Neville Johnson
Encyclopedia
Neville Johnson is a former Missionary
and Pastor
in the Assemblies of God
church in New Zealand. For most of the 1970s his church was the largest Pentecostal church in Australasia. He currently runs a ministry called The Living Word Foundation.
. It was then that they returned to New Zealand taking over the leadership of the Auckland Assembly following on from Bob and Noelle Midgley, a church which had entered a period of significant growth.
. During this time the media began go show some attention to what was happening in the AoG, and Pastor Johnson did the first radio interview on commercial radio by an AoG pastor on 1ZB. He spoke on divine healing.
During this time Mission work with the Queen St Assembly as a base grew and a Bible College began, the Zion Bible Training Centre. This was a period of huge change in the Assemblies; Frank Houston
resigned as Superintendent in 1977 and soon after Jim Williams
was elected in his place.
During the 1970s issues arose in the assemblies for serious dialogue that included divorce and remarriage, church government, the structure of mission and the relationship of the AoG to other Pentecostal streams. Johnson served on the National Executive
from 1971 until 1975.
sent a message to all AoG pastors. Efforts were made to assist in his restoration, but he resigned from the denomination in February 1984. Many of the details of these events are unclear. What can be surmised is that Johnson had for some time believed that he had special revelation from God regarding the fact that his wife would be taken from him and he would be allowed to re-marry. To this end he felt he had special grace which allowed him to engage in several affairs over several years. When those involved came forward, and Johnson was confrounted, he refused to be corrected regarding the nature of his self imposed deception, and thus the ensuing fallout gradually diminished the church until today, all be it that it is no longer an AOG church, it numbers in the few hundreds as opposed to the once few thousands.
It needs to be noted that Neville Johnson was a sincere seeker of the Lord, and fell into the trap of "to the pure all things are pure." The reasons for this lay within his own heart and before the Lord Himself.
Neville Johnson was believed by many to be a Prophet. He would regularly visit Perth, mainly to a small pentecostal group "City Chapel" who met in a methodist church in Raglan Street, North Perth [1970-80s]. He was held in high regard there and gave direction and influence to a little known pastor "Frank Hultgren". Later in his ministry, he and his wife moved to Perth where Frank invited him to minister in his church. Frank then provided Neville with funds and staff to start his own fellowship/church in a Perth hotel (The Kings Ambassador hotel on Hay Street). Frank's church, City Chapel, had already moved into a new church building called "Shiloh Faith Centre" located in Balga, Western Australia [at the request of the resident pastor Bernice Hall. Shiloh Faith Centre later moved from Balga to Hepburn Heights where a new name of 'North City Christian Center' was adopted. It later became part of the Christian City Church movement and is now known as C3 Hepburn Heights.
An interesting aside here is that Neville Johnson brought a tape library /ministry with him to Perth which was established at Shiloh Faith Centre called the "Living Word Foundation". These tapes have later been transferred to CDs and the copyright seems to have left Shiloh Faith Centre.
Frank Hultgren mostly was a launching pad for Neville Johnson to rebuild his life and ministry in Perth, Western Australia. Frank had five children and two of them [Sandy and Ashley Hultgren] now run a church in Queensland. Darren Hultgren runs a church in Perth.
Frank retired from Shiloh Faith Centre and later to moved to Oral Roberts University and took up a position there.
From Ian Clark's book:
From the website:
His message now has a special focus on end time revelation, the ministry of angels
and The Book of Enoch
, referenced on his website.
This has not been without controversy, with some debate over the validity of these visions and this teaching.
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
and Pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
in the Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
church in New Zealand. For most of the 1970s his church was the largest Pentecostal church in Australasia. He currently runs a ministry called The Living Word Foundation.
Early years
From 1968 until December 1970 Neville and Josie Johnson served as missionaries in New CaledoniaNew Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. It was then that they returned to New Zealand taking over the leadership of the Auckland Assembly following on from Bob and Noelle Midgley, a church which had entered a period of significant growth.
Queen Street AoG
The church moved several times as numbers grew eventually settling in the Auckland Town Hall and became known as the Queen Street Assembly of GodQueen Street Assembly of God
The Queen Street Assembly of God is the commonly used name for the Auckland Assembly of God during its heyday in the late 1970s and early 1980s when it was the largest church in Australasia...
. During this time the media began go show some attention to what was happening in the AoG, and Pastor Johnson did the first radio interview on commercial radio by an AoG pastor on 1ZB. He spoke on divine healing.
During this time Mission work with the Queen St Assembly as a base grew and a Bible College began, the Zion Bible Training Centre. This was a period of huge change in the Assemblies; Frank Houston
Frank Houston
Frank Houston , was a Pentecostal Christian pastor in the Assemblies of God in New Zealand and Australia....
resigned as Superintendent in 1977 and soon after Jim Williams
Jim Williams (pastor)
Sydney James Williams is a former pastor and leader of one of the most influential churches in the Assemblies of God in New Zealand. He is a published author and a former General Superintendent of the NZ Assembly of God. He is currently pastoring in Brisbane.-Early ministry:Williams received...
was elected in his place.
During the 1970s issues arose in the assemblies for serious dialogue that included divorce and remarriage, church government, the structure of mission and the relationship of the AoG to other Pentecostal streams. Johnson served on the National Executive
Assemblies of God in New Zealand
The Assemblies of God in New Zealand is a Pentecostal denomination in New Zealand and a member of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal denomination. In 2007, the denomination had nearly 200 congregations and preaching points and 30,000 members and adherents,...
from 1971 until 1975.
Scandal
On 27 April 1983 at a special members' meeting at the Queen Street Assembly it was announced that Johnson had resigned, having admitted charges of misuse of office, and immoral, improper and deceitful conduct. His credentials were withdrawn, and such was the potential effect on the denomination as a whole, General Superintendent Jim WilliamsJim Williams (pastor)
Sydney James Williams is a former pastor and leader of one of the most influential churches in the Assemblies of God in New Zealand. He is a published author and a former General Superintendent of the NZ Assembly of God. He is currently pastoring in Brisbane.-Early ministry:Williams received...
sent a message to all AoG pastors. Efforts were made to assist in his restoration, but he resigned from the denomination in February 1984. Many of the details of these events are unclear. What can be surmised is that Johnson had for some time believed that he had special revelation from God regarding the fact that his wife would be taken from him and he would be allowed to re-marry. To this end he felt he had special grace which allowed him to engage in several affairs over several years. When those involved came forward, and Johnson was confrounted, he refused to be corrected regarding the nature of his self imposed deception, and thus the ensuing fallout gradually diminished the church until today, all be it that it is no longer an AOG church, it numbers in the few hundreds as opposed to the once few thousands.
It needs to be noted that Neville Johnson was a sincere seeker of the Lord, and fell into the trap of "to the pure all things are pure." The reasons for this lay within his own heart and before the Lord Himself.
Neville Johnson was believed by many to be a Prophet. He would regularly visit Perth, mainly to a small pentecostal group "City Chapel" who met in a methodist church in Raglan Street, North Perth [1970-80s]. He was held in high regard there and gave direction and influence to a little known pastor "Frank Hultgren". Later in his ministry, he and his wife moved to Perth where Frank invited him to minister in his church. Frank then provided Neville with funds and staff to start his own fellowship/church in a Perth hotel (The Kings Ambassador hotel on Hay Street). Frank's church, City Chapel, had already moved into a new church building called "Shiloh Faith Centre" located in Balga, Western Australia [at the request of the resident pastor Bernice Hall. Shiloh Faith Centre later moved from Balga to Hepburn Heights where a new name of 'North City Christian Center' was adopted. It later became part of the Christian City Church movement and is now known as C3 Hepburn Heights.
An interesting aside here is that Neville Johnson brought a tape library /ministry with him to Perth which was established at Shiloh Faith Centre called the "Living Word Foundation". These tapes have later been transferred to CDs and the copyright seems to have left Shiloh Faith Centre.
Frank Hultgren mostly was a launching pad for Neville Johnson to rebuild his life and ministry in Perth, Western Australia. Frank had five children and two of them [Sandy and Ashley Hultgren] now run a church in Queensland. Darren Hultgren runs a church in Perth.
Frank retired from Shiloh Faith Centre and later to moved to Oral Roberts University and took up a position there.
From Ian Clark's book:
Current Activities
In the 1990s Johnson founded a church in Perth. He has since moved on from this and now runs The Academy of Light.From the website:
His message now has a special focus on end time revelation, the ministry of angels
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
and The Book of Enoch
Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
, referenced on his website.
This has not been without controversy, with some debate over the validity of these visions and this teaching.