Bishop James Johnson celebrates pastoral anniversary
By Daniel R. Brown
Of the St. Louis American
When James Archie Johnson moved his family to St. Louis from Michigan on May 9, 1950 to lead the then-100 member Bethesda Temple Church, he had no idea that it would be an assignment for life.
In recognition of that move, some 55 years later, Bethesda Temple’s 1,300 members spent the last week honoring Bishop Johnson for his service.
Nightly services were held based on the theme “Celebrating 55 years of Devotion to the House of Mercy.” Visiting pastors included Bishop Paul A. Bowers of Cincinnati, Bishop Earl Parchia of Milwaukee, Bishop Arthur M. Brazier of Chicago and Johnson’s daughter, Dr. Sharon Johnson of Detroit. On Sunday, Bishop Johnson was honored with a reception that had over 500 people in attendance.
While members of Bethesda Temple and guests gathered to honor Johnson for over five decades of dedicated leadership, he took no credit for his work.
“It’s humbling when I look back and think how much God has done, and because He willed to do this work, and to use me as an instrument in his hand,” Johnson said.
“I am happy about it, and yet at the same time I am looking at some of the goodness and the mercy of God that he has brought us this far.”
Though in 1985 Bethesda Temple moved to its current location, which can accommodate over 1,000 attendees, Johnson remembers harder days for the church with “only 8 cars in the parking lot” at its former location, 2406 Belle Glade Ave.
“When we first started out, the church auditorium was on the second floor. We had 39 nine steps to climb from the city sidewalk to the auditorium. We had no air conditioning. We had no electric fans, and in the building there were mice and rats and roaches,” Johnson said.
“Today, if you go anywhere in our church, you won’t find a roach, not even a baby one, much less a rat or a mouse. And we will average 425 cars a Sunday from the 8 that we had.”
With cars in the lot, of course, come bodies in the pews and donations to the church.
“Back then, the income of the church was about $100 a week,” Johnson said. “We are now closing out a remodeling program in our church that is costing us several hundred thousand dollars, and we have not had to borrow ten cents to do it.”
The glory, as always, is God’s, not his.
“When I look at things like this, I don’t feel like having a swollen chest,” he said, “but I feel like saying, ‘Just look at what God has done.'”
Pain, as well as God, has been his teacher.
“We have had our days of disappointment. In this kind of work, sometimes you experience human failure,” he said.
“Two of the most depressing things that happened during my 55 years of service was the murder of one of our white choir members, and then just a few days later our security guard was murdered. That was one of the heaviest burdens that I have had to bear. That was in 1975.”
In January 1998, Bethesda Temple and Johnson suffered a tremendous loss with the death of his wife of 50 years, Josephine. Together, Johnson and Josephine had reared seven children. Johnson later married his current wife, Juana Jean.
A highlight for Johnson remains the early ’70s, when the church saw a marked increased in membership.
“One of the most memorable experiences for me was the heartwarming growth that the church experienced in the early 70’s, when people were being converted to the Apostolic faith in rapid numbers,” he said.
“In the early ’70s, we were having baptisms of people that wanted to be converted to our faith every Sunday, from as low as one to as high as 25, for 154 weeks. We only missed three weeks out of that 154 weeks of having people seeking salvation. That was one of the most notable periods of my 55-year pastorage.”
Those of the Apostolic faith believe in God who is infinite in power, holy in nature. They believe that God was revealed as Father in creation, as Son in redemption, and as Holy Spirit in His grace that never leaves those who trust Him. Apostolics believe in water baptism by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and in the baptism of the Holy Ghost, speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.
In addition to his responsibilities within his own congregation, Bishop Johnson also has held key positions within the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. In 1968, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the presiding body. In 1986, he was elected to serve as the Presiding Bishop of the organization, serving in this capacity for six years. In 1989, he became diocesan of the 12th Episcopal District.
Barbara Sills, a member of Bethesda Temple, said, “Bishop Johnson is a person that is always approachable. He is not a pastor that you can’t see. He sees all of the people in his congregation. He has been a prime example of a shepherd.”
Malcom Townsend, the chairman of Bethesda’s Deacon Board and the church’s business administrator, said that Johnson’s key attribute is his dedication. “One of the things that Bishop Johnson has always done is put Bethesda first in his life,” he said.
“He has had opportunities to go other places, but he chose to stay in St. Louis at Bethesda because he felt love for the people here. I guess the primary reason that he didn’t go was because he was concerned about what would happen to the people in St. Louis.”