At 20, Jackson thought his path was set: mission aviation. Yet, it was only the first step in God’s plan for Jackson’s life.
“Since 1997, God has led me one step at a time,” he shares. “I had a desire to share the Gospel, and through this desire, God gave me a dream of mission aviation and a lot of strength to strive for this dream.”
Jackson enrolled in a mission aviation course. When he was close to finishing his training, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) offered him a position after he passed the flying test. “This dream had come true! I was working as a pilot in Papua New Guinea, helping isolated communities and sharing Christ’s love,” he says.
Shortly after, disaster struck when two of Jackson’s colleagues passed away in a plane crash. “I didn’t cope well after helping my team manage the crisis and supporting the bereaved families. I returned to Australia and finished an aircraft engineering course. I married my dream girl and started flying amongst the Aboriginal communities in the West Kimberley for eight years,” he explains.
The dream, though, was still the same: sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “As part of this dream, God gave me a new direction to support and care for mission workers,” he says. “Through OM, we moved to a country in South Asia, where my wife, Valerie*, had served before we were married.”
For the last seven years, Jackson has trained and equipped the OM team to care for those who bring the Gospel to remote parts of the country. An important role that enables Christian workers to remain healthy, resilient and fruitful: “As we care for one another, workers are able to stay longer in the field, continue offering care to those they serve, and bring hope to new communities,” Jackson explains.
While the ultimate goal is to share the Gospel, he has come to realise that the dream God gave him changes according to His will. Charting this course, God now leads Jackson onto a new path — training people worldwide to strengthen healthy care cultures for OM ministry workers serving across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Central and Southeast Asia, the Americas, and Oceania.
While Jackson’s new responsibilities are a little overwhelming, he feels encouraged: “I feel God speaking quietly and gently saying, ‘Take one step at a time with me! Don’t try to go too far. Don’t try too many things.’”
Jackson and Valerie will soon return to Australia and continue on this new path. They know that moving and starting over in another country will bring many changes, but they are faithfully prepared.
Many years ago, Jackson’s mentor said to him that when God closes one door, wait until He opens another. There were times when Jackson wanted to do things his own way and follow his own plans. “But every time I did, it only brought stress and frustration,” he adds. “Eventually, I realised that God’s timing is always perfect—and His way is much easier to walk in. God’s vision is often too big for me to grasp all at once, so I’ve learned to break it into smaller pieces and trust Him to put those pieces together in His own time and way.”
*names changed
