From Pig-Farmer to Pastor: First Christian Church in Chehalis Welcomes New Minister

The First Christian Church in Chehalis found a new pastor in John Johnstone, and he has found a new home with the church.

Johnstone has preached at several churches, including the United Methodist Church in Morton and as a fill-in pastor for other community churches since the early 2000s. 

Before becoming a pastor later in life, he worked at Puget Sound Energy and worked building cabinets. 

In the early 1990s, Johnstone and his wife moved to Lewis County. They bought some land and farmed pigs. Eventually, they found their niche in selling piglets because a lot of people want to raise the animal themselves before butchering it, he said.

“We became the piglet supplier around here for quite a while,” Johnstone said. 

Then, in the late 2000s, he decided to go to seminary to become an ordained minister. 

“I felt God calling me deeply to become a pastor,” Johnstone said. 

Preaching in a historic church is an honor, he said about his new role at First Christian. The building was constructed around the turn of the 20th century, and the congregation is an older one. According to the Lewis County Assessor's Office, the church was built in 1900; however building permits were not issued until the 1960s, so the construction dates on buildings built before then are estimates based on the style of architecture.  

Every Sunday, service starts at 11 a.m. after Bible study at 10 a.m. In the sanctuary, the chestnut-stained podium and pulpit are on a raised platform and  flanked on three sides by curved pews. 

This style of pew is seen in very few churches, Johnstone said. He added newly constructed churches are starting to have chairs instead of pews. 

The services held in the sanctuary reflect it in nature, Johnstone said. He keeps it simple. He pulls some passages from scripture and gives examples of how to apply the word of God to everyday life. 

The simple approach better conveys the word of God, Johnstone said. Extra bells and whistles such as lighting changes, full bands and fog machines are distractions, he said. The congregation is also the choir, singing all the songs accompanied by a single upright piano played by members of the congregation. 

“When you accept Christ into your life, you will never be alone,” Johnstone said. 

It can feel at times that there is no good in the world, Johnstone added. With famines, disasters and violence that regularly plague humankind, it is an easy thing to think. However, it is not true, he said. 

Johnstone believes goodness can be found by helping one another. One person cannot help everyone, but they can help their neighbor, friend or relative, he said, adding that then that person can go on to help someone else, creating a chain.   

These are messages Johnstone is offering to young people and members of the community who may have stopped attending church for any number of reasons. His congregation is not as large as it once was, and it is getting older as a whole. It is welcoming to everyone, he added. When a new person attends a service, everyone shakes their hand and talks to them and gets to know them. 

Aside from the weekly service and Bible study, the church is the meeting place for a group of severely mentally disabled people and their caretakers to gather and study the word of the Lord, Johnstone said. 

It’s one of his favorite aspects of the church because he sees how interacting and learning about scripture makes them happy. 

They feel safe here, he said. No one talks down to them, and they feel welcomed and loved. Their faces light up and it is a great thing to see, he said. 

“It is heart warming because it is sincere,” Johnstone said. 

The church is located at 111 NW Prindle St, Chehalis. The phone number is 360-748-3702.