George Jackson, a former member of the TMUS board of directors and longtime partner of The Master’s Seminary, entered the presence of the Lord on Monday, November 18, 2024. From the day of his birth, October 2, 1936, until he died 88 years later, George lived in California’s Central Valley, near the town of Kingsburg. Like his parents before him, George farmed his entire life. Though primarily a fruit farmer, George also grew turkey, cattle, and vegetables.
George succeeded as a farmer for three reasons. First, he loved his work. He dedicated his life to improving his craft through innovative techniques for growing and harvesting. Second, he was willing to work hard. As Paul tells Timothy, “The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops” (2 Tim 2:6). George embraced hard work in part because in farming there is a tangible reward for the work put into it. He could literally hold the fruit of his labor in his hands. Third, George exuded patience. There are no shortcuts in farming. Each crop, whether it be fruit, vegetables, or animals, takes time to grow. George understood and embraced this. He found great joy in the consistent, faithful work of farming. It cultivated virtues in him as he grew food that fed millions worldwide. And he understood that in farming, as in life, any abundant harvest is ultimately dependent on the Lord.
The Bible compares the work of gospel ministry to farming. As he talks about the ministry in Corinth, Paul tells the church there, “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Cor 3:5–9).
There is much a farmer can’t control, particularly the weather. But he can control his input. He can show up every day and put in the work. In other words, he can be faithful. The same is true in the ministry. God must save souls. He is responsible for the sanctification of His people. But His under-shepherds are to faithfully minister His Word and care for the flock. Those are the means God uses to accomplish His purposes.
Because there are many similarities between farming and the ministry, there was a natural synergy between George Jackson and The Master’s Seminary. He found joy in investing in students at TMS, knowing that they were preparing to make a patient, long-term investment in the body of Christ. He loved pastors and he loved to see them fully trained, ready to till the soil of souls.
Through the nearly 40-year history of The Master’s Seminary, few men have invested more in its students than George Jackson. He has provided scholarships for nearly a hundred students through the Mayhue Scholarship, endowed in honor of his good friend and the long-time vice president of The Master’s Seminary, Dick Mayhue. In 2023, the seminary had the honor of introducing George to the nearly 50 TMS students currently on the Mayhue scholarship. They come from across the country and around the world. Many of them would not be at TMS without George’s investment in this full-tuition scholarship.
Along with his financial investment in TMS, George also served for many years on the TMUS board of directors. He loved the school deeply and served it faithfully, providing invaluable wisdom as a businessman, and more importantly, as a godly, kind, wise man who had loved Christ and His church for many decades.
In the final decade of his life, George helped establish a TMUS extension campus in his hometown of Kingsburg. That campus at Grace Church of the Valley is currently training 20 men. Some graduates serve at Grace Church of the Valley alongside TMS alumnus Scot Ardavanis. Others have spread across California and the states, shepherding God’s people. The training there was made possible in large part because of George’s financial investment.
Through his many years of partnership with TMS, George was never interested in notoriety. He never wanted anything more than to serve Christ by training men, loving his wife, three children, 12 grandchildren, and 38 great-grandchildren (with his first great-great-grandchild due to be born in 2025). He was a model of patience, kindness, and love for Christ and others. In God’s providence, this simple farmer who lived his entire life in a rural slice of California’s central valley has made a global impact on the cause of the gospel. For decades to come, churches far from Kingsburg will be served by a man who committed his life to the slow, steady, patient work of training pastors. There are more laborers in the field of God’s harvest today because of the life of George Jackson.