Sunday Mornings on Bennetts Mills Road
The contemporary service at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday is the heart of life at Jackson Church, the United Methodist congregation located at 68 Bennetts Mills Road in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Visitors are welcomed with a simple invitation: come as you are, and jeans and T-shirts are fine. Coffee and donuts are set out before and after the gathering, and a worship band leads from screens that also display the scripture readings. The music leans contemporary, with the occasional hymn woven in to honor the broader Christian tradition. Most services last about an hour.
On the first Sunday of every month, the service includes communion. The table is open to everyone, and gluten-free wafers are available for those who would like them. First-time visitors and newcomers are not expected to give financially; offerings can be placed in the plates on Sunday morning or given online. The same worship gathering is streamed live on Facebook and YouTube each week, and the recording can be replayed any time afterward.
During the service, children from nursery age through 8th grade are dismissed to Sunday School following the children's message. Classes are grouped by grade and aim to match the sermon topic so the conversation can continue at home over the dinner table. High schoolers are encouraged to stay for the sermon and invited to consider joining the worship or tech teams.
A nursery sits next to the kitchen, equipped with toys for little ones and a TV that streams the service for parents who want a quiet moment away from the main room. The modern building is handicap accessible. Prayer request cards can be dropped into a small church model in the lobby, and a prayer team is available in the Sanctuary after worship to pray in person with anyone who asks.
From Four Small Churches to a Township-Wide Family
Jackson Church traces its origins to the early 1990s, when a group of believers from four Jackson-area United Methodist congregations - Harmony UMC, Whitesville UMC, Cassville UMC, and Southard UMC - came together to plant a new church. For its first years the church met in Switlik Elementary School. In 1999 and 2000, the congregation built its current home on Bennetts Mills Road, and it has been gathering on that same spot ever since.
Rev. Dr. Ken Sloane shepherded the founding season. He was followed by Rev. Jean McMullen (2001-2004), Rev. Wayne Jones (2004-2010), and Rev. Joe Tiedemann (2010-2022). The current pastor, Rev. Denise Tiedemann, has led the congregation since 2022.
Today the church calls itself a family-focused, contemporary Christian community organized around three words: LOVE like Jesus, LEARN to deepen faith, and LIVE out the Good News. The sign that greets newcomers carries a simple message: "You matter. Welcome to church."
Children, Youth, and the Next Generation
Beyond Sunday School, Jackson Church invests in the next generation through an extended stack of programs tailored to different ages and stages.
Sunbeam Christian Preschool welcomes children ages 2½ through 5 on the same grounds as the church, blending academic and creative curricula with a faith-based framework. The preschool opens enrollment each spring for the following school year and offers private tours by appointment. A free Mommy & Me class runs Thursday mornings at 10 a.m. for infants through age five and is often paired with a tour of the preschool afterward.
TNT Youth Group gathers middle and high schoolers in grades 6 through 12 each week during the school year. The schedule mixes games, dinner, missions, and Bible discussion. Each October the group joins the three-day IGNITE Conference in Wildwood, NJ, where hundreds of students from across New Jersey and Pennsylvania gather for speakers, concerts, and worship. Bake sales and Parents' Night Out fundraisers help cover the cost of the trip. Remind text updates are available at @tntyouthg.
Confirmation is offered for students 13 or older and in 8th grade and up, beginning each fall and culminating in the spring. The course uses the ALPHA Youth curriculum, and each student is paired with a mentor from the church who walks alongside them through the year, praying with them and answering questions about the Bible and Christian faith. Membership vows are taken at the end of the program.
Vacation Bible School fills a week each summer with evening programming for preschool through 6th grade. Kids rotate through art, missions, crafts, recreation, science, and music stations, and dinner is provided Monday through Thursday. The whole program is free, and sponsors can give $20 to underwrite a child's week - including the dinners, crafts, snacks, and a full set of take-home materials.
Christian Friends Forever: A Place for Every Adult
Christian Friends Forever (CFF) is a fellowship for adults and older teens with special needs. The group meets on the first two Mondays of every month from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and welcomes newcomers from any denomination - Methodist, Catholic, Assembly of God, Baptist, and others - who would like to share in faith and friendship.
A typical evening opens with praise music, moves into Bible lessons shared through skits, games, pictures, and discussion, and closes with a prayer circle in which each participant and mentor offers their own intentions. There is usually a small snack at the end. Mentors walk alongside each participant through the activities, and the ministry always welcomes more volunteers - including older high school students considering a career in special education. Meredith Markov coordinates the ministry.
Adult Studies, Prayer, and Small Groups
Adults at Jackson Church have several ways to study, pray, and connect through the week.
Two Bible studies run regularly. One meets online on Tuesday evenings. The other gathers at the church on Tuesday nights from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and works through books of the Bible together, beginning each fall with the Letters of Paul and starting in Philippians chapters 1-4. Bible in One Year, a Sunday afternoon study from 12:00 to 12:45 p.m., uses Nicky Gumbel's reading plan and welcomes drop-ins at any point in the year.
A Prayer Team meets monthly with Pastor Denise to pray for the church, the prayer list, the township, and the wider world. GriefShare provides a structured seminar and small-group experience for those who have lost a loved one, with weekly video teaching led by people who have walked the road of grief themselves. The Running and Walking Group meets the first Saturday of each month at 9 a.m. at the church, beginning with a short devotion and prayer before heading out, with periodic participation in local 5K races.
For those curious about Christianity - or wanting to revisit the basics - the church periodically offers the ALPHA course, a ten-week introduction that begins with dinner and conversation before each video and discussion session.
The church also runs a Men's Fellowship Breakfast on Wednesday mornings at 8 a.m. at the Mug Rack, where men from the church and the wider community can grab a bite and connect.
PULSE Young Adults
Designed for adults aged 18 to 30, PULSE is the church's young adult community. The group meets on the second and fourth Friday evenings of every month, rotating between the church and off-site locations - boardwalks, axe-throwing venues, restaurants, and the like. Its goal is to gather young believers in one place to worship with peers, pray together, study Scripture, and serve the world as disciples of Christ, sharpening one another along the way.
Jackson Arts Ministry, Firefly Summer Camp, and The Growing Closet
The arts have a strong foothold at Jackson Church. Jackson Arts Ministry (JAM) offers Christian-based performing arts programs for students in grades 2 through 12. Each spring and fall, separate musicals and plays are staged - recent shows have included Footloose for the older students and Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella for the younger ones. Junior Jammers brings in even younger students through shows like Sense and Sensibility for Kids, and productions always need additional stage crew, set builders, and costume helpers. Nearly one hundred young people are involved, along with many adult volunteers.
Firefly Christian Summer Camp runs themed weekly day camps in July and August, with a shortened schedule for younger children and before-and-after care for working parents. Each week has its own theme, and families can sign up for the weeks that fit their summer.
The Growing Closet is the church's on-site thrift store, stocked with gently loved children's and young-adult clothing at budget-friendly prices. It is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Sunday afternoons from 1 to 5 p.m.
Reaching Out Across Jackson Township
Outreach at Jackson Church runs through several long-standing ministries that touch neighbors throughout the township and beyond.
- Food Pantry: The church is a partner congregation with the DeBows UMC food pantry, helping stock shelves and direct families to services. Volunteers are always needed, and $20 grocery gift cards are especially welcome. Food is distributed by appointment through DeBows.
- Annual Coat Drive: Each October, the church partners with Sunbeam Preschool to collect gently used coats and new socks. Donations are distributed to Anchor House Children's Shelter and Family Outreach Programs in Trenton.
- Thanksgiving Food Baskets: Holiday food support for local families in need.
- Church Emergency Food Baskets: Short-term food assistance for sudden situations within the community.
- Christmas Giving Tree: An annual tradition that fulfills gift wishes for children referred by Anchor House Shelter and from local families seeking help.
- UMCOR Fund Raising: Annual support for the United Methodist Committee on Relief, which provides disaster recovery and long-term development around the world - including survivors of earthquakes and storms, vulnerable communities, and efforts to combat malaria.
- GriefShare: A seminar and small-group experience with video teaching and small-group discussion for those who have lost loved ones.
On the church grounds, a community garden has been doubled in size, with regular harvests of tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and herbs shared at the welcome table after Sunday worship. Volunteers are encouraged to join - no experience is required, only the desire to grow things.
The Living Nativity
The Living Nativity is one of the church's most cherished traditions, held outdoors on a Saturday evening in mid-December. The evening starts with a free soup dinner at 6 p.m. indoors, followed at 7 p.m. by an outdoor pageant that tells the Christmas story through live actors and animals, a children's choir, scripture readings, and favorite carols. Dessert follows in the warmth of the church. The pageant is performed by volunteers from Christian Friends Forever, Sunday School, and the children's choir, and there is no fee for any part of the evening.
What We Believe
Jackson Church is part of the United Methodist tradition, and its statements of faith track with classic Wesleyan Christianity. The church confesses belief in the triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and in the authority of Scripture for matters of faith. Salvation comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, whose incarnation in Jesus of Nazareth, atoning death, resurrection, sovereign presence in history, triumph over the powers of evil, and promised return lie at the heart of the gospel.
The Holy Spirit, the church teaches, brings God's redemptive love into individual lives and into the community of believers. Worship, the sacraments, fasting, prayer, and solitude - these means of grace - shape a Spirit-led life. The community of believers is the church, which the Spirit has brought into existence for the healing of the nations.
The church looks forward with hope to the day when God's reign is fully realized and evil and death are overcome forever. In the meantime, baptism initiates believers into the church, and Holy Communion nourishes them for faithful discipleship. The church is a place where the first signs of God's reign are identified and acknowledged in the world - wherever people are being made new in Christ, the gospel is being lived out.
At Jackson Church, baptisms are scheduled for the second Sunday of each month. There is no charge, though a special offering is welcome. The church holds an annual Baptism Reunion Luncheon and provides ongoing support for those baptized, including classes to help with reading and understanding the Bible and resources for building daily spiritual practices.
Worship and Tech Teams
For those who want to serve in worship, the church runs two volunteer teams that rehearse every week. The worship team rehearses Sundays at 9 a.m. and Wednesdays at 7 p.m., welcoming instrumentalists, singers, and anyone who wants to learn. The tech team rehearses at the same times and can be helped from home - no prior experience is required, only a willingness to learn which buttons to press.
Becoming Part of Jackson Church
Anyone considering Jackson Church can attend a service, request baptism, or take the next step toward membership.
Baptism requests can be submitted through the church, with a short pre-baptism meeting held after Sunday worship. Godparents and sponsors are optional but welcome; they are asked to be baptized Christians and active in their own churches.
New member classes are offered in the fall and spring, meeting three times over three weeks before membership vows are taken on the following Sunday. Pastor Denise leads the conversation.
On the practical side, giving can be done online by credit card, by texting an amount to 844-571-3798, by mail to 68 Bennetts Mills Road, or in the offering plate on Sunday. For those interested in non-cash giving, the church accepts stocks, mutual funds, life insurance, retirement assets, real estate, bequests, charitable gift funds, and cryptocurrency; workshops on biblical stewardship and estate planning are available through the church office.
For any family considering the church, the message posted on Bennetts Mills Road is the same: you matter, and you are welcome.