Pastor Michael Johnson
Pastor Mike was called to be pastor of Christ the Lord Lutheran Church in September 2011. He brings a strong sense that the church – and we as individual Christians — are blessed to be a blessing in all the places in which we live work and play.
“God is at work in God’s people, in the Church, and in the world. God cares more than we ever could or could even imagine about the well-being of God’s children — even those who do not yet see themselves as such. The Church (and the individual believers who are the Church, with all our flaws and shortcomings) is God’s chosen means of bringing His Word to all people — a creating and transforming Word that gives good gifts, calls and equips people, and puts them to work in service to God and others. Forgiven and filled with the Holy Spirit’s own power, our very purpose for being is to worship God, to serve God, and to serve others. The multitudes of false gods that people follow only give a fragile and artificial sense of meaning to life. Ordained pastors are called to lead the people of God into a meaningful life with God and to do so with integrity, competency, vision, and inspiration.” — Pastor Mike
Pastor Mike considers it a privilege and a joy to serve God and God’s people. His missional mindset tells him that all people are God’s people, and the Church is an instrument through which God is drawing all people to His self and producing a fruit of goodness, mercy, and justice for the Kingdom of God.
Pastor Mike and his wife Joy grew up in Coshocton, Ohio. They met at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, and were married there in 1974. Mike completed his undergraduate degree at Miami University (Ohio) with a major in Pulp and Paper Science that led to his early career with Procter and Gamble in paper manufacturing (Charmin and Bounty!). Mike and Joy were active members and lay leaders at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, and began their family life with the birth of Thaddeus, followed by Craig and Larissa.
The calling to ordained ministry came gradually as Mike became increasingly involved in the life of the church and through the influence of a deeply spiritual community of friends. In 1983, the family moved to Columbus, Ohio, where Mike enrolled in the Master of Divinity program at Trinity Lutheran Seminary. An internship in La Canada, California, may have prompted the family’s “go west” bug. Thaddeus, Craig and Larissa have settled in San Diego, Seattle and Arizona, respectively. After serving congregations in Cuyahoga Falls and Springfield, Ohio, Pastor Mike (and Joy) also headed west in 2005, to St. John Lutheran Church in Riverton, Wyoming.
Together Mike and Joy enjoy exploring new places and eateries, hiking, as well as Celtic and Folk music, particularly in small concert venues.
Joy has taught 2nd and 3rd grade, worked with behaviorally and developmentally challenged children and worked as a foster care coordinator/advocate for special needs families. She loves to sing and teach.