Twenty years ago, Joseph Johnson was ordained an elder in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist by Bishop C. Joseph Sprague. His journey to the ministry did not follow a traditional path, but Pastor Joe could not ignore God’s call. After graduating from high school in rural Indiana, where he was baptized and confirmed in the United Methodist Church, he attended both Indiana and Purdue Universities. He graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue, but felt called to explore ordained ministry. He enrolled at The Iliff School of Theology, but left and returned to engineering.
Realizing that God was not ready to give up on him, Pastor Joe returned to Iliff and completed his studies there. Since his graduation from seminary, Pastor Joe has served churches in Dixon, Chicago, and now Elmhurst. When he’s not in the pulpit, Pastor Joe loves to play the flute, search the wilderness for birds of many feathers, cook soup and can vegetables, and even has been known to sew the stoles that he wears on Sundays.
Congratulations to Pastor Joe on his twentieth anniversary in ordained ministry. Blessings to you, Pastor Joe!
