Global Council Chair
Rev. Karl B. JohnsonRev. Karl B. Johnson (Jamaica) was elected as BWA Chair in 2025, beginning his 5-year term of service in July 2025 at the Baptist World Congress. He has a long history with the BWA, having served as First Vice President of the BWA from 2020-2025 and Chair of the Membership Committee as well as a member of the Executive, Budget & Finance, Nominations, Congress, and Governance Review committees. He served as General Secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union from 2001-2021 and has also held roles in the Caribbean Baptist Fellowship and World Council of Churches.
“I am convinced that the BWA is a Christian body that embraces the precepts and principles of the Triune God. This has been our witness and testimony since 1905 and that has made us one of the more consistently credible voices in the world as it relates to issues of evangelism, justice, equity, religious freedom, human dignity and flourishing. My prayer is that God will enable me through this role to provide missional, inspirational and transformational leadership, especially in the interest of the most overlooked and marginalized in the world.”
Messages for the Global Family
A Global Pentecost Message
The Church: God’s Spirit-Infused Gift to the World
At Pentecost, God revealed the Church as His Spirit-infused gift to the world. A living community empowered to proclaim salvation, pursue justice, serve with compassion, and reflect the love of Christ in every generation.
Reverend Karl B. Johnson calls the global Church to renewed faithfulness through prayer, fellowship, integrity, evangelism, and courageous witness. The same Holy Spirit poured out in Acts 2 still empowers believers today to bring hope, transformation, and healing to a broken world.
The Church is not merely an institution; it is God’s living presence at work through his people.
A Global Call to Peace
– Just His Peace –
In a world marked by war, division, injustice, and human suffering, Rev. Karl B. Johnson calls the global community back to the only peace that can truly endure: the peace of Christ.
This message reminds us that peace without justice is fragile, and justice without mercy is incomplete. From nations in conflict to hearts in turmoil, humanity is crying out for healing, compassion, truth, and transformation. Through scripture, faith, and moral clarity, this message challenges us to become peacemakers; pursuing justice, extending mercy, and walking humbly with God.
“Just His Peace” is more than a statement. It is a call to the world.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Rev. Johnson shares an inspiring message in recognition of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. that calls the global Baptist family to continue the pursuit of his dream of freedom and justice today.
A Message for the New Year
Rev. Johnson shares a word of encouragement about the peace Christ brings as we conclude 2025 and seek the Lord in 2026.
Serving Around the World
Ministry in West Africa
The Baptist family in Togo received the Rev. Johnson into their beautiful country with great excitement and love in January 2026.
The first meeting point was the residence of Pastor Elias Apetogbo, Continental President of All Africa Baptist Fellowship (AABF) and Regional Secretary of the BWA.
Thereafter, the team proceeded to Eglise Baptiste Le Rocher (led by Pastor Rev. Adjenou Joseph), one of the biggest Baptist Churches in Togo with approximately 500 representatives in attendance. The meeting was glorious and impactful.
The Chair shared with the Baptist family that they belonged to a global Baptist family that truly cared for and continued to pray for them. Gifts were given and lots of connections were initiated.
Rev. Johnson and his host, Pastor Elias, visited four Baptist Churches in Lome:
- Eglise Baptiste Jéhovah Shammah d’Amadenta
- Eglise Baptiste la Vraie Vie de Vakpossito
- Eglise Baptiste la Foi de Gblinkome
- Première Église Baptiste Boulevard
The Churches were full of God’s love and the services fully attended. In fact, the first Church in Amadenta area is a pure local Church with traditional drums and the people sang and prayed wholeheartedly. They were so happy to know that beyond the local church, the convention and continent, there is a global family that continues to pray with them.
Rev. Johnson visited two other churches and finally was received at First Baptist Church, Lome (Première Église Baptiste Boulevard) where he preached. The Church showed appreciation through an award of recognition and gift of a traditional Yoruba attire called Agbada with a Buba (for his wife).
The executive of Togo Baptist Convention later hosted BWA Chair Johnson and the AABF President at their headquarter in Lome. It was a time of learning more about what God is doing with the youthful leaders and their projections for the future. Indeed, the future of Baptist witness in Togo is very bright.
The Church in Togo is truly a living Church. This can be affirmed through the gathering of young people on Sunday evening, with everyone in white, praising and praying their way into the new year. BWA Chair Johnson and his host shared words of encouragement with them, prayed, and acknowledged their commitment to God at a time when young people are often distracted by technology. They found joy worshipping God in his temple.
On January 26, while the team was headed to Benin Republic, the group stopped at a slave house where underground slave tunnels used by the slave masters were seen and the BWA Chair was fully engaged in the experience by entering the tunnels with AABF Elias Apeotgbo, BWA Horizons Director for Africa Koffi Soké Kpomgbe, and other team members.
He was deeply pained at another visible reminder of the atrocities and evil meted out to God’s people and expressed the hope that one day justice for the sin of slavery will become a full reality.
The host shared about the activities of the government, how the Church in Togo has been a watchman for the country, and about the introduction of National Thanksgiving Day with a commemorative service to affirm the reign of God in the country. The minister apologized for the inability to meet with the President during the visit and asked that a letter be sent which he will deliver to the President of the Council of the Republic of Togo.
BWA Chair Johnson personally thanked the leadership of the country and asked for more to be done to promote Religious Freedom. After a shared photo opportunity, the minister graciously bid our delegation farewell and Godspeed.
We give thanks for this fruitful time of ministry in West Africa and pray for God’s continued work across the region.
