Biography

At the age of twenty-seven (1993) Pastor Cary E. Johnson III received a clear call to ministry, which later led him to earn a Master of Divinity in 1996 from Virginia Union University School of Theology in Richmond, Virginia. In June 1999, he became the pastor of New Life Church, in Sterling Virginia.

Pastor Johnson was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. The eighth of ten children, he is the son of the last Victoria Shannon Johnson and Reverend Cary Johnson Jr. Pastor Johnson was raised in a family deeply committed to ministry. His mother taught him what it means to have unwavering faith and the importance of ministering to the needs of humanity. He learned from his father the significance of communicating God's word with integrity. Also, discipline and perseverance. His father pastored for 40 years and today he continues to minister God's word.

Pastor Johnson received ministerial training from his father Pastor Cary Johnson Jr. and the late Lenwood Graham at First Baptist Church of Merrifield. It was at First Baptist Church of Merrifield where he was licensed and ordained into the Gospel Ministry. Subsequently, Dr. Andrew Mosely provided Pastor Johnson with additional training at Quioccasin Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, where he directed a vibrant youth ministry.

Pastor Johnson’s extensive professional career includes work as a Fiscal Assistant with the Virginia Department of Social Service and Child Support Enforcement Division. Later he held the position of auditor with the Virginia Department of Taxation. During his tenure with the Virginia Department of Taxation, he heeded the call of the Lord and entered into the Gospel Ministry.

For the last six years Pastor Johnson has been employed as the chaplain for Capital Hospice of Northern Virginia. As chaplain, Pastor Johnson provides patients and families with spiritual and emotional support while aiding them with end of life decisions. He provides great comfort to those whom are weary and in spiritual distress. Pastor Johnson views this occupation as part of his divine “calling” and considers himself blessed to have the opportunity to serve the terminally ill who are confined to their home, nursing home, hospital or assisted living facility (Matthew 25:36). Recently, he was a guest speaker for AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), where he lectured on the subject “Death and Dying: The African American Perspective”. Also, a quest speaker at the 6th Annual Josefina Magno Conference “Improving Care for those Experiencing Life-Limiting Illness”.

Pastor Johnson's commitment is to teaching the "whole" counsel of God. His passion for people and his desire to reach the lost are evident in the way he communicates biblical truths. He is a man chosen to fulfill a definite divine plan of God. Luke 4:18-19 provides the model upon which his ministry is built: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of the sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord".

In the fall 2006 Pastor Johnson will pursue a Doctoral in Pastoral Theology, Care, and Counseling at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC.