By Craig Pinley
CHICAGO, IL (December 14, 2001) – Barbara Johnson said she hasn’t always followed God’s call to the letter, but she discovered during her missionary journeys that it was better to keep her eye on the one calling the shots than to try to do it on her own power.
A longtime missionary and staff member for the Department of World Mission of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), Johnson retired today after 39 years of service. A reception was held in her honor at denominational offices this afternoon and she was given tributes via song, skit and speeches. Among those in attendance was Ray Dahlberg, executive director emeritus for the department (accompanying photo).
Executive Vice President Donn Engebretson gave a gift from the denomination and Johnson was presented with a scrapbook of letters, cards and photos from those who have been blessed by her work and ministry to others (top photo). Johnson’s faithfulness to the task was often mentioned, whether it was driving her students to become quality nurses and midwives in Karawa or driving across a dilapidated bridge in order to reach her next destination.
Johnson served 25 years as a missionary in Africa before taking a position as a denominational administrator. She served most recently as coordinator of short-term mission and Covenant Mission Connection (CMC) for World Mission. A member of North Park Covenant Church in Chicago, Johnson grew up on the West Coast and calls First Covenant Church in Oakland, California, her “heart home church.”
Johnson served 25 years as a missionary in Africa before taking a position as a denominational administrator. She served most recently as coordinator of short-term mission and Covenant Mission Connection (CMC) for World Mission. A member of North Park Covenant Church in Chicago, Johnson grew up on the West Coast and calls First Covenant Church in Oakland, California, her “heart home church.”
Even as a child, Johnson had a heart for mission work, considering that her nursing education (earned in San Francisco and Oakland) would serve her well. She wrote in her missionary profile, “I was always going to be a medical missionary from the time I was eight and committed my life to the Lord. I forgot the ‘medical part’ for a time, but God reminded me after high school about my promise, so He led me on to nurse’s training and college. No visions, no dreams, no dramatic voices in my call – there just never was any other consideration.”
For a time, Johnson wavered in her vocational direction, thinking about working in psychiatric nursing. She ultimately surmised that God’s original calling hadn’t changed and she continued on a journey that led her to Africa. She says it was the first time she fully sensed God’s direction and has no regrets about following obediently.
“I never set goals,” said Johnson about her missionary and administrative work during a recent interview. “I just did what was put in front of me. In these days, career missionaries don’t stay for their whole career – it’s a different world now. Family needs bring them back – aging parents, children, schooling – they come home for that. Because of that, you’re going to have more of a turnover than, say, 20 years or 30 years ago. When I went out in 1962 for language study, I had never been on a mission trip or never been a short-termer. But in those days, the Lord called you and you went . . . and there they stayed.”
Originally a missionary in the Presbyterian Church, Johnson was called to service in Congo by the Annual Meeting of the ECC at Minneapolis, Minnesota, in June 1964. She served in Congo (later Zaire) as a teacher and administrator for the Karawa station’s nursing school and supervised public health students in practical field experience in villages around Karawa.
Johnson estimates that she taught 250 graduates of the three-year nursing program over two decades and was encouraged to hear some of their stories in a recent trip to Gemena, Congo. On her retirement day, World Mission Executive Minister Jim Gustafson shared a blessing given by the leadership for the Congo Covenant Church (CEUM). Johnson never married, but she felt like a proud parent discussing her work with the students.
“I’m most proud of my children, the nursing students,” she said in recalling her most special part of being a missionary. “One of my students was in Gemena and I told her ‘I never had children, but I had children and they’re all over Congo.’ They’re out there doing the best they can under the most difficult circumstances.”
Johnson was field representative for the mission from 1981 until leaving Africa to join the Department of World Mission as director for Africa and short-term ministries (replacing Ken Lundell) in March 1987. She traveled to Japan, Thailand and Taiwan to research various Covenant mission efforts before arriving in Chicago to start her work in September of that year. She said of her return to Covenant offices, “The Lord definitely called me home at that time. I knew without any question. The two things I was most convinced about was going to the (mission) field and coming home.”
Johnson was field representative for the mission from 1981 until leaving Africa to join the Department of World Mission as director for Africa and short-term ministries (replacing Ken Lundell) in March 1987. She traveled to Japan, Thailand and Taiwan to research various Covenant mission efforts before arriving in Chicago to start her work in September of that year. She said of her return to Covenant offices, “The Lord definitely called me home at that time. I knew without any question. The two things I was most convinced about was going to the (mission) field and coming home.”
Always interested in learning, Johnson earned a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from North Park Theological Seminary in 1989. She has kept learning in her job at Covenant office, expanding Covenant Mission Connection so that it has become an invaluable church resource for short-term mission experiences in the denomination. During the past year, Johnson estimates she has had more than 20 calls and 30-40 emails weekly from churches inquiring about mission opportunities throughout North America churches. Dahlberg mentioned her work with short-term missionaries during his tribute to her. Lower photo shows Dahlberg with Johnson.
As would be appropriate for a 65-year-old with the energy that betters that of most 21-year-olds, Johnson won’t be ending her service to the Covenant church. In January, she is scheduled to head for a six-month short-term mission endeavor in Burkina Faso, a country in West Africa. She has never been to Burkina Faso, but she is convinced that if she keeps her focus on God she’ll manage just fine. During a recent interview, she shared her experience with longtime missionaries Grace Nelson and Janet and Bob Thornbloom, which reminded her of this necessity.
“I was driving in a truck (in Africa) . . . and I asked Bob Thornbloom to show me what I needed to do to get through the rough spots because the roads are bad,” said Johnson. “We came to a river where the bridge had gone out. There were still some planks on the right side of the bridge and on the left side were cement beams about the width of the truck tires. Right before the bridge was this hole and you’d drive into this hole and then up onto the bridge. I said to Bob, ‘I’m not doing this,’ and Bob said, ‘Yes you are.’ He got out of the truck and walked across and so did the others.
“When he got to the other side he said I should go and I took the wheel,” she continued. “I kept watching him as he directed me and after a while he said to stop – and I was on the other side of the bridge. I had not even recognized when I had fallen into the hole and got onto the bridge. I had not looked out – I had crossed the beam and gotten to the other side – because I had my eyes on Bob. I came out of that knowing it was an object lesson I needed to remember about God. Even though there have been some holes I have bounced into (in life), I have been keeping my eyes on Him.”
During the past month, Johnson has had time to reflect on her ministry and the story now has given her a second message. She shared the new insight she has gained from the bridge encounter during today’s reception in her honor. “When Bob got out of that truck, he trusted that truck to me,” she said. “And look at what God entrusted to me all of those years. That experience will go with me all of my life.”
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.