Brief History of Bethesda Community Church
To God be the glory for the great things He has done. After investing approximately 14 years of active ministering time in Independent Community Church in Richmond under the leadership of Pastor Tommie Bradford. While in Richmond, along with his other assignments within the church, the Lord used Pastor Johnson to start what is now known as Independent Prison Ministry. This is the group he led to establish church services and bible studies in San Quentin State prison, San Francisco city jail, San Bruno city jail and in Richmond city jail. These activities kept him busy until he moved to Antioch California in 2001.
The Lord laid it on Pastor Johnson and Charity Ejomah’s hearts to start a new work for the Kingdom of God while they were still in Richmond. However, the accident that nearly claimed his wife and daughter’s lives the day after moving into their new home on December 9th put the plan on hold for a while. Note: the enemy may succeed in delaying your dream, but he cannot erase it entirely. After visiting a few churches in the Antioch area, the pastor and his family decided to begin a Sunday morning fellowship in their living room in July 2003. There, week after week, they gathered to worship the Lord. This gave the pastor an indescribable opportunity to minister to and teach his family one-on-one for almost two years. Early in 2004, the pastor met Mr. Allen Payton, Director of Antioch Press, who graciously gave the church much-needed publicity in his citywide newspaper, the Antioch Press.
In May 2004, the Lord enabled the church to secure its 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt status, along with a fully functioning Board of Directors. In 2007, the church doors were closed when Pastor Johnson mistakenly relocated to Southern California and entrusted an associate pastor to care for the flock of Jesus Christ. This decision proved to be a serious misstep. When circumstances forced the family to return to Northern California, they entered a season of spiritual homelessness. For seven years, they moved from church to church and eventually spent about four years assisting Divine Faith Ministry under the leadership of Pastor Matthias Esoimeme. Then, after a period of prayer in September 2014, under a shady tree in the city of Vallejo with Pastor Charles Cole, the Lord gave Pastor Johnson the green light to re-launch the ministry. Once again, it began in his living room in the city of Antioch with his family and a few friends. Through it all, God has been faithful to the ministry, and by His mercies, He will continue to be.
Roots of the Ministry:
Bethesda Community Church is a Pentecostal, non-denominational ministry with its roots in Bethesda Gospel Mission, Irri, Isoko LGA, Delta State, Nigeria. The late Archbishop Dr. Christian Apena served as the spiritual father and mentor of this ministry.