Deja Jackson
Executive Director & Founder
The Call
In 2015, sitting alone in her apartment in Antioch, Tennessee, Deja Jackson experienced a moment that would redefine her life.
She felt God speak clearly and personally.
Tell My children that I love them.
Tell them I will never leave them nor forsake them.
Give them the things that they need.
And tell them it is… From Your Father.
There was no plan. No nonprofit strategy. No safety net. Just a holy invitation and a question beneath it.
Deja said yes.
The Yes That Cost Everything
That yes was not symbolic. God asked her to sell her belongings, leave her job, and step away from her engagement, using what she had to start the work He had entrusted to her. It was a refining test of obedience. Would she serve when it was uncomfortable? Could her heart be trusted beyond titles, stability, and security?
From that moment, From Your Father was born.
The Formation
Deja’s obedience was shaped by preparation long before the calling had a name. Raised in a single-parent household in Tennessee, she grew up navigating systemic injustice, instability, and the emotional weight of growing up without a father present. She never believed those experiences were the reason for the work, but she came to understand they were part of God’s formation. They gave her compassion, discernment, and a deep sensitivity to families who feel unseen.
As a teenager, Deja began fundraising and serving in high school, later working across healthcare, nonprofit, and faith-based systems. She served as a shelter advocate bringing women into safety at Bridges domestic violence shelter, supported families as a program manager within a Nashville Pregnancy clinic, and advised mission-driven organizations through creative consulting and community-centered strategy. She also held leadership roles within corporate and professional spaces, including five years at Caterpillar Financial, where she served as Community Impact Chair for the CAAN ERG and was recognized with the NABC Community Service Award.
The Conviction
Throughout her journey, one conviction continued to deepen: those closest to injustice and pain are qualified to be part of the solution. Not because of theory, but because of proximity, humility, and lived understanding.
Following that conviction, Deja formally launched From Your Father in 2017, choosing obedience over readiness and faith over certainty. As an underestimated founder, she stepped into leadership with intentionality, believing excellence and ministry are not opposites. She committed to building work rooted in dignity, consistency, and relationship rather than urgency or charity alone.
The Work Today
Today, Deja serves as the Executive Director of From Your Father, leading faith-centered work that supports single mothers and fatherless children across Middle Tennessee through essential resources, experiential programming, and spiritual formation. Since saying yes, she has led and advised work that has mobilized over $300,000 in funding, equipping organizations to move from vision to lasting impact.
The Invitation
As a wife and mother, Deja carries this calling personally. Her life reflects a truth many quietly wrestle with: following God often costs something, but obedience opens the door to restoration far beyond what we can imagine.
If this story reached you, it may be because there is a part of you that needs to hear what God spoke so clearly in 2015.
The Father is still reaching for His children through open hands and willing hearts.
And He is still asking a simple, holy question.
Will you say yes?
You are invited to walk with us.