Growing up, Jackson Joseph believed that he was a fool.

Raised by his mother alongside five siblings in the East African country of Tanzania, Jackson found himself ranked last in his class the first year of exams. “In Tanzania, the way it happens is when you are last, people are laughing at you or maybe throwing stones at you, throwing sand. They say that you are a fool. So, I grew up knowing that I am a fool,” Jackson said.

This mindset made it difficult for Jackson to find the proper motivation to do well in school. He gave up studying and eventually stopped going to class regularly. But one day, in grade six, Jackson found himself accepting the challenge of getting a better exam score than the current number one student. After hearing a pastor say how things that may be impossible for man are possible for God, Jackson began trying in school, determined to get the best score and prove to his parents that he was not a fool. “I was now reading hard, studying hard and praying,” he recalled. “And I told Him: if You make me be number one, I will serve You in my life and I will know that it’s true that You are here.”

Jackson became number one in grade six and remained first throughout high school. But even though the Lord had answered his prayer, Jackson still didn’t know God or have a personal relationship with Him. After high school, Jackson completed university and got a job in another area of the country. However, that job ended, and Jackson found himself struggling to provide food for himself. Eventually, Jackson found a job in another region working on network towers. On his way there, he turned to God, just as he had when he challenged the number one student in grade six.

“I told Him the same thing: God, if You help me to achieve things and be successful in this region that I’m going and the work that I’m going to do, I will serve You,” Jackson recounted.

The company became successful, but they learnt how to cheat the system by stealing diesel and selling it.

“I forgot God again,” Jackson admitted.

Jackson then opened a bar and a shop which brought him a lot of money and led him down a dark path. Gradually, he felt as though he had a hole in his heart. This hole couldn’t be filled with the money he was making, and Jackson began to search for something that could fill that empty space inside him.

A softened heart

This search led Jackson to believe that God might be the only thing that could fill the hole in his heart. At the time, Jackson thought he had to be a pastor to serve God, so he began attending Bible college to become an Anglican pastor. During his time at college, Jackson received an email from OM in Tanzania inquiring about his desire to be a missions worker. But he didn’t know what that meant and didn’t understand why OM was reaching out to him. Amidst the confusion, OM invited Jackson to Love Africa — an annual missions conference in Zambia.

Jackson travelled over 20 hours to attend the 2019 Love Africa conference. There, he heard stories of God at work in people’s lives, and saw people give their lives to Jesus. The prospect of surrendering to Jesus was one that puzzled Jackson.

He started talking with a man at the conference and told him, “I don’t see any meaning in life. People are dying, people are sick, people are suffering. So, what is the meaning of life?”

In response, the man told him about Jesus and Jackson was overcome. He realised that his life would be completely turned upside down if he gave his life to Jesus. But he thought again of the hole in his heart and realised that Jesus was the only one who could fill it. The man prayed over Jackson, and he felt his heart change.   

“My heart was soft,” Jackson said. “I felt great in my heart. So that’s how I accepted Jesus.”

A heart for ministry

“The Bible says in Psalm 23 that you shall never want,” Jackson remarked. “This is real to me. I am not wanting.”

After Love Africa, Jackson left his businesses and began serving with OM. He served in university and student ministries to mobilise students and build fruitful relationships with them. Jackson has mobilised hundreds of students to go on mission trips and give their lives to Jesus. One of these students now serves with OM. Jackson has also connected with students, professionals and businesspeople, teaching them that whatever they do, they should do it for Jesus.

Jackson has spread the gospel to many people since giving his life to Jesus. He met his wife in 2016 and, after she gave her life to Jesus, they were married in 2020. The changes the Lord had made in Jackson’s life were evident to his family and after hearing the good news, they all gave their lives to Jesus.

Jackson is currently living out his faith in a Muslim community in Tanzania. This is no easy feat, but the Lord has transformed the lives of several people in the community through Jackson’s presence.

He has also been working among Maasai communities in Tanzania since 2019 and is involved in discipleship and church planting within the semi-nomadic people group. In these communities, that are historically known for being resistant to outsiders and set in their traditions, God has been able to use Jackson to establish Maasai churches that are learning to follow Jesus. Discipleship is built on the relationship and trust that Jackson has built – and especially the men in the church are learning to lead their families closer to Jesus.

“I feel like if someone never told me about Jesus, I would not even know about Jesus,” Jackson shared. “So, I have to tell other people who are also out there who doesn’t know about Jesus.”

Pray with us for Muslim communities in Tanzania; that they would continue to find their way to Christ, and also for the Maasai people who have found faith in Jesus. Pray for Jackson as he continues to disciple and minister to those in Tanzania who do not know Christ. Pray that OM will continue to change lives like they changed Jackson’s.