Rev. Larry Johnson was born and raised in the Bethalto, IL area near St. Louis, MO and attended schools in the Edwardsville, IL school district. He completed his undergraduate instruction at Southern IL University (Edwardsville) on athletic scholarships graduating in 1975 with a degree in Physical Education.

He was ordained as deacon at Bethel General Baptist Church in October, 1981.  Rev. Johnson accepted the call to ministry in May of 1988 and moved to Oakland City, IN to begin work toward his Master of Divinity degree which he completed in May 1992.  Prior to becoming pastor at First General Baptist Church in Oakland City, he served as pastor of the Arthur General Baptist Church on two occasions (1989-1991, 1997-2000); Winslow General Baptist Church (1992-1996); and most recently Indianapolis First General Baptist Church (2000-2009)

He married Wanda Pratt on October 18th, 1974, in Bethalto, IL and they have two children. Ben; resides in Newburgh, IN; is a CPA, staff professor at the University of Evansville; is married to Andrea and they have one son, Carac. Melissa; lives in Brazil, IN with her husband Clay Haviland and one yearold son, Cooper.  She is a Registered Nurse in the Special Care Nursery at Indiana University Hospital in Indianapolis and a labor and deliver nurse at Hendricks Regional Hospital in Danville, IN.