Joey’s Story
Joey Johnson was in the 7th grade when he was given some devastating news. His dad was diagnosed with cancer and was told he had one year to live. “I was raised in the Catholic church, and I prayed every day for dad”. His dad lived longer than a year, but eventually lost his battle with his disease when Joey was in high school. Joey is honest about how he felt and how he handled his grief. “I got mad at Christianity. I struggled with the loss of my dad and doubts about my faith. I turned to alcohol to help cope and eventually developed a drinking problem”.
At 22 years old and in college, Joey was still grieving the loss of his father while trying to find out who he really was as a person. One evening he was at a bar when someone started making very loud and hurtful remarks about a woman. Joey attempted to make the man stop, but the man turned violent and began punching him and eventually threw him headfirst into some glass. The broken glass ended up going into one of his eyes. “Actually, I was lucky to be alive. I was life-flighted to a hospital and was told that if the glass had gone just a little deeper, it could have caused uncontrolled bleeding.” While he was fortunate to survive, he did lose sight in one eye.
“After my injury I was in an even darker place. I thought about never being able to do things I enjoy like playing basketball, and even wondered if I would ever be able to have a girlfriend.” Joey shares that he had lost hope. He continued to struggle with alcohol and he felt no sense of purpose. “I had no real direction in my life. If I got any money, I just spent it immediately. I was just lost”
Through work, Joey met a special girl who would eventually become his wife. “She invited me to church and seemed to always have a bible in her hand. To be honest, I started going to church just to be able to spend time with her, but I began experiencing a life change and eventually got baptized.” Later, they felt the need to search for a new church, which was complicated during Covid, but Hope Chapel offered an outdoor service and they decided to try it out. “The outdoor services were great for us and at one service it all came together for me. We were singing Amazing Grace and we sang the line ‘was blind but now I see’ and it struck me - it took me being blind to be able to see”.
Joey found Pastor Jake after the service and told him about his enlightenment shared about his life change. “Pastor Jake listened and then said, ‘Great, now let's get you plugged in!’ Two weeks later I saw him and he remembered me and our conversation and he began helping me with the next steps to grow in my faith.”
Hope Chapel offered Alpha classes where Joey learned more about the faith journey as well as sharing more about himself. This led to connections in the church and eventually a group of people who continue to provide support and encouragement. Hope Chapel and his faith have been instrumental in helping him replace darkness, loss and hopelessness with a sense of purpose and he became part of “a group of people who have my back.” Joey serves as part of the food distribution ministry and on the hospitality team. His Alpha experience was so impactful that he now serves on the team because he wants to be a part of providing a place where others can experience life change. “At Hope Chapel, whether it's having someone help move a couch or just sharing life together, it's like I have another family”.