religious leaders

Homegoing Services Set for Rev. Rocellia Johnson, Founder of Bethany Baptist Church

When the Rev. Rocellia Johnson migrated to Los Angeles in 1941, no one foresaw that God would use his ministry in such an impactful way. But empowered with Christ’s favor, Pastor Johnson drew thousands of people to the Lord by organizing Bethany Baptist Church of West Los Angeles in 1958, founding Bethany Christian Bible College (BCBC) in 1978 and serving 27 years as executive director of the National Evangelism Movement (NEM). Even after retiring as Bethany’s senior pastor in 2009, Johnson moved to pastor emeritus status where he still shared his time and talents with the church and BCBC, always