My Life Story

Hello, my name is Brother Johnny Campbell. I want to thank the Lord for your visit to my Web site. My prayer is that you can sense my heart felt desire to serve my Lord for what He has done in my life.

I Was In Pitiful Shape When HE Found Me

I was born the first time, December 12, 1940, in Alexandria, Louisiana. I was given to my grandparents to raise me, and they had no religious affiliation. I was 28 years old before I ever even held a Bible, saw anyone pray, or went to church. My whole life was filled with drinking and partying. Also, my step-parents ran a house of prostitution, while my step dad drove a cab to the Army base in Leesville, Louisiana, to pick up soldiers for sinful pleasures during their furloughs.

At 12 years of age, we moved to Houston, Texas, where we didn't go to any church or never met a saved person. By the time I was thirteen years of age, I was an "alcoholic" and began to have trouble with the law. I began to be involved with the "Laura Koppe Road Gang" which led to a period of time in jail.

In jail, I met Freddie Gage, who use to be called "Freddie the Cat," because of his cat burglaries. Amazingly, God saved his soul, and he is now in evangelism for the Southern Baptist Convention. I recently saw him at Jerry Falwell's church. He's still going strong for Jesus.

Prejudice And Hate In My Life

Because of the hate and prejudice I had in my life, I bound my soul over to Satan. I begged him to give me power over men in exchange for my soul. I wound up worshiping Adolph Hitler, hating the Jews, and calling in bomb threats on Saturdays to Synagogues to see them run. I even organized several groups for the Klu Klux Klan (KKK), passing out literature to get people to join. While in the KKK, I never believed in the Holocaust. I thought Jesus was the son of a blue eyed German soldier (Hey you preachers, don't laugh! You had a professor at one of your seminaries by the name of Nels S. Ferre on your payroll that believed it, also).

Anyway, I was working for Coors Brewery in Colorado, when a news flash came that Martin Luther King was killed in Memphis. I soon left Denver for Memphis to organize a "White Power" meeting. When I arrived in Memphis, the city was burning. I then went outside Memphis and rented a room for my family and I. That night, while my family slept, I was planning for the next day. Then all of a sudden, for the first time in my life, at 28 years of age, I discovered a Gideon's Bible. I opened it, but didn't understand it. It seemed that something was reaching out to me!

Well, I met a man who I was trying to get to fill out my KKK application. He told me, "I used to be just like you till I got Saved." I never heard that before. He then invited me to a tent revival.

I said, "What is that?"

He said, "It's where people come and read the Bible."

Well, I had just read the Bible, and it didn't hurt me. But when I asked how many would be there, he said, "2000." I said, " I'll go!" I thought, "2000 people in one place to pass out my literature!"

When I arrived at the revival meeting, I immediately started passing out my applications. They thought I was a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness and told me to put my stuff up and listen to the preacher. God set an ambush for me and set me up.

The Jew That Loved Me

That preacher told us about a Jew that loved me, and that one day every knee would bow before this Jew. The preacher said that even if the soldiers that pierced His side would call on Him, He would save them. That night, the first time I began to cry my kids said, "Mama, what's wrong with daddy?" I didn't know what was happening.

For the first time I saw the real Johnny, full of sin and hate. That night, September 22, 1968, in the sawdust, I got saved! Within thirty days I was preaching. God let me get with men like Maze Jackson and many of the old timers to help me along.