Was born in Ft. Pierce, Florida to the late Deaconess Lola Johnson-Thomas on July 27, 1952. He was raised by his mother and step-father, Deacon James Nathaniel Thomas, in Apopka, Florida and received his primary education in the Orange County Public School System.
He attended Stetson University in Deland, Florida; Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia; International Bible Institute and Seminary in Orlando, Florida; Trinity Theological Seminary in Newburgh, Indiana. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Biblical Studies, and a Bachelor of Theology.
He has served as Senior Pastor of the West Oakland Missionary Baptist Church for forty-three years. Under Pastor Johnson’s leaders, the West Oakland Church has remained vigilant in sharing God’s promise of salvation through the belief in the ministry of Jesus Christ and the empowerment of excellence in all people through Christian Education and community activism.
He is the recipient of many honors. A few of them are: Governor’s Citation for his work with Junior Achievement of Greater Atlanta, Certificate of Recognition from Boys Scouts of America, Certificate of Appreciation from Economic Opportunity Atlanta, Proclamations from the City of Atlanta Office of the Mayor and Atlanta City Council, recognized as a Distinguished Preacher by the Department of Black Church Relation of the Georgia Baptist Convention, an inductee in the Morehouse College Board of Preachers, and a member of the National Omicron-Psi Honor Society.
Pastor Johnson is married to Priscilla McGuire Johnson of Atlanta, Georgia for thirty-nine years, and they have one son, Joseph, Jr., one God-daughter, Victoria Taylor, and four grandchildren.