After serving nearly 8 years as Rector of Saint Andrews Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, Bishop TJ Johnston has announced that he will be involved in planting a new church in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.  This move will be, in many ways, a homecoming for +TJ and Rees, who lived in Charleston prior to the call to ordained ministry.  Mt. Pleasant is one of the fastest growing cities in the region, and will become a new center for Bishop Johnston's ministry as he oversees churches in the United States and Canada. The following is his letter to the church.


Dear St. Andrew’s Church Family,

As you have heard me say many times over the past seven and a half years - “…transformation is what the Gospel is all about.” As we encounter and grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, we are transformed more and more into the men and women that God has designed and called us to be; yet this process of transformation is rarely easy, nor entirely welcomed.

Over the past years we have been through just about “one of everything” that a church can experience. As the Apostle Paul says – we have learned to get along in plenty and in scarcity. We have moved our Church home on a number of occasions. We have helped start and nurture other churches and church leaders. We have buried dear friends, married dear friends, and gained new friends as our Church has grown and matured. We have seen children and families come to faith and those who have struggled with addiction and health problems find freedom and healing in Christ. We have served the poor together and we are growing in our ability to serve one another and those around us in Little Rock. And most recently, we have purchased land and raised the money for a permanent home for St. Andrew’s Church and the cause of Christ that defines our ministry.

God’s favor and hand has been on us from the beginning. The fruit of our ministry has been good and it continues to grow. A foundation has been laid for generations to come and it is a foundation that I now believe that the next senior pastor is to build on. The time has come, and the time is right, for us to walk through a transition in the pastoral leadership of St. Andrew’s Church.

By God’s wiring I am a starter. I am someone who loves the challenge of beginning and bringing to life what is not yet. And once again I feel a call from God to step out, take some risks and plow new ground. I also have a clear sense that here at St. Andrew’s we are entering into a new season of ministry and significant growth that is going to require a builder, a sustainer and a champion of the mission and values of our Church.

As I have searched my heart and said my prayers, what I see and sense as a call on my life is t
Continue the work of a missionary Bishop with the Anglican Mission;
Work in a more focused way with the strategic development of the Anglican Mission and the emerging network leadership;
Represent the Anglican Mission in international and national meetings with ministry partners; and
Lead a church planting team on the coast of South Carolina.
I believe that I have in my heart a call from God to lead at least one more church start.
Over the next two months we will have an opportunity to discuss and explore this transition. I have expressed to the Leadership Team my willingness to stay on as the Senior Pastor through the end of August. The Leadership Team is actively engaged in this transition process and will be communicating directly with you in the next few days regarding next steps for our Church. I have also discussed and prayed through this decision and my sense of calling with Bishop Chuck Murphy and Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, both of whom have given me their blessing.

This will be one of the most difficult moves that the Johnston’s have faced as a family. We have a deep love for St. Andrew’s Church and we have been blessed beyond description by the love and friendships that have surrounded us since our move to Little Rock seven and a half years ago. Personally, St. Andrew’s is the most important work of my life to date. I am, therefore, deeply committed to our Church and this process of transition and I am confident that the outcome will be good and a blessing to all.

There will be time to reflect on and discuss the future but in this first communication with you I want to leave you with an excerpt from Experiencing God Day-By-Day (Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby) July 29th:
2 Kings 2:9
“Now it came about when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."”

There had never been a man like Elijah. Elijah had raised the dead, called down fire from heaven, and revealed God’s plan for a devastating drought. The Israelites must have felt certain there would never be another prophet like Elijah, until Elisha came along. Moses was arguably the mightiest leader the Hebrews had ever followed, yet God prepared Joshua to accomplish what not even Moses had achieved. David’s reign marked a high point for the nation of Israel, yet it was Solomon who carried out the task that was denied his father by building the spectacular temple.

We can be tempted to put more trust in the leaders God gives us than in God Himself. History teaches that, as wonderful as these Godly people are, God always has another Moses, Elijah, or David. Often the successor will come with a double portion of their predecessors’ spirits.

God’s purposes do not depend on us. He has limitless ways to accomplish His will. The same God who led Moses could also use Joshua. …We are not irreplaceable to the Lord. He will achieve His purposes.

The Leadership Team and I know that the mission and purpose of our Church is clear and that God’s provision for a new Senior Pastor who will build on this foundation is promised by the Lord of our Church. Times and circumstances may change, but God’s love and provision never does - it is always sufficient.

With love and great expectation for our future,


Bishop Thomas Johnston

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