Johnson leads church to serve Christ and community

He and his wife of 14 years, Rachelle, bought their first home in town and say they are excited to be here. The couple also has four sons – Daniel, 13, Micah, 11, Isaac, 9, and Samuel, 4, two of whom attend the public school.

Johnson says he wants the church to be focused on the person of Jesus, not programs. Johnson says he plans to go back to the foundations of who they are as a people, before looking at their identity as a local Andrew Johnson says he felt called, from a young age, to proclaim the good news of Jesus. As the new pastor at Faith Baptist Church, Johnson says he is looking forward to continuing that call.

“I’m really thankful to be in Cornell,” said Johnson.

Johnson grew up in Burnsville, Minn., and received his bachelor’s of arts in biblical and theological studies at Boyce College, and his master’s of divinity at Bethlehem Seminary.

He says he always felt the call to ministry, whether that was through teaching or preaching, something that was confirmed by others, as time went on.

Johnson says he has worked in numerous fields since graduation, most recently in health insurance, which he is still doing part-time, while serving full-time at the church. He says health reasons and other things, kept him from full-time vocational ministry up until this point.

“I’m eager to serve in whatever way I can and happy to see where God leads with this,” said Johnson.

Johnson says he heard about the open position through an online job listing, and received the call after an interview and preaching a few times. He started serving as the pastor in February.

Johnson says his goal for the church is to share the good news of what Jesus did.

He says that goes beyond numbers in the pews. He wants to help grow followers of Jesus who love God, and want to love and serve others.

“I really want to get to know the community and be a part of this community,” said Johnson.

Johnson says becoming involved is important to him, because he wants to love and serve the community.

“That’s really my focus and really how I would like to lead the church,” said Johnson.

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“The ministry isn’t just about the pastor,” said Johnson. “I’m equipping saints for the work of the ministry.”

He says the church and the greater community are going through a lot of suffering right now, with people going through sicknesses, daily pain and other struggles. Johnson says he really wants to reach out to those people. He says he wants to be a compassionate pastor and share that God cares about everyone who is suffering.

“Undoubtedly, with COVID and loss of jobs, and just really difficult times for many, a lot of people are looking for some hope,” said Johnson. “And the hope that we have isn’t in this life, it’s in Christ. If we know Jesus, we’ll be with Him forever.”

He says he wants to communicate that hope can’t be taken away.

Johnson also says he has a passion for reaching out to those with mental health struggles, as he has a past history of anxiety and depression himself.

“I would love for Faith Baptist Church to be a safe place,” said Johnson.

He says people are not expected to “get their act together” before coming to church. Johnson wants to have a welcoming atmosphere, as a pastor and a church, regardless of what each person’s struggle may be.

“You come as you are, knowing that there is a Savior that welcomes all those who come to Him and believe,” said Johnson.