Friends and Neighbors: Johnson serves the community through a variety of ways

Virgil Johnson began serving his community long before coming to Kimball County and landing in Dix 20 years ago.

Johnson, the pastor at Dix Bible Church, spent time as a missionary in Africa. He lives in Dix with his wife, Susan, and their children.

"Having come back from the Ivory Coast, we were missionaries for a term, Dix was without a pastor and they had a parsonage they said we could live in. We were free to travel when we needed to so we moved in and haven't moved out," he said. "There is needy folk everywhere."

Johnson has busied himself serving as more than a pastor. He is a member of the Dix Volunteer Fire Department, the Dix First Responders and more recently the Kimball County Ambulance Service.

He originally took the emergency medical technician course eight years ago with one of his daughters, and although he passed, he did not use the certification nor did he take the national certification right away.

"I did use what I learned, but I didn't see the need for going on with the national registry," he said. "But then two years later, I took the class again and went ahead and took the national registry. I've been with the Kimball department three years."

Johnson provides vehicle maintenance for both municipalities as well.

"It all helps the finances as well, but really my target is to help people," Johnson said. "To minister to folks is my goal."

Susan stays busy overseeing their daughters' education, caring for their garden and preserving the bounty, but they still find time to serve together. They also take time to minister to the residents of the Kimball County Manor on a regular basis.

"We have been involved at the Kimball Manor for a number of years. We do a gospel singing there every Friday morning," Johnson said. "In the process of getting to know folks there my wife wanted to do an elderly vacation bible school. It went very well and they seemed to really enjoy it."

Because the residents enjoyed it so well, Susan was invited to help with activities a couple days each week.

They have also traveled to Brazil to spend time with two of their eight children who are both missionaries there.

"We were able to spend some time with our son in Brazil, because our son in Mozambique met a Brazilian gal in Mozambique with the same mission and they got married in Brazil," Johnson said.

While they are open to going wherever they are sent, Johnson said he is content to stay as long as he is needed here. As for how they will know it is time to move on, Johnson said that has never been up to him.

"Our life pattern, we seek the guidance of the Lord through his word and wait on him," Johnson said. "When God is finished with us in Dix we will move on. We knew this is where he brought us and we'll know when he wants to move us on."

Johnson said they would enjoy spending time on the mission field with their adult children in the future, where he has learned some of life's bigger lessons.

One of the biggest lessons Johnson said he has learned and continues learning is to not be too quick to judge others.

"I'm learning to be able to minister to folks even though we may be on different wave lengths on some things," Johnson said.

He finds that with most people he can find some common ground and that he too is a "prickly vessel," but that it is his mission to pass on the life and light of Jesus Christ. He added that he hopes to draw others to Jesus and that at the least to not be a road block for others.

"It doesn't matter where you are from or where you go. People are different but the one thing that doesn't change is God's word. God is the constant," he said. "There are things that are pretty black and white, but there is a lot of life that isn't that black and white."