Hamburgers, Bibles and hope

92-year-old Paul Jackson’s ministry reaches those others pass by

At 92 years old, Paul Jackson still has a full-time ministry.

Seven days a week, you’ll find him walking the streets of downtown Oklahoma City carrying Braum’s hamburgers, Bibles, clothing, prayers, and hope to people many others walk past.

Born June 27, 1934, in Conway, Arkansas, Paul grew up with a love for basketball and a heart for serving others. At 19, family connections brought him to Oklahoma City, where he met the love of his life, Esther. They married in 1954, raised seven children in Choctaw, and faithfully served through the Choctaw Church of God for decades.

Paul worked in an aluminum boat factory before moving to Oklahoma, later spending years with a trucking company. Along the way, he became deeply involved in serving Oklahoma City’s homeless community, including helping relocate what is now City Rescue Mission during the I-40 expansion.

After Esther passed away three and a half years ago, Paul felt God leading him into an even deeper ministry. While building the home they had planned to share, he instead found himself answering a different calling.

Paul often shares a vision of a cornfield and an old combine. To him, the message was clear: there are places the combine cannot reach, but the harvest is still waiting. Those unreachable places became his mission, to bring hope, compassion, and the love of Christ to people in places that are often overlooked.

What began with handing out donuts eventually became Braum’s hamburgers. Today, Paul purchases and distributes more than 100 burgers every week. The team at his neighborhood Braum’s knows him by name and knows exactly why he’s there.

But the burgers are only the beginning. They open the door to conversations, prayer, encouragement, hugs, warm clothing, Bibles, and sometimes even helping reconnect families. His ministry also includes many years of serving inmates at the Lexington Correctional Center through Bible studies and baptisms.

When asked if he ever feels afraid, his answer was immediate.

“I couldn’t do what I do if I were.”

Paul often quotes Matthew 25, believing we are called to care for “the least of these.” It isn’t simply a favorite Scripture, it’s the way he lives.

Five of Paul and Esther’s seven children still live nearby and lovingly support him, even while occasionally worrying about his safety. Yet they know his purpose has never been clearer.

When asked what advice he would leave for others, Paul didn’t hesitate.

“If you don’t know Jesus, offer Him your life. I just want to be used by the Lord.”

Paul’s legacy won’t be measured by the number of hamburgers he’s handed out. It will be measured by the countless lives he’s touched in the places he believes God called him to serve, the places the combine couldn’t reach.

For Paul, those overlooked places aren’t forgotten. They’re simply where God still has work to do.