Multinational Churches,” Qualitative Studies of Organizations. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications.