Biography of The Rev. Reginald T. Jackson

The Rev. Reginald T. Jackson a native of Dover, Delaware is a graduate of Delaware State University with a Bachelors Degree in History and the Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta Georgia with a Masters of Divinity. In 1981 he was assigned as the pastor of St. Matthew African Methodist Episcopal Church, Orange, New Jersey. Under his leadership the congregation has grown from one hundred fifty (150) to two thousand (2,000) disciples of Christ engaged in ministry, mission and outreach and the operating budget from fifty thousand ($50,000.00) to two million dollars ($2,000,000.00). In 1985 a new edifice was built to accommodate the church's growth but this edifice soon became too small and a second multi-million dollar edifice and community life center was built and dedicated in October 2002. Under his administration St. Matthew created its own community development corporation, NIDA, (Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation). St. Matthew known as "the servant church of the Oranges" has more than thirty ministries that minister to the spiritual, emotional, educational, physical and financial needs of the church and community.

In addition to his pastoral responsibilities Rev. Jackson serves as the Executive Director of the Black Ministers' Council of New Jersey which represents more than 800 African American churches in the State of New Jersey. As Executive Director of the BMC he has been outspoken on almost every major issue in the state, pressuring the state to increase funding for poor (Abbott )school districts leading to the State Supreme Court to order New Jersey to spend more than eight(8) billion dollars to achieve parity in spending, adequate funding for charity care for those who are uninsured, legislation to end predatory lending targeting minorities and seniors and development of the urban areas of the state. He is best known however for his leadership in the fight against racial profiling and reform of the New Jersey State Police which resulted in New Jersey passing legislation and signed by the governor making racial profiling a crime.

Reverend Jackson serves on numerous boards. He is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Essex County College, member and former president of the Board of Education of the Orange Public Schools, member of the Board of the United Way, the Newark Alliance and, a life member of the NAACP.

He is the recipient of hundreds of awards including being named the Man of the Year in 2000 by New Jersey Monthly Magazine, the recipient of the William Ashby Award by the United Way, the Martin Luther King Award by the Newark North Ward Center. Rev. Jackson has been named repeatedly among the twenty five most influential people in New Jersey.

Pastor Jackson is the husband of Christy Davis-Jackson, Esquire and the father of two children, Regina Victoria Jackson a student at Florida A&M University and son Seth Joshua Jackson.