On Sabbath morning, July 23, 2022, Daniel R. Jackson, former president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America, passed to his rest after several months of battling cancer. He was 73.

Jackson, who served the Adventist Church for 49 years, retired in July 2020 after serving as NAD president for a decade. As president, Jackson made many contributions to the church in North America during his 10 years of service at the division, including the building up of the NAD Ministerial Association; the creation of a missional strategic plan; and the addition of the Guam-Micronesia Mission, Oakwood University, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Advent Source, and Christian Record Services for the Blind.

In addition to the division moving to its own headquarters in Columbia, Maryland, in 2017, record tithe came in annually during Jackson’s tenure; almost 1,000 churches were planted; more than 300,000 people were baptized; and the legacy Adventist media ministries (Breath of Life, Faith for Today, It Is Written and Escrito Está, Jesus 101, La Voz de la Esperanza, Lifetalk Radio, and the Voice of Prophecy) found their own homes and identities.

the Adventist Learning Community, a robust digital ministry resource, was created; both the Young Adult Life initiative and Big Data + Social Media department came to fruition; and the division started the magazine Adventist Journey.

Jackson was elected on June 28, 2010, by delegates of the world church at the General Conference Session in Atlanta, Georgia, and reelected to this position on July 6, 2015, at the 60th General Conference Session held in San Antonio, Texas. The General Conference Session is the highest governing body in the Adventist Church.

Jackson, a native Canadian and, with the exception of five years of service in the Southern Asia Division, lived and ministered in the North American Division. He was a graduate of Canadian Union College (now Burman University) and Andrews University, from which he holds an M.A. in Religion in Systematic Theology. Jackson is one of the authors of the book Becoming a Mission-Driven Church.
 
He was known for his love of music, keen sense of humor, and mission-mindedness — all hallmarks of his ministry throughout the years.

During his career, Jackson served the church as a pastor, teacher, and administrator. But Jackson, who frequently started a talk or sermon reminding his audience that he was “a broken man in need of the Savior,” often said that foremost, he was a fellow traveler on the same path as every Christian headed toward the kingdom.

Jackson is survived by his wife, Donna, who served as an associate director for the NAD Ministerial Association before she retired in 2020; three children; and four grandchildren.