The relationship between Paula Johnson and Liberty University may have been a match made in heaven. To this day, she insists it was a call from God that led her and her family from Anderson, Ind., to Lynchburg, Va., where she became a charter member of the university’s first class in 1971.
As a skeptical 19-year-old, who had just completed her first year at Anderson University, Johnson thought the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s vision for a Christian university sounded like a pipe dream. At that point, Liberty had no designated campus — no dorm, dining hall, or academic facilities.
The summer before the first class was held at Liberty, Johnson and her family traveled with Falwell around the country, spreading the Gospel and raising money to start the school. Johnson’s father was the legendary Gospel singer Doug Oldham. Falwell resolved to start the school on faith, and as he pitched the concept at a rally one night, Johnson said she heard an audible voice telling her, “Go!” She left Anderson and was a member of Liberty’s first class when the school opened that fall.
But her initial encounter with Liberty was less than inspiring. Her first dorm room was in the basement at the old Donald Duck Bottling Co., where Falwell’s church, Thomas Road Baptist Church, was located. It had a dresser, a cot, and a chair, and when she opened what she thought was a closet door, she found the boiler.
“I asked myself what I had gotten myself into,” she said.
Johnson soon learned that there was a unique sense of fulfillment that comes from following a God-inspired vision. The college started to grow. Students began living in houses near the church. Johnson became a member of a singing group that traveled the country. The farmland on Liberty Mountain that she soon heard Dr. Falwell praying about would become the campus.
Johnson witnessed the school as it was built from the ground up. She saw people catch Dr. Falwell’s vision and become a part of God’s work there.
“It’s been one miracle after another,” she said. “I’ve been amazed every day I come here.”
After Liberty, Johnson would stay in Lynchburg, get married, and raise a family. But she contributed greatly to the university and its related ministries for many years. A creative person, Johnson offered her artistic touch to buildings and special events. She designed sets for the Living Christmas Tree (now the Virginia Christmas Spectacular), and she led the team that put together Dr. Falwell’s biggest surprise on his 70th birthday – the Jerry Falwell Museum. About a hundred people were in on the secret.
“Someone said, ‘Here comes Dr. Falwell!’ and everyone hid. We locked the doors and stayed as quiet as possible,” she said. “When they cut the ribbon and opened the door, his mouth flew wide open. He was quite surprised and very pleased.”
And in 2003, four years before his death, Dr. Falwell appointed her as the museum’s curator, a post she would hold until her retirement this past October.
Preserving Liberty’s history and the history of its founder has been a labor of love.
“I think it would be easy, if you didn’t know the history, to take it for granted and think, ‘Yes, it’s supposed to be here,’ Johnson said. “But God did a big work here, through the life of Dr. Falwell and through the lives of so many people who gave money to purchase this land so this university would exist. It shows that the vision from the beginning, when we had nothing, is now a reality on these grounds. I’m just amazed and so thankful to the Lord for His provision.”
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