Johnson couldn’t keep the truth to himself.
August 24, 2025
The "Emmaus Boy"
In Harare, Zimbabwe, at the Pan-African Brethren Conference for Mission, Emmaus Worldwide’s international coordinator, Marlon Govender, sat down with a remarkable brother—Johnson from Uganda.
Johnson lives in Kabare District in the southwest of Uganda. He is married, a father of five, and today serves as the head of counseling at Raji Hospital. But before stepping into that role, Johnson dedicated 15 years of his life to Emmaus, faithfully distributing and grading courses across schools, prisons, and communities alongside Robert Cullen at the Uganda office.
His journey with Emmaus began when he was just 19. Hungry for truth, Johnson had written down nearly 100 questions about God and salvation but found no answers. Then one day he met Emmanuel, an Emmaus worker, who introduced him to the courses. Coming from a strong Anglican background, Johnson was skeptical—asking questions like, “Who are you? Does my bishop know you?” But Emmanuel explained that Emmaus was simply a group of believers committed to teaching the Word of God.
Johnson hesitated at first, but soon began to study The Word of God, followed by The Greatest Man Alive. Then he received What the Bible Teaches—and everything changed. In its pages, he found the answers to the questions that had burdened him: What is salvation? Why do I need it? How do I receive it?
His hunger only grew. Through Guide to Christian Growth, Johnson learned how a young man could walk in purity and live faithfully. Later, Christ Loved the Church became a turning point. Up until then, Johnson believed church was simply a building with a cross on top. But the course opened his eyes to the biblical truth: the church is the people of God. That realization left him with a choice—cling to tradition or stand on Scripture. He chose the Word of God, and it changed his life forever.
After baptism, Johnson couldn’t keep the truth to himself. He shared the courses with friends who also had questions, with students in schools, and with people throughout his community. His zeal became so well known that neighbors called him “the Emmaus boy.”
Looking back, Johnson’s testimony is a picture of God’s transforming work—turning a young man with 100 unanswered questions into a faithful servant of the Gospel, equipping others with the Word of God for more than 15 years.