A beloved man of God has left the earth. The Bishop Reginald T. Jackson has died.

For information about The Pastor's Memorial Service, please go HERE.

Below is a statement from the Rev. Dr. Charles Franklin Boyer:

No one has impacted my ministry as profoundly as Bishop Reginald T. Jackson. As a young Black man growing up in New Jersey repeatedly pulled over by state troopers on Route 78, I can still remember looking up at the television and seeing him stand in the gap—fighting for young men like me. When I was rebelling against Christianity, convinced it had become irrelevant to my generation, I was compelled to pause when I saw him fighting for us. That image—and the witness behind it—reshaped how I viewed Christianity, the Black Church, and African Methodism.

Bishop Jackson’s public witness in New Jersey is well known: his leadership helped turn the fight against racial profiling into landmark reform of the State Police and the nation’s understanding of justice, culminating in legislation that made racial profiling a crime in New Jersey. He pursued that work with courage and integrity, even amid threats, and he did it as a pastor whose love for people was inseparable from a relentless commitment to truth.

Yet my relationship with Bishop Jackson was also intimate and personal. He was always connected to the Boyer family—knowing my aunts and uncles across congregations in the Newark District. Early in my ministry I asked him to mentor me, to show me how a preacher could make an impact beyond the pulpit. He did just that. Even after he was elevated to the episcopacy, when invitations came for panels and meetings with New Jersey leaders, he would call me to represent him. After the event, he would follow up and press me for a detailed report—What happened? Who did you meet? What was discussed? He pushed my name forward as someone with a passion for criminal justice, someone New Jersey leaders should pay attention to. He taught me the history, the impact, and the challenges of the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey, equipping me with the tools and the vision that helped shape Salvation and Social Justice.

There would be no Charles Boyer, no Salvation and Social Justice, and fewer of the justice gains I’ve been blessed to be part of, without Bishop Reginald T. Jackson. When he ascended into the episcopacy, he quite literally and intentionally passed the New Jersey mantle to me—as Elijah did to Elisha. At every connectional meeting I sought him out, just to hear him say: “The Prophet of New Jersey—I'm so proud of you.”

Bishop Jackson set the standard for Black faith engagement in public life in our state. His pastoral tenure at St. Matthew AME Church in Orange, New Jersey—known as “The Servant Church of the Oranges”—grew into a ministry of more than thirty programs meeting spiritual, emotional, educational, physical, and economic needs, and it became a model of what the Black Church can be when it serves the whole community.

His episcopal leadership carried that same spirit across districts of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Elected the 132nd bishop of the AME Church in 2012, he served in global and national roles—including presiding prelate in the Twentieth, Sixth, and most recently the Second Episcopal District. Under his leadership, the Sixth District paid off its debts, Morris Brown College regained accreditation, and Georgia enacted hate‑crimes legislation in 2020—milestones reflecting a deep commitment to institutional strength and civic righteousness.

Bishop Jackson’s ministry also knit together relationships that continue to sustain us. Jeannine LaRue and I became closely connected through his work and witness. Today, I have the sacred privilege of serving as Jeannine’s pastor; yesterday, Bishop Jackson was a trusted confidant to her, and she to him. That closeness now translates into her counsel within my ministry—Jeannine serves as a close advisor to me, carrying forward the wisdom and strategic insight she shared with Bishop Jackson. We are both crushed by this loss, yet we are strengthened by the bonds Bishop Jackson forged between us and by the example he set for courageous, disciplined, compassionate leadership.

Bishop Jackson’s family stood as partners in that calling. We remember his late wife, Supervisor Christy Davis Jackson—herself a formidable public servant and strategist in New Jersey politics—and we lift their children, Regina Victoria and Seth Joshua, in prayer and love.

On behalf of Rosalee and me, the entire Boyer family, Greater Mount Zion AME Church in Trenton, and Salvation and Social Justice, we extend our profound condolences to Regina and Seth. We grieve with the AME Church and with so many across New Jersey and beyond whose lives were touched by Bishop Jackson’s ministry. We also give thanks to God for a life that showed us how to be unashamedly Christian and uncompromisingly just; how to love people and confront systems; how to preach the gospel and organize for change.

Bishop Jackson taught us to imagine the Church at its best and to strengthen local churches so they can serve their communities with power and compassion. We pledge to carry that mantle forward—here in Trenton, across New Jersey, and wherever God leads us—until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

May the God of all comfort receive Bishop Jackson into eternal rest. May Bishop Jackson’s memory be a blessing, and may God’s peace surround all who mourn.

— Rev. Dr. Charles Franklin Boyer
Greater Mount Zion AME Church, Trenton, NJ
Salvation and Social Justice