About Doyle - Doyle Jackson

I was raised in Tennessee on a small farm in the country. My father was a veterinarian, and he taught me to enjoy work, love family and serve Jesus. My brothers and I grew in faith as we saw God move in our home, family business, and community. I remember praying while hauling hay in the fields for the rain to stop before getting to our place so it wouldn’t ruin the crop. We watched the clouds gathering in the distance, and we could hear the rain nearby. The clouds hung on the edge of our field as we worked furiously to get the last bales, winters food for the animals, on the wagons, and into the barn. This taught me early in life that God cared about our daily tasks and our animals daily bread. My passion is to share the hope and practical side of trusting Jesus with those who want to learn.

The majority of my time has been spent inspiring and moving people to know God better. Jesus came personally into our world. I want to meet people right where they are like Jesus did: teaching, sharing the joyful message of God’s kingdom and healing.

Beginnings

I entered life early via c-section as a result of my mother’s cancer diagnosis. Soon after this difficult season, my parents found God. Their story is extraordinary in its own right. The transforming love of Jesus in their hearts spilled over on my two brothers and me. I came to know Christ Jesus as a child in our home. We did everything together and shared the joy of Tennessee farm life in the midst of a veterinary practice. We treated, prayed for and loved animals. I had a storybook childhood that included a pet skunk, blind sheep, puppies, and a pony named Clown Spur. It makes me smile to this day to remember those years.

Growth & Learning

Going to School did not come easy for me because life on the farm and my dad’s clinic were my favorite places to be. I was actively a part of the “planting” of World Outreach Church which grew out of a home Bible study lead by my parents. I helped in the early years of set-up, sound, lighting, rolling tent flaps and even helping with puppets and the youth group. But I still wanted to be a veterinarian until my senior year of high school. It wasn’t until that year that I realized that I wanted to do something spiritually meaningful and to share the hope I had in God. It took me three long years!

Meanwhile I started preparing for an Electrical Engineering degree and getting to know some great Christians at Tennessee Tech. I finally, decided to say yes to this inkling inside that serving God would fit with who I was meant to be. My father challenged me to go to the University of Tennessee and change my major to Religious Studies and Business. My Junior year I spent 9 months learning about Judaism, history, Islam and biblical geography while living in Jerusalem and studying at The American Institute of Holy Land Studies. I started loving school work.

I came home from Israel even more inspired and energized. I graduated from UT Knoxville in the spring and worked at our church, World Outreach Church and the family veterinary practice until going to graduate school. I arrived at Gordon-Conwell in the fall of 1988. Living on the north shore near Boston, Massachusetts was a new world. I loved the classes and the professors, and being near the city. I even spent a short time living downtown and trying courses at the different divinity schools. I spent one summer break taking teens into Mexico on their first mission trip and working with a group of Mexican pastors on their church planting strategy for Mexico City. I graduated in the spring of 1991 with a Masters of Divinity. At graduation, they honored me with the Parish Pulpit Fellowship, a grant for postgraduate work overseas for one more year. I chose Israel and Jerusalem once again. This time though I was taking my new wife, Jennifer with me.

Jennifer and I spend the 1991-1992 school year living and studying on Mt. Zion at the American Institute, now called the Jerusalem University College. I got to show her why I loved the Bible and Jerusalem as we made new friends and many great memories of Jerusalem. The old city became our home. For part of the time, we lived near Zion gate in the Armenian quarter a few steps from the Jewish Quarters “Cardo” and the Western Wall. Every day was an adventure as I prepare for a lifetime of sharing Jesus, while Jennifer and I we grew closer. Studying the Bible in the land of the Bible is powerful. In May of 1992, we returned to the states already having sent resumes and letters from Israel. By June we knew we would be going to Cincinnati, Ohio to serve as a youth pastor and by years end we were parents.

Building the Church Next Door

After six years in Cincinnati, I had served as Youth Pastor, Small Groups, Associate Pastor and Acting pastor during the interim of our pastor’s retirement, I knew I wanted to be a lead pastor. After a year of prayer and consideration, we came to Columbus. There was a church that was struggling after the loss of their longtime pastor retired. We arrived and rolled up our sleeves and began to do the hard work of showing up week in and week out to teach, develop leaders and serve the community. We have seen the church grow from 110 people to over 900 in average weekly attendance. In the digital age, we are ministering to at least two thousand people regularly. Recently we invited our 529 volunteers to a gathering, they help us share Jesus as The Church Next Door here in Columbus, and around the world.

After four decades, I still believe that knowing Jesus is the most significant change a person can experience. I want to pass that on to a new generation of young leaders. I want to be a part of planting churches and meeting people right where they are. I see the church in new ways as technology grows and expands so will the message. If you know Jesus, you can be The Church Next Door, and the electronic media we have is useful and practical in delivering hope and new life.