The Rev. Dr. John A. Johnston was the founding minister of St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Prince George, BC; St. Timothy’s Presbyterian Church, Ottawa, ON; and Lagos Presbyterian Church, Lagos, Nigeria.

For 27 years, he was the minister of historic MacNab Street Presbyterian Church, Hamilton, ON and latterly interim minister of Alberton Presbyterian Church (1846-2023), Alberton, ON.

In 1996, Dr. Johnston fulfilled a long-held vision – he began collecting artefacts prior to the establishment of a national Canadian Presbyterian museum. While he had been a student at Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey, he had been inspired by his visits to the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Inspired by the Communion token collection on display at the Presbyterian Historical Society, Dr. Johnston realized that Canada’s rich Presbyterian heritage was in danger of being lost and forgotten. Consequently, the core display of the National Presbyterian Museum was the development of the Communion Token Collection, the largest collection in Canada.

Dr. Johnston was the founding Curator of the National Presbyterian Museum which opened in the basement of St. John’s Presbyterian Church, (Riverdale)Toronto on Sunday, September 29, 2002. The Museum remained at that location until September, 2018.

He had served as the long-time convenor of the General Assembly’s Committee on History and Archives. He also had served as President of the Canadian Society of Presbyterian History, established in 1975.

Among his many activities, he was the former president of the Ecumenical Study Commission on Education in Ontario; Hamilton Public School Board Trustee; Mayor ‘s Race Relations Committee; and the Hamilton Historical Board.

He was the beloved husband of Heather Erika, loved father of 3 children and devoted grandfather to 8.