About

A visionary leader, believer, and builder, Dr. Kevin R. Johnson is a proven executive in transforming organizations into innovative, high-performing, fiscally-sound, and pioneering institutions.

Called in June 2024 to become Senior Pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church—the first African American Baptist Church in New York State and one of the oldest in the nation—Rev. Dr. Johnson succeeds the late Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III who was his mentor while serving as an assistant pastor. Since accepting the call as pastor, Dr. Johnson has already made an impact, with over 372 new members joining the church since he began his tenure.

In 2014, Dr. Johnson founded Dare to Imagine Church, Inc. In nine years, he grew a ministry that started with 20 people in his home into a 1,500-member congregation on a $2.2 million, 6.8-acre campus in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. In that time, the church donated over $750,000 to area organizations providing services for citizens in need. As an outgrowth of his commitment to holistic community development, Dr. Johnson founded and served as the President & CEO of Dare to Imagine Community Development Corporation. Prior to that, he was the President & CEO of Bridge of Hope Community Development Corporation, which built a $100 million, 14-story student apartment tower for Temple University along with The Goldenberg Group.

As President and CEO of Philadelphia Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC), Dr. Johnson developed a new workforce-training vision and launched career-sustaining programs in banking, energy, construction, and technology. Under his leadership, OIC and its affiliates’ budget increased from $2M to over $5M. In 2017, he secured a $6.6M alternative school contract from The School District of Philadelphia, making OIC the first to provide over-aged and under-credited youth a pathway to earning a high school diploma and a direct pipeline to life-sustaining careers. Additionally, he launched BankWork$, the first bank training program in the US Northeast for young adults from low-income communities. While expanding OIC’s workforce programs, he successfully maintained a nearly 80 percent job placement rate for jobs in the hospitality industry.

He is a nationally-known speaker who regularly delivers messages of inspiration. He has delivered speeches in distinguished arenas including the largest Protestant church in the world, Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul, South Korea. Dr. Johnson was also the first African-American in 200 years to speak at Africa’s oldest Baptist church, Regent Road Baptist in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and later was inspired to raise funds, build, and establish a new church in West Africa— “Bright Hope Baptist Church in Moyamba, Sierra Leone.” Additionally, by invitation of the American Jewish Committee, Dr. Johnson traveled to Israel and Palestine and met government leaders to discuss the challenges that exist between the nations. An avid and respected writer, he is a frequent columnist for the oldest continually-running African-American newspaper, The Philadelphia Tribune, and is heard by 400,000 listeners every Sunday morning on WDAS-FM 105.3.

Currently, he serves as the chair of o the Urban Theological Institute of United Lutheran Seminary. Previously, he served as Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of Lincoln University and on the boards of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, City of Philadelphia Workforce Steering Committee, and PHL Diversity.  A recipient of numerous awards and citations, Newsweek featured him as one of the “up-and-coming” national post-Civil Rights ministers, The Philadelphia Tribune identified him as a “mover-and-shaker” in the City, and Morehouse College inducted him into the prestigious Board of Preachers. Dr. Johnson has been a guest on CNN, NBC, MSNBC, ABC, FOX NEWS, and other national media. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity (Alpha Boulé), and a lifetime member of the Morehouse College National Alumni Association.

A Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude graduate of Morehouse College, Dr. Johnson was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. and Oprah Winfrey scholarships. He earned a Master of Divinity degree as a Union Scholar from Union Theological Seminary, and later earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree in Organizational Leadership and Transformational Learning from Columbia University.

He is married to Kimya S. P. Johnson, Esq., an employment lawyer and workplace diversity expert. They are proud parents of their three children—a son who is a graduate of Morehouse College and New York University, and two daughters, a junior and a freshman at Spelman College.