Prior to joining William Jessup University, John served as the Executive Director of Thriving Churches International and as a Lead Pastor of Bayside Church in Granite Bay, California. He was the founding pastor of LifePoint Church in Minden, Nevada, and previously was the Executive Minister of the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest (now Transformation Ministries) where he was responsible to serve more than 270 churches in four western states and served on nine corporate boards. John also served as the Senior Pastor and in several staff roles at First Baptist Church of Oxnard and as the Youth Pastor at First Baptist Church of Buena Park. Dr. Jackson earned both his Ph.D. and M.A. in Educational Administration and Organizational Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara; M.A. in Theology (Christian Formation and Discipleship) at Fuller Theological Seminary; and a B.A. in Religion (Christian History and Thought) from Chapman University. Dr. Jackson is married to Pamela Harrison Jackson and they make their home in Northern California; they have 5 children, and 5 grandchildren.