Nona Jones is recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on building The Kingdom through social technology, motivating thousands of church leaders each year to reimagine social media as a strategic tool for ministry. She coined the term “Social Ministry” and helped build and lead Facebook’s global Faith-Based Partnerships strategy, coming alongside churches and pastors around the world to shift their thinking from church as “building” to church as “community.” She was licensed into the gospel ministry at the age of 17 and preaches the gospel regularly around the world.
Prior to Facebook, Nona served as Chief External Affairs Officer for PACE Center for Girls, the Florida-based, statewide network of 19 Centers serving middle and high school aged girls who have histories of trauma. As a survivor of childhood physical and sexual abuse herself, her passion for giving voice to secret pain has fueled her personal ministry for more than 18 years. Before PACE, Nona served as Public Affairs Director for Gainesville Regional Utilities where she received the American Public Power Association’s Robert F. Roundtree Rising Star Award as national peer recognition of her leadership while under the age of 35.
Nona is currently President of the Gainesville (FL) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated and serves on the University of Florida Digital Advisory Council. She most recently served as Secretary of the Florida Juvenile Justice Association Board of Directors and on the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force. She is a graduate of Leadership Florida and the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program, a unique leadership development initiative led by President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush.
Nona has been profiled by ESSENCE Magazine as an “Under 40 Woman to Watch” and Florida Trend Magazine as one of Florida’s “30-Something All Stars.” A sought-after public-speaker, she has delivered keynote addresses for the United Nations and Attorney General Loretta Lynch. She holds a Bachelor in Communications and Master of Business Administration from the University of Florida where she has been recognized as an Outstanding Young Alumnus. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
In addition to Nona’s professional and civic work, she and her husband, Pastor Timothy L. Jones, Sr., lead Open Door Ministries in Gainesville, Florida. She is an accomplished vocalist, songwriter, worship leader and musician who wrote, composed and co-produced her Billboard-Charting Gospel Album, “Take Me,” and she has also published three books. An avid runner and fitness enthusiast, she recently ran her 13th half-marathon in Paris, France. She is the proud mother of Timothy, Jr. (8), Isaac (5), and Goldendoodle Shiloh.