Dr. Jerry Rushford came to Malibu in April 1978 as the pulpit minister for the University Church of Christ and as a professor in Pepperdine’s Religion Division. In the fall of 1982 he assumed his current position as director of Church Relations for Pepperdine University. In September 2009 he became director of the new Churches of Christ Heritage Center at Pepperdine.
He received his education from Great Lakes Christian College (1959-1962), Rochester College, A.A. (1963); Oklahoma Christian University, B.A. (1965); Harding Graduate School of Religion; Abilene Christian University, M.A. (1966) and M.Div. (1969); Earlham School of Religion (graduate studies with Dr. Elton Trueblood); and the University of California, Santa Barbara, Ph.D. in American Church History (1977).
For the past 30 years under Rushford’s leadership, the Pepperdine University Bible Lectures have earned a reputation as one of the finest lecture series in the nation. Around 4,000 people, from more than 40 states and 20 foreign countries, attend this four-day conference each spring.
He and his wife, Lori, are active in the Conejo Valley Church of Christ near their home in Oak Park, California. Lori works for the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine School of Law. They have two daughters, Hilary and Ashley. Both daughters are graduates of Pepperdine University.
