Lady Vivian A. Jackson is the first lady of Jefferson Avenue Community Church of Buffalo, NY, where she serves with her husband Pastor Paul B. Jackson since December 2019. Her ministerial goal is to serve God through her family first which includes her extended church family, friends, and community.

She is the mother of one child, Bridgette Jackson, godmother to 19 children, foster mother for ten years with her husband, and mother to a former foster child whom she calls son, Clifton Nash.

Lady Vivian was born in Emporia Virginia to Elsie and Charlie Jackson. She is the oldest of five siblings.

She began her secular working life at age fourteen under the Buffalo City Summer Youth Program at the old Meyer Memorial Hospital as a nurse’s aide. Her working life centered around working with the elderly in several capacities as a Social Work Assistant, Recreational Dept. Director in several nursing homes and Director of Senior Services for the BFNC, and as a Recreationist for the Erie County Nursing Home in Alden NY. She retired in 2012.

One of her proudest accomplishments was receiving the Alzheimer’s Association Humanitarian Award in 1991.

The Lord saved her in March 1976 and under the leadership of her former Pastor Bishop Charles H. McCoy she served on 14 auxiliaries. One of which was the Sunshine Band as President for 20 years, on the Usher Board since its beginning in the mid 1980’s, until she was unable to serve due to a physical disability in 2015.

Under Pastor Superintendent Matthew Brown, she served on the Video Productions staff, and served as the Manager of the Pt Bookstore Café from July 2006-2015. She also served in several other auxillaries. She worked with Mother Emma Alston, serving on the committee for the Annual Harvest Dinner for 4 years.

Under Pastor R. Dale Alston, she worked with First Lady Alston on the committees for Women’s Day programs included teaching seminars.

She was a Sunday School teacher from 1977 until she left Pentecostal Temple in 2019.

Her spiritual education started with the Moody Bible Institute 1977-1980 and the Pentecostal Temple Bible Institute 1999-2002.

She went back to school in 2006 and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree at Empire State College in Human and Community Services. She graduated in Sept. 2010.