Defining Moments ─ God-Encounters With Ordinary People Who Changed the World

Bill Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor who lives a life rich in the things of the Spirit, using heaven as a model for his life and ministry. In 1968, at the end of his high school years, he moved from the Los Angeles area to Redding, California, where his parents became the pastors of Bethel Church, and two years later, the Holy Spirit began to move powerfully in that community of believers. It was about this time that Mario Murillo visited the church, speaking about being absolutely abandoned to Christ. One Saturday night, Bill said yes to God—the absolute yes—and everything changed for him.
In 1978, Bill was invited to pastor Mountain Chapel in Weaverville, California, and he served there for seventeen years. The presence of God was very strong, and the church extended its times of worshipping and glorifying God, even though, in the first years, they saw few miracles, despite praying for many. Bill’s greatest breakthrough in ministry came after attending two conferences in 1987 organized by John Wimber. Bill realized he needed to “put a demand” on what he believed—his risk factor had to line up with the boldness of his beliefs. As he did this, there was an immediate change in his ministry, and the church began to see an increase in healing and miracles.
Bill moved back to Bethel Church in Redding in 1996, where he and his wife, Beni, are the senior pastors. An outpouring of the Spirit began almost immediately. It grew rapidly, and there were many healings, including, in multiple cases, of cancer. Today, healings and miracles are the norm at Bethel. Bill and Beni have a heart to see the values of the kingdom of heaven fill the earth. Together, they serve a growing number of churches that have partnered together to work toward global revival.
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