Paul Johnston

Behind his sparkling eyes, jovial spirit, and great big Irish laugh is a man who knows that God has spared his life on more than one occasion. Paul Johnston, director of Campus Services, grew up during the height of violence and strife between Protestants and Catholics in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His parents, worried for his safety, removed the troubled teen by enrolling him in the cadets. “Back then I had a very destructive personality–and I was ready for adventure,” says Johnston. He credits his parents for having the foresight to enrol him—a decision that would alter the course of his life. “The fact that they got me out really gave me what I was looking for.” Paul later found a rewarding, if not dangerous, career with the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the former police service in Northern Ireland. He has survived a helicopter crash, been shot at, jumped out of aircraft, held back rioters, and witnessed the unimaginable, all while clinging tightly to his life verse, “Never will I leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). After 23 years he and his wife moved to Canada where Paul exchanged his gun for a guitar and his hardened heart for a heart of ministry serving both at his church and at TWU. “I’m called to serve. God has me here for a reason. I’m sure of that.” EM