Bill Johnson

Bill Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor on his dad’s side of the family, fourth on his mom’s. Bill's three children are now the sixth generation of pastors. He grew up in a very good Christian home and had a fear of God, and while he never lived in out-and-out rebellion, neither was he a passionate follower of Jesus. The thought of becoming a pastor never once entered his head. In 1968 at the end of his high school years he moved from the Los Angeles area to Redding, California where his parents became the pastors of Bethel Church, and in 1970 the Holy Spirit began to move powerfully in their church community. It was around this time that Mario Murillo would come and visit their church and speak about being absolutely abandoned to Christ. One Saturday night, alone, Bill Johnson finally said yes to God – the absolute yes. For him, everything changed that night.