Ray Johnston is the founder of Bayside Church (baysideonline.com), but the path to ministry was hardly part of his teenage plan. Back then, the idea of becoming a pastor—or even getting deeply involved in religion—was the furthest thing from his mind. Today, Johnston wears many hats: devoted family man, published author, respected business leader, and, of course, passionate church founder.

Tell us about your story.   

I grew up in Southern California and was an atheist. Not a good statement for a pastor! My dad was a successful businessman and into politics, my parents divorced, and then—just before college—a basketball buddy invited me to go to church with him. Eventually I went and my previous ideas about [religion] were blown apart; the people were sharper and cooler than I imagined. But what stumped me was how such sharp people could believe the Bible. I started studying Christianity and after eight months of reading and dissecting the evidence (particularly around the resurrection), it was hard to remain an atheist. 

Once you discovered Christianity, was becoming a pastor on the agenda?

No, not at all. I didn’t even consider it. My wife, Carol, and our first child moved to Chicago where I was a professor of history in two different grad schools.  

So, how did Bayside begin? 

Carol and I had three of our four children and were still living in Chicago but knew we wanted to return to California to be near grandparents. We moved to Folsom, and I’d just written a book, Developing Student Leaders; it was doing well and allowed me to take some time off. We started a Bible study group in our living room, and it blew up.

Around that time, two teens committed “copycat” suicides in Granite Bay and people asked us to start a church there. If teens were committing suicide, I could see that there was a need. I said I would start one, so long as it was for people who didn’t like church. And that was how it all began. 

Currently, we have churches locally in Folsom, Roseville, Auburn, and Sacramento. Most recently, Folsom State Prison asked us to establish a church there, which we’ve done.    

How does your varied life experience help in your role as a pastor?

My dad gave me a solid business background, and I was around great leaders; combined with [my knowledge of] history, it lends itself well to what I do now. I also really understand how people who don’t like the church think and how businesspeople think. We host a business leader roundtable, [often attended by around] 550 incredible communicators and leaders. We’re bringing together church and business, helping leaders lead. 

Tell us about a typical day.

Well, every day begins with me reading a devotion, which I take with me and think about all day. I have three days that are the same each week: Sunday (we have 30 different services across our churches), Tuesday (I have leadership meetings with my strategic team, which are a blast), and Wednesday (Bayside employs 300 people and we all come together for a service of worship, encouragement, and celebrating). My goal is to build people up and our ethos is for our staff to live better, love better, and lead better because of working within the Bayside community. On other days, I enjoy spending time with my family, especially my four grandchildren. 

How does Bayside reach beyond the church?

We all have two levels: a support level and a challenge level.  The gap between the two is destructive stress, and it’s that stress that can lead us to addiction, depression, and relationship breakdowns. When people come to a Bayside church, they give us 60-70 minutes of their time and in that time, we [help] raise their level of support. That’s what we’re there to do. For teens, parents, and leaders; and whether it’s educational, relational, or spiritual, we’re their number one support mechanism to help them reach that challenge level.  

But we’re not limited to the four walls of the church; we can help reduce the stress gap in communities, too. There are real differences between schools in [various areas] and the first time I saw that for myself, I wanted to do something about it. 

During COVID, we heard that 300 children were excluded from school because of a lack of computers and Wi-Fi at home. We brought [our Bayside community] together on Zoom and raised $250,000 in 13 minutes! Those kids [were given] Chromebooks and two years’ prepaid Wi-Fi so they could continue their education during the pandemic. 

As well as having two youth pastors at each church, we take our teen and young adult parishioners to Mexico every year. Children need [positive] role models and parents can [help], but experiences are also imperative. They volunteer in the villages, they lead, and some of them go into the prisons; they’re stretched.  

FAVORITES

Restaurant: Mikuni and Hawks—two great local businesses! 

Coffee shop: Bayside Café; it’s a great space with wonderful coffee.

Way to relax: I’m lucky that I have a good work-life balance. In my free time, I love golf, pickleball, and watching movies. 

Favorite passage from the Bible: “And He who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold I am making all things new.' He also said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”—Revelation 21:5

by Caroline Kings
Photos courtesy of Ray Johnston.