You can call him “Ray.” You can call him “Pastor Ray.” You can even call him “Dr. Jay” — but you don’t have to call him Johnson. (If you get that reference, you’re going to fit right in at FBC.) Ray’s path to our pulpit is one of those stories that only God could write. After fifteen years as the Coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida and the Caribbean Islands, he retired on June 30, 2022, ready for a quieter chapter. Ten days later — yes, ten days — he began serving FBC as interim senior pastor. Apparently, God’s idea of “retirement” looked a lot like a new calling. On January 1, 2024, Ray accepted our invitation to become full-time Senior Pastor, and we haven’t stopped giving thanks since.
Ray brings a world of experience — literally. He spent six years as a missionary to the Philippines, where he served as a seminary professor teaching Old Testament and Hebrew and planted a new congregation called The One in Christ Fellowship in Baguio City. He has pastored two churches over thirteen years: First Baptist Church of York, South Carolina, and Riverside Baptist Church in Miami. His mission work has carried him from Chicago to Miami, from the Philippines to Uganda, from Brazil to Cuba. All of those miles and all of those stories have shaped a pastor whose preaching is grounded, whose heart is global, and whose warmth fills every room he enters.
Ray and his wife Nena have been married since 1978 and are the proud parents of Matt — a professional musician and public-school teacher — and Holly, who is currently a nurse. When he’s not preparing a sermon, you might find Ray knee-deep in a trout stream (he’s an avid fly fisherman and fly tier), working alongside Nena in their garden, or scanning the treetops with binoculars. Ray is a passionate birder who has spotted more than 430 species. His favorite? The great gray owl. Ask him about it — he’ll light up.