ENTREPRENEURSHIP
ROOTED
IN
FAITH By Aaron M. Johnson
F
irst and foremost, I am APOSTOLIC! There is nothing or no one I love more than serving the Lord. My family and my life have been rooted in faith and an unwavering belief in a God that can do anything but fail and lie. It was my parents who instilled this faith in me, and I’ve had it ever since.
I was raised in Jackson, MI where my family and I attended Greater Bible Way Temple under the leadership of Bishop Ira Combs Jr., until my dad, Bishop-Elect Rader Johnson, was called to start a church in Bay City, MI. He now pastors Greater Bethel Temple in Louisville, KY and my brother, District Elder Phillip Johnson pastors Apostolic Life Church of Bay City where I attend and play the drums. I am the youngest of six and was the last one in my family to be baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the Holy Ghost at the young age of 5. It was also at a young age where I developed a love for the game of basketball. Like a lot of kids growing up, I had aspirations of playing in the NBA; however, God had other plans for me and I ultimately took a different route. It was my freshmen year of high school where I remember writing down short- and long-term goals. One of my long-term goals was to work for the Detroit Pistons. Working for an NBA team felt nearly impossible to me because there are only 30 teams and only one in Michigan. The competition of landing a job is through the roof, but God, whom I trusted and believed to do the impossible, ordered my steps. Ultimately through faith, I achieved that goal in the summer of 2014. I attended Northwood University where I studied Entertainment, Sports Promotion and Management with a minor in Marketing. I met the Senior Director of Sales during a sports symposium held at Northwood. I met him two more times again weeks apart and it THE CHRISTIAN OUTLOOK
was on the last meeting when he gave me an interview for an entry level sales position. I worked as an Inside Sales Rep for six months before being promoted to Marketing Coordinator and Executive Assistant to the Chief Marketing Officer. After a short time, I was promoted to Youth Marketing Manager where I served in a role of working with the youth. Fast forward to now, I am the team Brand Strategist. It is my job to tap into the culture of the city of Detroit and Michigan as a whole to connect the team and organization with the community, influencers and celebrities. I also serve as a Game Entertainment Stage Manager where I am responsible for booking national anthem singers, halftime performances and managing the VIP’s who attend the games. The Lord has blessed throughout this journey of working for the Pistons. But I wanted to find a way to allow God to show up in my workplace more. I began infusing more gospel into the game day elements by having gospel artists come and perform anthem and halftime shows. Some of the artists I have had performed so far are Karen Clark Sheard, Jonathan McReynolds, Deitrick Haddon, Dante Bowe, Tim Bowman Jr., Young Men 4 Christ and many praise teams and choirs from all across Michigan, just to name a few. Over these eight years that I have been with the Pistons, it was imperative for me to not put the job over my faith and to always continue to seek first the kingdom of God. It was a challenge at first as a Christian working in a secular industry to keep my faith first. One Scripture has been with me daily is Matthew 5: 15-16…”Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” The key to working as a Christian in the secular world is to always let your light shine and never allow anything to blow your candle out. IG: @aaronmichaeljohnsonn FB: Aaron Michael Johnson
“WALKING IN THE PROMISE OF GOD”
MAY/JUNE 2022
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