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First Baptist Church Welcomes New Pastor

Dr. Jeff and Molly Johnson pose with their daughters Lori, Sara and Julie.
Dr. Jeff and Molly Johnson pose with their daughters Lori, Sara and Julie.

COMMERCE - After a search that took almost one year, the congregation voted by acclimation to call Dr. Jeff Johnson as its new pastor.

Submitted by Alton Biggs, FBC Deacon Chairman:

The committee elected to conduct the search included Blake Cooper, chairman, Alton Biggs, Kay Hatfield, Weldon Freeman, Jennifer Reeves, Randy Starks, and Pam Webb.

“I’m excited. That’s all I can say,” stated Cooper, Commerce ISD’s superintendent.

Dr. Johnson’s family includes his wife, Molly, and three daughters, Lori, Sara and Julie. At present the Johnsons make their home in Whitewright, but they are involved in searching for a home in Commerce. A move here will make a shorter commute to work for Molly who is an English teacher in Wolfe City.

Jeff is very active in the Texas Baptist community. He is currently the director for the Center for Borderland Research in Del Rio, first vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and adjunct professor of contextual theology at Baptist University of the Americas in San Antonio.

Dr. Johnson has previously pastored churches in Oklahoma and Texas. He was most recently the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Del Rio, Texas.

“Jeff has a wealth of experience on which to draw,” Alton Biggs said. “He’s been a financial analyst, an NBA player agent, youth pastor and BSM director. These have all helped him become a noted speaker, teacher, and leader.”

Dr. Johnson is from Yazoo City, Mississippi. He married Molly Floyd Johnson of Whitewright nearly three decades ago after they met while attending Texas A&M University in College Station. Two of his children, Lori and Sara, have left the nest and reside in Dallas and Bryan. Julie is currently a student at TAMU-College Station.

An undergraduate in Business Administration, Dr. Johnson went on to receive advanced degrees and study from Baptist Theological Seminary, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Duke University Divinity School. His post-doctoral studies include study in the Holy Land, the Center for Jewish-Christian Studies, Yale’s Berkley Divinity School and the Center for Congregational Health.

His writing and leadership presentations include Revelations from the Revelation and When Generations Collide at the Foot of the Cross, Preaching in a Post 9-11 Post Modern World, Dealing with Congregational Depression and Grief: A Supportive Approach.

Dr. Johnson should begin his tenure as pastor at First Baptist Church Commerce by the first week in March. Everyone is invited for all services and activities of the church.