New deacon ready to bring Christ to those on the margins

Deacon Mike Johns said call to priesthood got 'stronger' as he grew older

Published: June 9, 2016

By Sarah Morris
Jonesboro Correspondent

Sarah Morris

Deacon Mike Johns provides Communion to his mother, Julie, as his father, Michael, watches May 24 during his ordination to the transitional diaconate at Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro.

Sarah Morris

Deacon Mike Johns provides Communion to his mother, Julie, as his father, Michael, watches May 24 during his ordination to the transitional diaconate at Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro.

JONESBORO — At age 8, Mike Johns began imagining himself as a priest.

“That was when I first became aware that the Lord was calling me,” said Johns, 27, who is the oldest of Michael and Julie Johns’ eight children. “My parents never pushed me one way or another, but they created a space in our home where I was free to imagine myself being a priest.

“The other big thing was we were always inviting our pastor over for dinner or to just come over and visit at the house,” he added. “So, growing up I was led to believe priests were somebody I could really relate to, and I could see myself becoming a priest one day because of my parents’ love of inviting them to the house.”

Johns is now set to join the priesthood next year. He was ordained to the diaconate May 24 at Blessed Sacrament Parish.

His brother Mark, also a seminarian, said the ceremony was overwhelming to watch.

“It was so beautiful seeing him completely give himself and totally commit to the Church in such a beautiful way,” he said.

While Johns told him at an early age of his calling, Mark said he could also see at a very early age that this was what his brother was meant to do.

Mike Johns said the feeling that he was called kept getting stronger as he got older. Johns said he prayed and asked for the Lord’s guidance. He also attended Arkansas State University for one year before making a decision.

“After that first year of college, I was sure the Lord was asking me to at least apply and give it a shot,” he said. “Ever since then, I have never looked back.

He applied in 2008. The Diocese of Little Rock sent Johns to Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas where he earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 2012. He also spent one summer studying Spanish in Mexico.

“He speaks Spanish beautifully so he will be very good at bridging the two communities in the Church to bring us all together,” Bishop Anthony B. Taylor said. “He is very good at visiting the sick and looking after the sick. He will be a good preacher. He brings a lot of youthful enthusiasm to the Church; a very positive approach to things.”

Bishop Taylor described Johns as one who is cheerful and has a love for the poor. Vocations director Msgr. Scott Friend agreed, saying it is an important trait in a priest and comes from Johns encountering the Lord and knowing it.

“He is really very talented, has great potential for leadership and I just expect him to continue to develop,” Msgr. Friend said. “He has a sense for justice. He’s got a strong sense of working with people around the margins and I think he will just do a wonderful job as a priest.”

Johns is now studying theology at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana. With a love for hiking, the outdoors and martial arts, Johns said he also helps a forester who cares for the seminary’s 2,300 acres of timber land.

After timber companies come in to harvest, Johns said he helps the forester clean up and maintain the forest.

“It is really neat to walk through the woods and just stumble across these really beautiful scenarios,” he said. “One time we were walking through and we stumbled across this really big cave.”

Johns hopes to continue his exploration of the outdoors this summer. He has been assigned as a deacon at St. Peter the Fisherman Church in Mountain Home.

“I would say the biggest thing to me, the biggest affirmation, is being in the parish and helping serve its people,” Johns said. “I enjoy school and I like studying and it’s all wonderful, but it’s nothing like being in a parish and really being able to introduce people to Christ.”