Rev. Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson

Co-Founder and President Emeritus, Disciples Center for Public Witness

Rev. Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson will be speaking at the EAD 2024 Spring Summit Spotlight Session on Christian nationalism. Dr. Jackson is the Co-Founder and President Emeritus of the Disciples Center for Public Witness, and also one of the leaders of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call to Moral Revival.

Dr. Jackson served for 10 years, from 2006 to 2016, as the Senior Pastor of Park Avenue Christian Church in New York City. Afterwards, he retired from pastoral ministry and relocated to Jacksonville, Florida. From there, he served as the executive director of the Mass Poor People’s Low-Wage Workers Assembly and Moral March on Washington, which took place on June 19, 2022.
In his early pastoral career, Dr. Jackson served as pastor of Loudon Avenue Christian Church in Roanoke, VA, and as associate pastor at Second Christian Church in Indianapolis, IN.
For nearly two decades, Dr. Jackson was senior pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, TN. Under his leadership, the congregation experienced phenomenal growth, increasing from 350 participating members to 8,000 participating members, making it the largest and fastest growing Disciples of Christ congregation in the United States and Canada.
From April 1998 to November 2004, Jackson served as Senior Pastor of National City Christian Church in Washington, D.C. and as President of the National City Christian Church Foundation. Under his leadership, the traditionally white congregation became increasingly diverse in membership, staff, and styles of worship. From 2001-2003, Jackson also served as Moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada.

Dr. Jackson studied at Chapman College in Orange, California, before earning his sociology degree and graduating with honors from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. He went on to earn his Master of Divinity degree, also with honors, from Duke University in Durham, NC. He then completed his doctoral work, earning his Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH.

During his pastoral career, Jackson received honorary degrees in Texas (Jarvis Christian College), Tennessee (Rhodes College), Virginia (Lynchburg College), West Virginia (Bethany College) and California (Southern California School of Religion).

Dr. Jackson and his wife, Tina, are the parents of a grown son, Cullen O’Neal Jackson.

Contributing Sponsors & Partner Organizations