Life & Work with Jackson Murphy of Central Ohio (Multiple Locations)

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jackson Murphy

Jackson, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I have lived in Central Ohio ever since my parents moved to the area in 2000. My father, Ken Murphy, became the lead pastor of Cypress Church 24 years ago and I grew up in Hilliard. I played high school basketball and graduated from Hilliard Bradley in 2015 before going onto Indiana Wesleyan University to continue my basketball career and study Physical Therapy. I enjoyed my courses in sports medicine, but had an unsettled feeling that there was something different that I was made to do with my life. I ended up switching directions about halfway through my undergrad experience to pursue a new career in ministry. I met my wife, Olivia, and we got married after graduation in May 2019 before moving to Wilmore, Kentucky. During our time in Wilmore, I began working towards a Masters degree in Ministry and Olivia started her career working as the Communication Director for a local non-profit.

As our time in Kentucky began to come to an end, we started having conversations with different churches to pursue different opportunities, but ultimately both Olivia and I ended up accepting roles on the team at Cypress back in Columbus. Cypress has certainly changed and grown over the years, and currently has seven campuses where over 6,000 people gather for worship every weekend. Our heartbeat and passion rests in fulfilling the opportunity God has given us to serve our communities and love people no matter what they believe.

10 years ago, I never could have imagined a career in ministry, let alone getting to do ministry in the church and community that has been so formative my entire life. Since being back at Cypress, I have had the opportunity the launch and lead our Online Campus during the pandemic, develop and organize our small groups ministry that is helping over 2,500 people in the greater Columbus area find community, and currently serve as the Campus Pastor of our Alton Darby location and am a member of the weekend teaching team. I love getting to teach about the Bible in a relevant way that helps people develop a stronger relationship with Jesus and a faith that can help them during the week.

However, most importantly, Olivia and I just welcomed the newest addition to our family into the world in July of this year. Keelan Blake Murphy has added more joy and purpose to our lives than we ever could have imagined!

I am so grateful for the leaders, coaches and mentors I have had throughout my life that have helped shape my habits and character. I love getting to serve my family, my church and my community and know that the best days are still yet to come!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced was the uncertainly of my purpose and vocational direction early in my college career. I think everyone wants to know they have unique gifts and been made to fulfill a meaningful role in the world. The way I like to say it is, “God made each person on purpose, and for a purpose.” After stopping my Physical Therapy courses, I ended up spending a year taking general classes wresting with this idea of purpose and didn’t have any real direction. However, after discerning and processing with several mentors and leaders, I was able to navigate this season knowing there was something I was made to do. I switched career paths and began exploring what it would look like to be a pastor and haven’t looked back since!

Another challenge that Cypress, along with many other businesses have been tasked with, has been navigating the post-pandemic shifts in ministry and culture. When our world came to a halt nearly five years ago it changed nearly every aspect of how we do ministry. One year prior to the pandemic, I began working on shifting our Online ministry model from exclusively streaming content to cultivating more of an Online community that could connect with our church on a daily basis. Today, the Cypress Online Campus has become the first way many people hear about and experience our church. We also have hundreds of small groups that meet in homes, coffee shops and parks all across our region. We have developed an app that can be downloaded with tons of Online resources, and ways to get connected on a deeper level to the community at your campus. All these changes were expedited by the challenge of adjusting to life in a pandemic. While it was a disruption and caused us to not be able to meet in person for nearly 8 months, I can honestly say it was a challenge that made us better and we are reaping the reward of being adaptable today.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My role at Cypress can be broken down into three main parts: Alton Darby Campus Pastor, Central Small Groups Director, and being on the Cypress Teaching Team.

Alton Darby Campus Pastor – This primarily consists of leading a team of 12 people that invest in the different ministry departments at our broadcast campus. These areas include Kids Ministry, Student Ministry, Tech and Worship Ministry, Guest Experience, Small Groups, Care and Prayer, and more. The Alton Darby Campus hosts about 2,000 people each weekend and is where the teaching is broadcasted live to our six other campus locations.

Central Small Groups Director – This primarily consists of developing and communicating the small groups plan to each campus as they lead the small group leaders at every campus. Cypress has 325 small group leaders across every campus that are led by small group coaches. These coaches are resourced and developed by a staff member at every campus and it is my role to serve and support these staff members as they are the ones in the trench building the ministry, growing leaders and connecting with their people.

Cypress Teaching Team – This primarily consists of teaching the message once or twice a month that is live streamed to all of our Cypress campuses. Our goal on the teaching team is to provide a relevant, 30-35 minute message that will add value to people and build their relationship with Jesus.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
One of the things I love about serving at Cypress is that it truly takes a team. I’ve loved getting to share a little bit of my journey, but the incredible things that God is doing through this church is not a result of one person, or even a small group of people. Our church is experiencing a special season right now and is able to make a difference because each person on our team does their job and leads their teams so well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cypresschurch.tv
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacksonrmurphy