Jay Johnson comes to the Michigan Conference United Church of Christ after 11 years as Director of Stewardship and Development for the Catholic Diocese of Lansing. There he managed the annual Diocesan Services Appeal, a campaign which raised over $5,000,000 in 2005 and provided two-thirds of diocese’s operating funds. Jay also assisted parishes with capital campaigns and increased offertory. During his time with the diocese, Jay also helped develop and refine the Diocesan Stewardship Initiative, a program designed to help parishes educate their members about the biblical concept of stewardship and encourage members to a deeper commitment of sharing their time, talent, and resources with others.

Jay has more than 19 years of fundraising and development experience with a number of not-for-profit organizations. His strengths are in the areas of designing and administering capital campaigns for congregations of various denominations and educating others about genuine Christian stewardship.

Jay was born in Wisconsin. He grew up in Rockford, Illinois and graduated from Illinois State University in 1983 with a BS in political science, and concentrations in International Relations and Public Administration. He also participated in forensics and debate throughout high school and college, where he competed at the national level.

Since 1995 Jay and his family have lived in the Waverly area of Delta Township (Lansing). He and Elizabeth, his wife, have been married for 19 years and are the proud parents of four children: Matthew, 15; Christopher, 13; Gregory, 10; and Catherine, 3.