Bill Johnson (pastor)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
July 18, 1951
Bill Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Senior leader | |
 | |
| Church | Bethel Church |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bill Bryant Johnson July 18, 1951 Alexandria, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Denomination | Charismatic movement |
| Spouse |
Brenda "Beni" Johnson
(m. 1973; died 2022) |
| Children |
|
| Occupation | Author |
Bill Bryant Johnson (born July 18, 1951) is the senior leader of Bethel Church, a Charismatic megachurch in Redding, California.[3][4]
Under his leadership, the congregation reportedly grew from approximately 2,000 members in 1996[5] to more than 11,000 by 2019.[6] Johnson promotes beliefs related to revival, faith healing, and supernatural manifestations—topics that have become central to the global Bethel movement and influenced segments of contemporary charismatic Christianity.[7] In 1998, he co-founded the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, which has drawn students from around the world and received significant attention from media outlets.[8] Johnson is also an author and itinerant speaker and has appeared in Christian media and documentary films.[9] His ministry has attracted both widespread support and criticism, particularly in relation to theology, charismatic practices, and political involvement.[10][11]
Bill Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor and has led Bethel Church as senior pastor since 1996, following in the footsteps of his father, M. Earl Johnson. Before Bethel, he and his wife served as senior pastors at Mountain Chapel in California. Influenced by experiences at John Wimber’s conference and the Toronto Blessing revival, Johnson shifted toward emphasizing supernatural ministry, later co-founding the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, which trains students worldwide. He has three children, and his wife Brenda died in 2022.
Johnson has also gained recognition in popular media, appearing in documentaries like Father of Lights and American Gospel: Christ Alone, and in interviews with CBN and Charisma magazine. Politically, he has expressed conservative views, endorsing Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 due to positions on abortion, same-sex marriage, and globalization. Johnson opposes homosexuality as a sin, aligning with Bethel Church's stance on heterosexual marriage, and the church has actively opposed legislation restricting conversion therapy in California.
Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor and has held the position of senior leader at Bethel Church since 1996. His ministry is associated with a charismatic movement emphasizing revival, healing, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. According to Christianity Today, Johnson holds "considerable influence among charismatic Christians all over the world".[12] His father, M. Earl Johnson, previously served as Bethel's senior pastor from 1968 to 1982, during the church's affiliation with the Assemblies of God.[12] Before joining Bethel, Johnson and his wife served as the senior pastors of Mountain Chapel in Weaverville, California from 1978 to 1996.[13]
In 1987, Johnson attended a "signs and wonders" conference led by John Wimber in hopes of advancing healing ministry, but later expressed disappointment: “They had fruit for what they believed. All I had was good doctrine.” He identified this as a turning point, stating that embracing “faith”—understood as taking risk—opened the way for reported healing manifestations in his ministry.[14] In 1995, he traveled to Toronto, Canada to attend some of the Toronto Blessing revival meetings, where he described being significantly affected by the spiritual atmosphere and shifted toward a stronger emphasis on charismatic gifts and supernatural ministry in his leadership.[14]
In 1998, Johnson, along with Bethel Senior Associate Leader Kris Vallotton, started the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. The school has over 2,000 students from 57 countries.[12] Johnson is also part of the Core Residential Faculty at Wagner University in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.[15]
Brenda ("Beni"), the wife of Bill Johnson, died of cancer on July 13, 2022.[16]
Bill and Brenda Johnson have three children including: Brian Johnson, Eric Johnson and Leah Valenzuela.[17]
Ties to the New Apostolic Reformation
According to scholars Holly Pivec and R. Douglas Geivett[18][19][20][21] Bill Johnson is a key leader in the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a religious movement characterized by a belief in modern-day apostles and prophets, who are supposed to receive revelation, prophecy and lead the church; a belief that church and state should not be separated, according to the Seven Mountain Mandate, a form of dominionism; and a belief that miracles such as healing and prophecy are within the reach of ordinary church members (signs and wonders).[21]
Christianity Today, an evangelical Christian magazine, says "Bill Johnson is regularly listed as an NAR leader."[22] The Christian Research Institute, an authority on evangelical religions, says: "The vanguard of the NAR is Bethel Church in Redding, California, led by the charismatic (in both senses of the word) pastor, Bill Johnson, who has stretched Bethel's influence over the entire globe through the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM)."[7] Salon magazine describes "Bill Johnson's Bethel Church in Redding, California" as one of the NAR's "star megachurch ministries".[23] A 2022 dissertation from the Theology School of the University of Otago in New Zealand, titled "From Peter Wagner to Bill Johnson: The History and Epistemology of the 'New Apostolic Reformation'" also affirms that the teachings of Bill Johnson and Bethel Church are representative of the New Apostolic Reformation.[24]
Pivec and Geivett point out that Bill Johnson's teachings at Bethel strongly align with core NAR beliefs:
- Bethel treats Bill Johnson as an apostle and Kris Vallotton as a prophet,[21]: 20 f 92 each having special ecclesiastical authority and believed to receive divine revelations.[21]: 32–38 Pivec and Geivett consider this the core issue in identifying NAR beliefs.[21]: xi f 3
- Bethel believes in an end-times "billion soul" harvest ⏤ "Johnson, like many other NAR leaders, teaches that the largest revival the world will ever experience is about to occur, fueled by unprecedented miraculous signs and wonders to be performed by the apostles, prophets, and their followers."[21]: 145, 155
- Bethel believes in "signs and wonders," e.g., their BSSM (the Bethel School for Supernatural Ministry) claims to teach students how to cure ailments spiritually and to make prophesies.[21]: 10
- Bethel uses the Passion Translation of the Bible, which Johnson has endorsed, even though most Christian scholars reject its accuracy.[21]: 163–164
- Bethel teaches the Seven Mountain Mandate, a kind of dominionism, another core aspect of NAR beliefs.[21]: 26, 182
- Bethel teaches that doctrinal opponents, political opponents, and the sick may be afflicted by demons; even institutions such as government, media, and education may be ruled over by demonic spirits called "territorial spirits."[21]: 28, 66, 131, 161 Demons can be cast out by a process of "spiritual warfare", using techniques such "prophetic declarations", "prayer walking", "warfare prayer", or "binding and loosing prayer".[21]: 23 f 103, 131–132, 136 f 40
Pivec and Geivett acknowledge Bill Johnson has claimed not to belong to the NAR, e.g., In Christianity Today, Bill Johnson said "the church does not have any official ties to the NAR" and when later asked for his thoughts on the New Apostolic Reformation replied, "I'm not completely clear on what it is."[22] Pivec and Geivett point out that there is no formal NAR organization and many NAR leaders now disavow the label after negative NAR press coverage, whereas before they had embraced it. An Atlantic Magazine article also mentions this rebranding: "Early leaders called it the New Apostolic Reformation, or NAR, although some of those same leaders are now engaged in a rebranding effort as the antidemocratic character of the movement has come to light.”[25]
Pivec and Geivett point out that not only do Bill Johnson's beliefs align with core NAR beliefs; but also that he is treated as a leader and apostle by other NAR leaders, such as Lance Wallnau, with whom he co-authored the book Invading Babylon: The 7 Mountain Mandate, and Che Ahn, who wrote the book, Modern-day Apostles. Bill Johnson further not only endorsed Che Ahn's book but also wrote the foreword to it. Finally, "NAR apostle C. Peter Wagner" ⏤ often considered the foundational leader of the New Apostolic Reformation ⏤ said Johnson was one of the "apostolic pillars of today's church" in 2008 on GOD TV.[26]
Pivec’s blog post discussing C. Peter Wagner’s endorsement of Johnson reflects this view, being titled simply, “Yes, Bethel Redding and Bill Johnson are part of the New Apostolic Reformation.”[26] Bill Johnson, however, prefers to describe Bethel Leaders Network, which comprises more than 150 ministries and religious organizations as an “apostolic network”.[21]: 41
Media appearances
Johnson has appeared in multiple documentaries, including Father of Lights and Holy Ghost Reborn, produced by Darren Wilson.[27] He has also been interviewed and highlighted in several CBN news stories.[28][29] He was featured on the cover of Charisma magazine in August 2016 with a story titled "Born for Revival."[30] Johnson was also a guest on Sid Roth's It's Supernatural in October 2016.[31] He was later featured in the 2018 documentary American Gospel: Christ Alone which criticized aspects of the prosperity gospel and portrayed Johnson as a key figure within that movement.[10]
