Special Evangelism Projects
George Johnson, Evangelism Special Projects
Pastor George Johnson grew up in Asia and later spent 30 years there as a career missionary before returning to the United States in 1997. He pastored four churches in the Hanford area, worked actively in church planting and consulted for the conference for several years. In 2002, he began working full-time at the Central California Conference as Director of Special Evangelism Projects.
Though he thought stateside work might be boring, he has found it invigorating. “The most exciting thing was discovering that I could be a missionary here in America,” he states. “I can use the package of skills I developed in the mission field to help people here turn on to the challenges of being relevant in their communities.”
George oversees three important areas of evangelism for the conference:
Bible Workers - Recruits, places, mentors and evaluates the conference’s 50+ workers.
Church Planting - There are 20-30 church plants in the conference at any given time.
Lay Training - Develops opportunities and manages and supports ongoing training program.
“We are sort of an R&D department,” says George. “We look at the different components of the church and work to get them all working together smoothly, so that there is synergy and good results for God’s work.”
George is married to Mernie, a nurse, author and editor. Like George, she is passionate about evangelism and uses her talents for the Lord in a variety of ways. “She is my right hand,” smiles George. The Johnsons have three children; Stemple, Shirleane, and Sameena, and five grandchildren.
Isaiah 40:31, “They that wait up on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint”, became Pastor Johnson's favorite scripture while running marathons each year in Southeast Asia.
Sandra Manro, Administrative Assistant to the Director for Special Evangelism Projects and the Assistant to the President for Church Growth 
Sandra had been a homeschooling mom for ten years, but when an accounting job at the Central California Conference opened up in 2002, she felt God’s nudge. She applied, prayed and left it up to God. She got the job, and worked there for three years before moving to her current position with its focus on her personal passion, evangelism.
Sandra’s responsibilities include:
Providing office support for Bible Workers and church plants, organizing quarterly Bible Worker training sessions, and assisting with immigration and payroll for Bible workers.
Assisting all traditional public evangelism campaigns (there were 85 campaigns in 2007!) with office support and resources, and coordinating training rallies for Share Him Homeland Campaigns.
Serving as the Evangelism Committee Secretary, responsible for preparing the Committee’s agenda with President Jerry Page, overseeing the allocation of evangelism funds, application requests, communication with churches, and budget reports.
“It’s a whole potpourri of stuff. It’s a wonderful ministry and very satisfying,” she says. “I love praying with the Pastors and Bible Workers. No matter what is going on, you just stop and pray.”
Sandra’s and her husband Eric, along with their teenage sons, Cameron and Andrew, have an active ministry in their community. Each month the family takes Sabbath school, Church and food to 40 families. With the help of their local church and the Conference office, the Manros have provided food drives, Christmas parties and revival meetings for the community.
Two people have been baptized since the Manros began the outreach in 2004, and others are studying with Eric each week. “We weren’t looking for this ministry,” says Sandra. “It kind of found us. Serving God like this has been an adventure and an awesome blessing.”
Sandra loves all of the Psalms, but Psalm 37:4 is a special favorite. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Delinda Hamilton, Administrator of Griggs University, Education in Ministry Program 
More information coming soon...
Karen was active with her local Emergency Medical Service, doing massage and studying physical therapy, when a friend asked her for Bible studies in 1997. They studied together and Karen discovered her real passion - Bible work.
"I love seeing people's lives changed," she says. "It's awesome to see them realize that there is a purpose for their lives and that God cares about them."
That initial Bible study sparked her interest, and Karen thereafter attended Mission College, finished her bachelors, and studied at Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism. She then did Bible work for Amazing Facts, the Northern California Conference and with Mark Finley before joining the Central California Conference in January 2008.
As field supervisor, Karen works one-on-one with the conference's 50 plus Bible workers. She spends several days with each Bible worker, giving studies with them, encouraging church member involvement, and evaluating their work. She also does short periods of Bible work with churches that don't have their own Bible Worker.
Karen is an avid outdoorswoman, enjoying four-wheeling, camping and "outside stuff." She also enjoys cooking and shopping. "Living for God is a good thing," she says. "I want to help inspire people to live the good life with Jesus."
Her favorite scripture is "Greater love has no man than this, than that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13