Hymns sung by her grandma. Big-picture questions from a college philosophy class. A three-hour conversation with Mary Alice Jeremiah. The witness of women’s sports teams from Cedarville. All were benchmarks on Pam Johnson’s unique path to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

Pam, who is Cedarville Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Senior Professor of Kinesiology and Allied Health, heard hymns when she lived with her grandparents for five years. Next, her middle sister gave her life to Christ and shared with Pam. Then Pam earned a full-ride scholarship to the University of Dayton, where God used a philosophy class to spur her thinking about the bigger questions of life. 

That class prompted a two-year search for answers, which included a three-hour discussion with Maryalyce Jeremiah, the daughter of former president Dr. James Jeremiah. During a field hockey tournament in Indiana, she witnessed a sold-out faith in Cedarville players during the evening devotions. One of the Cedarville players sat down with Pam to talk further, and she placed her trust in Jesus. It was November 1, a Catholic holiday. 

“I had a gazillion questions,” she related. “But I got to the point where I was (thinking), ‘This is what I’m looking for; I need to ask Christ to be my personal Savior.’ So, I got to become a saint on All Saints’ Day. Isn’t that just cool?”