For Jason Thomas, AB ’00, the servant leaders in his family shaped his ability to look beyond himself. “Having eyes to see others, that’s what my mother and grandparents modeled for me,” Thomas recalls.
As the youngest of three, Thomas watched his mother find ways to support others through cooking, baking and overall hospitality. Although her resources were limited as a single mother and an elementary school teacher, she found small ways to leave a positive impact on those in need.
“One of my earliest memories is my mom allowing me to tag along to a women’s shelter in Atlanta, showing me the importance of serving and caring for others,” Thomas says. “I didn’t recognize it at the time, but it had more of an impact on my life than I ever imagined.”
Thomas’ parents divorced when he was young, but both were involved in shaping his worldview. During his middle and high school years, his father would arm him with reading material like Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and works by Howard Thurman, Benjamin E. Mays and Cornel West.
A descendant of Morehouse College alumni, it would have been easy for Thomas to become a third-generation Morehouse man. However, he decided to chart his own path after his college counselor encouraged him to consider WashU. And WashU provided him with more than a good education; it was a place where he established close and lasting friendships. “I met my WashU friends as young men and have watched them grow into amazing leaders in industry and in their families,” he says.
After graduating, Thomas returned to Atlanta to be closer to family. He earned a doctorate in ministry from Georgia’s Christian Life School of Theology. He got married and started a family, and he spent 22 years in full-time ministry while volunteering with organizations like Urban Recipe and Hands On Atlanta, addressing food insecurity and educational inequality, respectively.
Thomas is currently dean of students at Heritage Preparatory School, a combined middle school/high school. He also provides administrative support to The King Center in Atlanta, where the power of Martin Luther King Jr.’s mission continues to resonate. “King’s quote, ‘Everyone can be great because everyone can serve,’ paints this picture that whatever it is that you’re called to, be great at it and give it your all,” Thomas says.
Thomas and his wife are intentional about modeling servanthood for their children. This year, Thomas served alongside his sons at a summer camp. “We have teenage boys,” he says. “It’s easy for them to be distracted, but we’re hoping to help them feel empowered to be an answer to the issues around them.” His two-plus decades of servant leadership recently earned him a “Daily Point of Light Award” from the organization Points of Light.
“Ministry is just service, and that can manifest itself in a ton of ways,” Thomas says. “It can look like speaking in front of a group of people. It could be cleaning up your neighborhood. It could be reading to children. Ministry is wherever you find yourself.”
