Potomac Conference

Story by Debra Anderson

Lola Moore-Johnston grew up in Newark, N.J., and at an early age felt God’s call on her life. Her leadership gifts were evident early in her spiritual development, as she led out in her local church and while attending college at La Sierra University (Calif.). In her youth, God was preparing her to be a change agent and a history maker.

Moore-Johnston joined the Potomac Conference in 2018 as the pastor of the Woodbridge (Va.) church. On July 1, she was installed as the lead pastor of the Restoration Praise Center in Bowie, Md. This is the first time in the history of the Potomac Conference that a female has been selected the lead pastor of a congregation.*

“‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matt. 22:36–39, NIV).

In 2020, I performed with Takoma Academy’s chorale at the Capitol Hill church in Washington, D.C. Earlier that week, I had celebrated my 16th birthday. But sadly, I lost a family member the next day. I walked into church that Sabbath with intense emotions.

“Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:24, NKJV).

I woke up this morning with “The Lord’s Last Supper” on my mind. We participate in this ceremony once a quarter, but do we really think about its meaning? Does it stimulate our remembrance of Christ?

For me, the Lord’s Supper reminds me that God is the Sustainer of our lives. We are not self-sustaining; a loving God provides for us. We are dependent on Him, not just as our Creator but our Redeemer. With the inability to save ourselves, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to die for our sins that we might be saved. We rely on Christ, the Bread of Life, to sustain us physically and spiritually.

“And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Gen. 5:24, NKJV).

As a child, I was desperate to know more about God. From what I can remember, I was introduced to God in grade school by neighbors. I proceeded to invite myself to many different church denominations with several of my neighbors and relatives. Looking back, I realize something was missing in my life, and I believe that, even as children, the Holy Spirit works to draw us closer to God.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isa. 41:10, NIV).

College is a hard time for most young adults. Personally, that period of my life was lonely and discouraging, full of seemingly endless work on top of regular everyday life while figuring out how to be and act like an adult.

In 2017, the American College Health Association conducted a survey of nearly 48,000 college students that revealed 64 percent felt “very lonely” and 62 percent felt “overwhelming anxious” within the previous 12 months. For some students, college is just a bunch of lonely people together.