Biography

Bill Johnson (born July 18, 1951) is the senior leader of Bethel Church, a charismatic megachurch in Redding, California. The congregation has grown in membership from 2,000 when he joined in 1996, to over 11,000 in 2019. Johnson has taken public conservative positions on same-sex marriage, abortion, open borders, and many other topics. He is an author, functions as an itinerant speaker and has been featured in various media. Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor and has held the position of senior leader at Bethel Church since 1996. He is known for leading a church and Christian movement with a large focus on miracles and the Holy Spirit. According to Christianity Today, Johnson has "considerable influence among charismatic Christians all over the world". Johnson joined Bethel with a stipulation that the message would always be about revival, with an emphasis on God's supernatural presence. The church lost a thousand members over his vision. However, under his leadership, the church has since grown from 2,000 members in 1996 to over 11,000 in 2019. His father, M. Earl Johnson, previously held the Senior Pastor position from 1968 to 1982, when Bethel Church was part of the Assemblies of God. Prior to this position, Johnson, along with his wife, served as the Senior Pastors of Mountain Chapel in Weaverville, California from 1978 to 1996.Johnson attended a John Wimber signs and wonders conference in 1987 with the specific goal of seeking a revival of healing. He left discouraged because he had been teaching the same concepts John Wimber had been teaching, but the outcome was drastically different. Johnson states that this discouragement brought about a realization that faith required risk, and after this realization, healing miracles began to happen. He traveled to Toronto, Canada in 1995 to attend some of the Toronto Blessing revival meetings. Johnson recounts receiving a fresh touch from God at these meetings that focused his life's work on pursuing the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit.In 1998, Johnson, along with Bethel Senior Associate Leader Kris Vallotton, started the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry to train students to become revivalists. The school has over 2,000 students from 57 countries. Johnson is also part of the Core Residential Faculty at Wagner University in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Archived November 12, 2021, at the Wayback Machine

Brenda ("Beni"), the wife of Bill Johnson, passed away from cancer on 13 July, 2022.

Bill and Brenda Johnson have three children including: Brian Johnson, Eric Johnson and Leah Valenzuela.