‘It’s tough to help people understand the concept of grace’

Danny Johnson was born in the East African country of Burundi and grew up there before moving to Tanzania, where his parents serve as missionaries. His grandfather was the first of their family to go to Burundi as a missionary in 1949, where he served for over 50 years before he died. He met his wife Annie at Emmaus Bible College and the two have three children — Ruth, Lydia and Elijah — together. They were commended to the work of the Lord in Burundi in 2012, where they are involved in church planting and the Gisuru School for the Deaf. The duo also farm so they can “understand the life of the locals and the problems they face in order to help them with long-term solutions”.

Tell us about the people you minister to.

Burundi is one of the poorest and hungriest countries in the world. It has a long history of civil wars, which have led to widespread poverty. Around 90% of the population is made up of subsistence farmers, which means that they live off the land. Unfortunately, they grow barely enough food to survive. Almost all the people of Burundi believe in God (there are currently 152 brethren assemblies in Burundi). The majority are nominal Catholics; there is also a growing Muslim population in the country. Most of the population holds a syncretistic worldview — meaning, they still hold onto their ancient animistic beliefs but have added another ‘religion’ on top.

How did your work with the Gisuru School for the Deaf come about?

When we moved to rural Eastern Burundi over three years ago, we became aware of the fact that there are an unusually large number of hearing-impaired children on our side of the country. These children have no chance to go to school and, more importantly, no way to hear the gospel, because they have no language.

These children have no chance to go to school and, more importantly, no way to hear the gospel, because they have no language 

In the 80s, my father had started a school for the hearing-impaired in the capital city of Bujumbura (about five hours away). So, in October 2018, we opened a branch of that school in our area. We currently have 47 students from three of the 18 districts in our area. Every year, we work to expand the school by researching and accepting hearing-impaired children from three more of the 18 districts around us. God willing, we hope to add 33 new such children in September 2019. 

Our main goal is to teach these children sign language, through which they can hear the gospel and be able to go to school. It is amazing to see them open up as they learn to express themselves for the first time in their lives.

What challenges do you currently face on the field? 

Helping people understand the concept of grace. So often, religion is built on works and earning the approval of God. It is difficult for people to understand that salvation is by grace through faith. Another challenge is helping people understand that when they are in Christ, they do not need to be controlled by fear of the spirit world anymore.

Salvation by works is a false teaching found in many parts of the world. How can readers who come across the same belief system when they interact with colleagues or friends respond to this? 

One verse that has really helped me understand grace and works and how they fit together is Ephesians 2:10, which says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” If you look at the context, Ephesians 2:8-9 helps us understand that we are not saved by works — but rather by grace through faith. But then verse 10 helps us see that even though we are not saved by works, we are saved for works. I think one reason many people don’t understand grace is because they don’t understand where works fit into the picture. I think giving people tangible and Biblical illustrations of how the concepts of grace and works fit together is key to helping them understand grace.

So often, religion is built on works and earning the approval of God. It is difficult for people to understand that salvation is by grace through faith

Who is your own missionary hero or model? 

My father. He isn’t perfect (no father is) — but he is genuine in his love for the Lord, his love for teaching the Word of God, his love for the bride of Christ and his love for the lost. I was so blessed to grow up witnessing his faith firsthand. 

What are some practices you learned from watching your father that you live out in your life today? 

One way my father modelled his love for the Lord to me was through daily family devotions. Both my parents made it a priority to sing praise to the Lord, read His Word and pray every single evening as a family. By making family devotions take priority over everything, my dad showed me that walking with God is the most important way to spend my time. 

One way he modelled his love for the bride of Christ was in the way he persevered through many difficult problems in the church as a church leader. Growing up, I remember a long period where there were some major problems in one of the new church plants my father was involved in. I remember him being very discouraged for a long time. But he never gave up on the church. He loved the bride of Christ even though it wasn’t easy, even when she didn’t deserve love. 

One way he modelled his love for the lost to me was in the way he showed compassion to people. My dad would have people come to him with their problems almost constantly. But even though he would sometimes get frustrated with the constant demands, he continued to show compassion, over and over again. His compassion came from seeing how desperate and lost the people who came to him were. Even though there were many times of disappointment when he would invest in people only to be disappointed in the end, he never became indifferent or hardened as a result of the ‘wasted’ time and energy. He persevered and still does persevere in his love and compassion for the lost.

How can we pray for you?

Pray for us as we serve in church planting, that the Lord would continue to raise up new faithful leaders to shepherd and serve the flock. Pray for our work with the hearing-impaired in Eastern Burundi that we would continue to be able to reach them for Christ. Lastly, do pray for continued progress in language for both of us.

CMML Mission Update Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci1Eq5IP6p0&t=4s