Retired Covenant minister Rev. Dr. Stanley Long, pastor emeritus of South Bay Community Church in Fremont, California, died April 1, 2026. He was 88.
Stanley Bernard Long was born December 4, 1937, to parents William and Gladys Long in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He made his first confession of faith at eight or nine years old while attending the Pentecostal storefront church where his mother was the lay preacher, and he was baptized at fourteen in the summer of 1952. “I was told repeatedly that God had something special for me to do,” he wrote, describing his journey of faith. After moving with his family to New Jersey, Stan drifted from his life of faith, and in his words, “tried to be a tough guy on the streets.” But by his sophomore year of high school, he’d returned to church and sensed a call to ministry. Eventually he enrolled at Zion Bible Institute in Providence, Rhode Island, where he earned his diploma in 1958.
On August 22, 1959, Stan married Ruby Naomi Pitts of Bridgeton, New Jersey. Ruby was his best friend for 66 years; they were inseparable. More often than not, if you saw one, you saw the other. He made it his mission to make her happy. Their union produced three children, Tammy Joy, Tina Annette, and Jonathan Stanley.
Ever since he was a young man, Stan was active in urban pastoral ministry. He planted his first church at 21, Berean Assembly in Camden, New Jersey. He later pastored Mahwah Gospel Church more than 100 miles north in Mahwah, New York. In 1966, after eight years of fruitful ministry in the Assemblies of God, he was ordained by that denomination. During his time upstate, he enrolled at Nyack College, where he earned a bachelor of science in religious education degree in 1971.
Later that year, Stan took the pastorate at Mt. Bethel Baptist Church. In 1978, he was re-ordained by the American Baptists in light of his fruitful ministry there. Stan also earned a master’s of business administration from Farleigh Dickinson in 1977, and a master of theology degree from Fuller Seminary in 1982. In 1983, after having served as adjunct faculty, Stan was conferred the title doctor of divinity from Nyack College.
Throughout the late sixties and into the seventies, Stan was active in the burgeoning Black evangelical movement, which had been catalyzed by a compelling gang-leader-turned-evangelist from Harlem named Tom Skinner. Stan became the executive vice president of Tom Skinner Associates, the organization Skinner founded to facilitate his efforts to reach disaffected Black people in his generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ via evangelistic crusades. Stan was constantly in the mix, helping to lead crusades and collaborating with other leaders in the movement such as Bill Pannell, Carl Ellis, and Henry Greenidge. Stan also served on the board of directors for the National Black Evangelical Association and as board chair for Urban Ministries Inc., the first Black-owned Christian publishing company. You can hear parts of his testimony as featured commentator in the documentary Black + Evangelical (viewable here).
After moving to the San Francisco area, Stan served as president of Fellowship Urban Outreach, which operated not only local outreach initiatives but also Little Friends preschool and the Fellowship Academy elementary school. In 1985, Stan planted South Bay Community Church in Fremont, California. Eventually, he transferred his ordination to the Evangelical Covenant Church in 1999 at the Annual Meeting in Green Lake, Wisconsin. Stan served SBCC as founding pastor for 25 years, retiring from full-time ministry in 2010.
During his tenure as pastor of South Bay, Stan served in a variety of pivotal national and regional leadership roles. These included vice president for Evangelicals for Social Action, director of African American ministries at Fuller Seminary, and board service for the Tri-City Homeless Coalition, the executive board of the Evangelical Covenant Church, Fuller Seminary, and the editorial board of Leadership Journal for Christianity Today.
“Rev. Dr. Stan Long was a steady voice of wisdom, a prophetic witness in our generation, and a shepherd whose life embodied both conviction and compassion,” said Rev. Robert Owens, retired superintendent of the Southeast Conference. “Stan’s leadership was marked by clarity of vision and a deep commitment to God’s people, guiding many with pastoral counsel that was both truthful and tender. As a mentor, he did not simply teach principles, he modeled a life surrendered to God, demonstrating what it truly means to walk as both priest and prophet. His voice carried weight not because of position alone, but because it was forged in prayer, humility, and an unwavering devotion to the call of Christ. For those of us privileged to be shaped by his influence, his imprint will remain indelible.”
“Dr. Long was easy to respect,” said Rev. Gary Walters, Covenant president emeritus. “He was an inspirational example of godliness, sincerity in serving his Lord, humility, conviction, intellectual prowess, and leadership. We served together in many contexts, and I always walked away having learned something to inspire me or challenge me.”
“Stan was a trusted mentor to many,” said Rev. Henry Greenidge, retired Covenant pastor. “He asked brilliant questions, and his dry wit and homegrown wisdom was always appropriate to the situation. He was serious about his love for God, people and for his life mission. When he was VP at Tom Skinner Associates, we always said ‘Stan Long don’t play.’”
Stan had a competitive, playful nature, and he loved to win. He loved to pull harmless pranks on unsuspecting family and friends. He also had an extensive lion collection from all around the world. He was drawn to lions because he found them majestic and regal, respected by all the animals in the jungle—and of course, the Lion of Judah gave them special significance and meaning. Stan loved movies, baseball, traveling, gadgets, animal shows (especially about lions), and spending time with his family.
In his younger years, he saw issues as black and white, right or wrong; as he grew older, he saw things more as gray and nuanced. But his greatest passion and love was for the Lord. From his adolescence until his last breath, his passion and priority was about serving God and loving like Jesus.
Stan was preceded in death by his parents and all his siblings. He is survived by his wife, Ruby; children, Tammy Long-Osborne (Al Osborne, Jr.), Tina Long, and Jonathan Long; grandchildren, Russell Nichols (Asia), Troy Nichols (Cynarra), Ryan Nichols, Therren “T.J.” Nichols, Donovan Long; great-grandchildren, Cyriah and Tron Nichols; and a host of nieces, nephews and other extended family.
A celebration of life service will be held at South Bay Community Church on Saturday, May 2, at 11:00 am, Pacific Daylight Time. The service will be livestreamed from the SBCC website.
Peace be to his memory.
