Growing up in Darien, Connecticut, as the oldest of four boys, Reginald “Regg” Jones III first experienced the transforming work of Jesus Christ in his life as an early adolescent. His entire family came to faith as the result of a spiritual awakening that took place at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in the early 1970s under the leadership of Pastor Terry Fullam (who sat for an interview with CT in 1984). When Regg’s dad, a senior executive working in New York City, came to faith in Christ while attending St. Paul’s, it deeply impacted his wife and children. “It changed our whole family, and we all came to faith within a few years,” Regg says.
“I met the Lord in a personal way as a young teenager and was mentored and spiritually fed by some great youth leaders in junior high school and high school through Young Life,” Regg shares. “About 15 or 20 percent of the kids at my high school were involved in a Young Life Club in the 1970s led by Dean and Susan Allen. It was a very powerful time!”
“The joy of meeting Jesus when I was a teenager changed my life. I don’t know where I would be without him!”
Having experienced the work of God in his own life as a teen, Regg urges churches and ministries like CT to reach young people during this critical stage when they are making decisions that can impact the trajectory of their lives.
“When I was entering seventh grade, I met Anne Schneeweiss, a very dynamic youth leader who took an interest in me. She gathered a group of junior high youth and would come and pick us up in her little VW Bug after school on Wednesdays, and we’d have Bible study…She took a real interest in me as a mentor, and it made all the difference.”
For Regg, having trusted adults in his life who demonstrated their faith through their actions and pursued a relationship with him was instrumental in his spiritual growth as a young person. This is why Christianity Today is strategically investing in the next generation as a key part of Christianity Today’s One Kingdom Campaign. The Next Gen Initiative is reaching younger generations with an inspiring vision and authentic stories of what it looks like to follow Jesus and advance his kingdom. The Next Gen Initiative provides leadership training and mentoring, new media resources, and gatherings designed to equip and inspire young Christians as they navigate their faith journeys like Regg once did. Through innovative programs and biblically grounded resources, CT is helping young believers uncover the real, gospel-centered answers to life’s biggest questions.
“It’s clear that young people are searching for a faith that is real and are often receptive to spiritual conversations from a caring adult who takes the time to listen and build an authentic friendship with them,” Regg notes. “Christianity Today understands the importance of merging ancient and eternal truths with new means and methods that intersect with culture in a way that engages young people through stories that are relevant to the issues they are facing.”
“I’ve observed young people today are asking two big questions: ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Why am I here?’” Regg explains. “‘Who am I?’ is about identity, and ‘Why am I here?’ is about purpose. And so, having an adult that takes time to get to know a young person, who can really see who they are, affirm their innate and distinctive value, and then can walk alongside and talk with them about things in life that are important—that’s life-changing! It’s the essence of discipleship and mentorship.”
Today, Regg calls ministry to the next generation his “lifetime passion.” A highly accomplished professional in business and finance, Regg discovered from an early age that he had a knack for numbers and acuity for investing—whether in his calling as a businessman or in his passion for investing in the lives of the next generation.
But he didn’t always know that God could use him in the boardroom as much as in ministry. Like most young adults, Regg wrestled with discerning God’s vocational calling in his life. He felt drawn to ministry work, having served in leadership through Young Life and the church, but had an undeniable talent for business. After consulting close friends and his dad, who all urged him to study business and finance, Regg sought the counsel of Gary Davis, who was the regional staff member of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship when Regg was a college student.
“After an hour of talking with me and asking about my passions and interests, he said, ‘I think it’s clear you should go into business.’ I had been hoping to hear some advocacy for entering the ministry, but I will never forget what he said: ‘There are a lot of people that are good at ministry, and I have no doubt you’d be one of them. But there are actually fewer people with your Christian heart who will rise in business.’ He said, ‘You know, I can’t do my ministry without a few people like you giving me strategic advice and financial support. It seems to me that God’s prepared you for business,’” Regg recalls. “Hearing his perspective helped me realize that the Lord could use me in the marketplace. The heart of ministry and the true call of ministry is something that we all have, regardless of our vocation.”
Regg’s sense of calling has evolved as he has grown spiritually and professionally. Over the past 25 years, Regg has served as the chairman and managing partner of Greenbriar Equity Group, a private equity investment firm he cofounded. “My vision was twofold. One was to execute a strategy that didn’t largely exist at the time in private equity: to create a firm focused in the industries where I had been a leader on Wall Street during my time at Goldman Sachs.”
“The other part of my vision was the desire to bring a different set of values to the workplace. I wanted to bring that same sense of excellence and top performance that I experienced working with world-class firms and marry it with a distinctive internal culture of collaboration and teamwork,” he explains. “Really valuing the individuals and helping people realize their full potential; cultivating a nice place to work that is less political.” Established in 1999, Greenbriar has grown under Regg’s leadership to manage over $10 billion in committed capital over six funds focused on advanced manufacturing and services within industries such as aerospace, distribution, logistics, transportation, and related sectors.
Today Regg finds joy and fulfillment in giving to ministries such as Christianity Today and Young Life that are strategically investing in the spiritual lives of young people. After reconnecting with local Young Life chapters in Greenwich and metro New York, Regg was invited to join Young Life’s mission-wide board of trustees, where he has served for the past 14 years and chairs the finance committee.
“The impact is most life-changing right in those teen years when kids are most open and most curious,” he says. This is why Regg is encouraged by Christianity Today’s emphasis on reaching youth and young adults through its Next Gen Initiative. Earlier this month, CT selected 15 talented creatives ages 19–27 from around the country for the second annual Young Storytellers Fellowship. You can read reflections from the first cohort of fellows in their own words.
One of Regg’s guiding Bible verses as a young person was “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5–6). “My dad would always say, ‘To whom much is given, much is expected,’” he shares, referring to Luke 12:48. “I was always a leader, and my dad recognized that. He told me, ‘This is a gift you have, and we have high expectations for you—not out of obligation but out of joy.’”
“I’m an intensely competitive person,” Regg admits of his drive to achieve. “But my life would not have the meaning or joy that it does apart from knowing Jesus.”
