washington johnson

Washington Johnson II currently serves as the Director of Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries, the ecclesiastical endorsing agency for the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventists. Johnson is an ordained Seventh-day Adventist Minister and former Editor in Chief of Message Magazine. He has authored several articles as well as a book published in 2023 entitled: A Christian's Journey Toward Social Justice, Equality, and Freedom. His pastoral ministry has spanned throughout the South Central and Northern California Conferences of Seventh-day Adventists.

He was commissioned in the United States Navy Chaplain Corps in 1998. His assignments have included staff chaplain, Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay, GA; deputy command chaplain, MEFREL 220, Alameda, CA; staff chaplain, Naval District Washington (Arlington National Cemetery); command chaplain, NMCB23 (Fort Belvoir, VA) and NMCB22 (Jacksonville, FL); command chaplain, Joint-Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington, D.C.; deputy command and senior Protestant chaplain, Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Africa, during a year of active duty deployment; deputy chaplain, USCG, Portsmouth ,VA ( LANTAREA); deputy chaplain of the United States Coast Guard for Reserve Matters, Religious Support Unit 106, Washington, D. C. and staff chaplain, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) Peterson AFB, CO. Johnson served as the Deputy Chaplain, Navy Region Hawaii and retired as a CAPT O-6 July 2022. He currently serves as chaplain for National Naval Officers Association Washington D.C. Chapter.

His military decorations and personal awards include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (3 awards), Coast Guard Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, and various other unit and campaign awards.

Johnson is an alumnus of Oakwood University (Huntsville, AL), the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary (Berrien Springs, MI), and Reformed Theological Seminary (Clinton, MS), receiving Bachelor of Arts, Master of Divinity, and Doctor of Ministry degrees, respectively. He is married to Joyce Johnson, Ph.D., Dean of Washington Adventist University’s School of Graduate and Professional Studies (SGPS), and has one son, Washington Johnson III, a medical student at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN. His favorite scriptural passage is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13