John Perkins passed away on Friday, March 13, 2026, at age 95. He was an evangelical minister and community leader who called on churches and their members to take an active role in developing and improving their communities. He was the founder of Voice of Calvary Ministries in Mendenhall, Mississippi, and the Christian Community Development Association.
In a note to byFaith, Randy Nabors, pastor of missions at First Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, summarized Perkins’ ministry and impact:
Dr. John Perkins has gone to heaven. I have heard him planning for this day over the last 30 years. Coming from nothing but dirt and hurt, he was one of the most magnificent men to have ever graced our country and the evangelical church. A man of courage, great faith, consistent and loving welcome to almost all he met. A man of amazing, even delightful wisdom, he knew and loved the Scriptures and consistently surprised his listeners by finding incisive, relevant, and even painful applications whenever he taught.
He was a leader who not only defined the problem, but solutions, both relationally and economically. Through honest and deep friendships, by positive encouragement and challenge he built organizations, coalitions, partnerships, clinics, and co-ops. Through his preaching, and his books, the Lord used him to bring repentance and revival to many individuals and congregations.
Though Perkins was not Presbyterian, he enjoyed wide influence in the PCA from its earliest years. In 1978, the General Assembly was considering a recommendation on whether it “shall appoint a Sub-Committee on urban, poor, and minority ministries and shall establish a separate budget for these ministries and employ a director.”
According to the minutes of the Assembly’s meeting, “During the discussion of this matter, the Rev. John Perkins of the Voice of Calvary, of Mendenhall, Mississippi, was granted permission of the floor. He addressed the Assembly briefly.”
The motion was adopted. Though no transcript exists of Perkins’ comments, his presence and the privilege of the floor indicate the respect he enjoyed among elders during the denomination’s earliest years.
Perkins had a long relationship with Covenant College, which included serving on the board of trustees for Covenant College prior to the school’s reception into the PCA. He spoke numerous times on campus throughout his ministry, including as the commencement speaker in 1985.
Brian Fikkert is a professor of economics and community development at Covenant College and founder of The Chalmers Center. Perkins wrote the foreword to When Helping Hurts, which Fikkert co-authored with Steve Corbett. Fikkert describes how Perkins’ writing transformed his own thinking.
My father, the pastor of an Orthodox Presbyterian Church in rural Wisconsin, gave me a copy of one of John Perkins’ books when I was in high school. It was the 1970s, and Dad was trying to understand how Bible believing Christians should respond to racial disparities in America. Perkins spoke in language that Dad, a theological and political conservative, could understand, for it was none other than the story of the Bible… .
The entire creation — including both individuals and social structures — was created good; the ramifications of sin are comprehensive in scope, so of course both individuals and social structures are broken; the Gospel — the good news of the Kingdom of God — is that King Jesus is bringing healing as far as the curse is found, reversing the effects of the fall on both individuals and social structures; as ambassadors of King Jesus, we must declare and demonstrate His kingdom, starting where He did, with the lame, the leper, the outcasts, and the poor.
Perkins was not a trained theologian, but his understanding of the Gospel in its fullest sense was transformative for my father, for me, and for countless others who take the Bible seriously.
In a sermon preached at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, Mike Campbell recalls how a discussion with Perkins helped him decide to lead Redeemer Church in the city.
“When I was thinking about moving to Jackson, I was coming from Miami. And you know, most of the time people don’t move from Miami to Jackson! Anyway, it took some convincing. When I came up to talk to the folks that became the core group that became Redeemer, one of the people that I met with was John Perkins.
I sat down with John, and I said, “John, can a work like Redeemer — a multi-ethnic, gospel-centered church committed to worship, committed to being God’s people, committed to biblical preaching and teaching — can this work? Not a social ministry, a church…can it work in this city?” And he responded in a way that startled me. He said this: “I think the time is right, and I think the PCA is the denomination to do it.”
Thurman Williams, assistant professor of homiletics at Covenant Theological Seminary, attributes his ministry in the PCA to Perkins’ influence.
In many ways, Perkins is the one who the Lord used to lead me to the PCA, even though he wasn’t a PCA member himself. I was looking for a robust theology that did not compromise the gospel and the importance of evangelism and discipleship but that also was applied practically and powerfully in places of great need. This is the type of ministry I found in reading about Dr. Perkins. It led me to a PCA church in inner-city Baltimore, Faith Christian Fellowship Church, pastored by Dr. Craig Garriot, who also became a mentor of mine.
Perkins was one of the founders of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA), and Faith was involved in it along with other PCA churches around the country. Upon finishing seminary in 2000, I was called to pastor another PCA church in inner-city Baltimore, New Song Community Church, where I served as the pastor for 13 years. New Song was also heavily involved in CCDA. We attended the annual CCDA Conference each year and also had the privilege of preaching at the conference in 2011, largely due to Perkins’ advocacy of me. But an even more special thing to me was getting to host him at our church in Baltimore and in our home on two separate occasions.
I was very surprised by what he chose. I assumed he would have chosen something like Amos 5:24, “let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a never-ending stream,” or Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God?”. But instead he said his favorite was Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Dr. Perkins said the reason he loved this verse so much is that it said the Son of God loved him. Perkins grew up essentially as an orphan and was just overcome with joy, wonder, and gratitude at the thought of being so loved by Jesus. That love is what compelled him in all his work of evangelism, discipleship, Bible teaching, justice, advocacy on behalf of the poor, in at-risk communities for seven decades. I am eternally grateful to God for His influence in my life through Dr. John Perkins.”
Perkins taught and spoke at numerous reformed seminaries and colleges, as well as a number of PCA churches. He has been praised by evangelical leaders like John MacArthur, Al Mohler, and Billy Graham.
The John and Vera Mae Perkins Foundation has announced that a homegoing celebration will be held on Saturday, March 21 in Jackson.