Missions Today - Mission Care with Jeff Jackson Part 1 ENCORE

March 28, 2026·26 min·2 clips

Jeff Jackson was told he had terminal ALS, but a neurologist discovered it was a misdiagnosis years later.

This episode of Missions Today features host Colin Lambert interviewing Jeff Jackson, a missionary and founder of Shepherd Staff Mission Facilitators. Jackson served with his family in the Philippines for over five years before focusing on missionary care. The conversation centers on the concept of "mission care," which is the practical and emotional support churches provide to missionaries they send abroad. Jackson describes being "direct sent" from his home Calvary Chapel in Escondido, California, to plant a church in Cebu City in 1987, bypassing a traditional mission agency. His church provided a care team, handled newsletters, held a fundraising auction, and conducted a commissioning service. His pastor and elders visited twice in the Philippines, calling once a month, with the express purpose of loving his family rather than evaluating ministry work. Jackson contrasts this high level of care with the envy of other missionaries on the field who served with agencies. He later founded Shepherd Staff in 1999 as a hybrid model, handling administrative tasks while equipping churches to provide care themselves. Jackson's calling to cross-cultural work was influenced by his military service in Japan and his fascination with ethnicity and language as part of God's design. A pivotal moment was his misdiagnosis with ALS in 2004, which he was told was terminal; two and a half years later, a neurologist in Las Vegas determined he actually had Kennedy's disease, a different degenerative condition. Jackson explains that effective missionary care includes listening, as articulating experiences is nurturing for the soul, and notes core concepts remain transferable despite modern communication tools like Zoom. He planted a Filipino church in San Diego upon returning, which became multi-ethnic, and taught missions classes and the Perspectives course, which he praises for framing God as a "missionary God" from Genesis onward. Jackson's theology holds the local church as the primary vehicle for global evangelism. The tone is conversational, educational, and reflective, structured as an interview sharing personal narrative and ministry insights. Listeners interested in missionary life, church leadership, or practical support for cross-cultural workers will find this episode valuable. Those seeking theological debate or non-religious content may wish to skip it.

As heard by us

Mission care here looks like steady presence, patience, and a church that keeps showing up.

Mission care in Missions Today comes through as ordinary work that holds a family together on the field. Jeff Jackson talks about the care team, the church commissioning, the fundraiser, the monthly calls, and the visits from his pastor and elders, and the episode gives each of…

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You hear how mission care is built over years, not just the send-off.

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