Brian Johnson is an American contemporary worship musician and worship pastor. He is the president and co-founder of Bethel Music, as well as a member of its Artist Collective and is one-half of the husband-and-wife worship duo, Brian & Jenn Johnson. He is also a senior worship pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, California, and a Senior Overseer of WorshipU, an online school of worship under Bethel Music, which he co-founded with Jenn Johnson.
As a solo musician, Johnson has released one album, Love Came Down - Live Acoustic Worship in the Studio (2010). As a part of Brian & Jenn Johnson, three live albums have been released: Undone (2001), We Believe (2006)- the duo's first release to chart on Billboard's Christian Albums chart, and Where You Go I Go (2008). The duo has also released one studio album, After All These Years (2017), which charted on the US Billboard 200. As a founding member of Bethel Music, Johnson has been featured on most Bethel Music releases. As a songwriter, Johnson has co-written CCLI Top 100 Chart ranking songs such as "Love Came Down," "No Longer Slaves", "Forever", and "One Thing Remains". Johnson has also worked as a producer on multiple Bethel Music, Jesus Culture, and Brian & Jenn Johnson releases, alongside various producers such as Jeremy Edwardson and Ian McIntosh.
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Early life
In 1978, Johnson's father Bill moved his family to Weaverville, California, after Bethel Church, under the leadership of his grandfather, Earl Johnson, sent his father to pastor Mountain Chapel. In 1996, After seventeen years, the Johnsons moved back to Redding in 1996 when Bill and Beni Johnson assumed leadership of Bethel Church.
Ministry and music career
2000s
In 2000, Johnson and his wife, Jenn Johnson, were appointed as senior worship pastors at Bethel Church. As Brian & Jenn Johnson, they released their debut album, Undone, in 2001, featuring Johnson's younger sister Leah Valenzuela. After a five-year hiatus, Brian & Jenn Johnson released their second live album, We Believe in 2006, which was co-produced by Johnson alongside Jeremy Edwardson and Steven Tracy. We Believe also charted at No. 48 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart, making the album the first by the duo to register on the chart. On September 30, 2008, Where You Go I Go, the duo's third album, was released via the label Ion Records.
2010s
In 2010, Bethel Music released Here Is Love, its debut album on October 12, via its own label, Bethel Music alongside Integrity Music. Johnson featured on four tracks: "My Soul Sings", "What Does It Sound Like", "Worthy Is the Lamb" and "Here Is Love", which he sang alongside his wife, Jenn Johnson. Johnson made an appearance on Dave Fitzgerald's debut album, Hope of Heaven: Live at Bethel Church, which was released on October 26, featuring on the song "Shine". Soon after Fitzgerald's release, Love Came Down - Live Acoustic Worship in the Studio, Brian Johnson's debut live album, was released by record labels Bethel and Kingsway Music on November 9. Love Came Down was produced by Jeremy Edwardson, and recorded at The Soundhouse, a studio owned by Jeremy Edwardson in Redding, California.
In 2011, Brian Johnson featured on five tracks including "You Are Good", "One Thing Remains" and "What Would I Have Done" alongside Jenn Johnson on Bethel Music's second live album, Be Lifted High, the first album by Bethel to register on Billboard's Christian Albums Chart, peaking at No. 7. 2012 saw Bethel Music release two albums that Brian Johnson featured in and co-produced: The Loft Sessions and For the Sake of the World. The Loft Sessions, released on January 24, was produced by Johnson alongside Daniel James Mackenzie and Rick McDonald and was the first album by Bethel Music to register on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at No. 44. Johnson featured on three tracks: "One Thing Remains", "You Have Won Me" and "Angels". For the Sake of the World, released on October 1 via Bethel Music, with Johnson leading worship on five songs including "To Our God", "Forgiven" and the album title track, "For the Sake of the World". The album peaked at No. 51 on the Billboard 200 chart for three weeks, concurrently ranking at No. 2 on the Christian Albums chart. The song "Love Came Down", co-written by Brian Johnson alongside Jeremy Riddle, Ian McIntosh and Jeremy Edwardson, was featured on the twelfth season of American Idol as part of the "Songs I Wish I'd Written" night, with the performance of Kari Jobe's rendition as on Where I Find You done by the contestant Angie Miller, a top 3 finalist.
In 2013, Bethel Music released its first studio album, Tides, on September 3, with Johnson being featured in three songs: "Forever", "Strong in Us" and "For the Cross", which he sang alongside his wife, Jenn. Tides was the first album by Bethel to reach No. 1 on Billboard Christian Albums chart and also peaked at No. 30 on Billboard 200 chart, with nearly 15,000 copies sold as at September 11, 2013. He had an interview with Marcus Hathcock, editor-in-chief of NewReleaseToday, concerning the album and his life. Worship Leader ranked the song "Forever" from Bethel's 2013 studio album, Tides, which featured his vocals as lead, at Number 10 on its Top 20 Worship Songs of 2013 list.
Personal life
Johnson and his wife Jenn have three biological children as well as two adopted ones. The family resides on a farm in Redding, California.
Discography
Filmography
We Will Not Be Shaken (2015) — as himself