03/20/2026
Today as Dr. John Perkins Lies in State in the City Hall of Jackson, MS, we remember the times our team and other MN pastors sat at his feet to learn and be shaped by his vision for for gospel-centered racial justice. We honor his legacy and 95 years of life well-lived.
Many tributes have been written. Here are a few quotes that stand out to us:
"Perkins seemed to be someone we should read about in history books, not someone we could know." Russell Moore, Christianity Today
"Dr. Perkins embodied the costly discipleship he often preached. His commitment to the Gospel and to civil rights led to harassment, imprisonment, and brutal beatings. This suffering not only affected him, but his family as well. Despite this, they continued to proclaim that Jesus is already found at the margins, and that reconciliation and justice are inseparable from the message of Christ." Christian Community Development Association (which he founded).
An excerpt of his biography: "John Perkins (1930–2026), was born into the sharecropping world of rural Mississippi, during the Great Depression and the worst of Jim Crow segregation. He lost his mother to malnutrition when he was seven months old. At the age of 17, he held his big brother—a decorated veteran of World War II—as he died, fatally shot by a racist town marshal. After a civil rights protest in 1970, John was arrested along with nineteen black Tougaloo College students. He was tortured and nearly beaten to death in the Rankin County Jail." Thaddeus Williams, The Gospel Coalition
Follow his legacy at the John & Vera Mae Perkins Foundation https://jvmpf.org/, and learn about his life at https://www.johnmperkins.com/
