Our
Story
Bruce G. Johnson joins the ROTC at Wheaton College
Bruce and Kathleen get married
Bruce and Kathleen have 3 Children, Bruce, Bryan, & Colleen.
Bruce joins the army and is stationed in Germany
Bruce is sent to fight in Vietnam
Viet Cong attack an Army Special Forced Camp
Bruce G. Johnson leads a rescue mission.
Bruce's helicopter is shot down.
Bruce makes radio contact with the second helicopter
Bruce is unable to be rescued and declared MIA
13 Years Pass
Bruce G. Johnson is officialy declared presumed dead/KIA
The Johnson siblings learn to see God as their Heavenly Father
Bryan Johnson notices a lack of ministry resources for the fatherless
Psalm68Five is Founded
How it all got started
The Story of Psalm68Five begins at Wheaton College with a man named Bruce G. Johnson.
To pursue his education, Bruce enlisted in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), a path that would help him afford his college tuition.
Bruce fell in love with his high school sweetheart, Kathleen Weiss. They were married between his junior and senior years of college, and soon they welcomed their firstborn son, also named Bruce, into the world. The Johnson family grew even more with the addition of two more children, Bryan and Colleen soon after.
Bruce's ROTC commitment to serving in the army led him to Germany, where he was stationed at the iconic Checkpoint Charlie. There he was one of the first to welcome the few Eastern Germans who were able to get over the Berlin wall.
It wasn’t long before Bruce was sent into combat on the distant shores of Vietnam. In the midst of the turmoil, this photograph was taken of Bruce while sharing his rations with Vietnamese children.
As his tour in Vietnam neared its end, tragedy struck. An army special forces camp was overrun by the Viet Cong, and Bruce G. Johnson led a rescue mission. Two helicopters were dispatched to save the men stationed at the camp.
Bruce was aboard the first helicopter, which came under intense enemy fire and was shot down. Miraculously, he survived the crash, discovered a radio pack amidst the wreckage, and established radio contact with the second helicopter. The second helicopter attempted to rescue him but was unable to get close enough due to the relentless fire from the Viet Cong and had to turn back. Bruce was declared Missing in Action (MIA) in June 10th 1965
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Back in the United States, the Johnson family anxiously awaited news of Bruce's fate. Days turned into months, and months into years. The Vietnam War eventually came to a close, and prisoners of war were released, but Bruce remained missing.
The news finally arrived in 1978 that Bruce G. Johnson was officially declared "presumed dead"/Killed in Action (KIA). His son, and our founder, Bryan Johnson, was only four years old when his father went missing and seventeen when he received the devastating news. Bryan and his two siblings, Bruce and Colleen, grew up without the guidance and presence of their father.
The Johnson siblings experienced a unique form of grief – one filled with hope and doubt, as they lived in limbo, never knowing if their father would return one day. Their mourning process was prolonged and filled with uncertainty.
Although the Johnson siblings had many years of emotional pain, they did not stay in the dark places that so many fatherless children end up in. Seeds of the fatherhood of God through faith in Jesus Christ were planted in the lives of the Johnson siblings. These seeds grew and slowly changed their trajectory by changing their identity. They learned of the special place they had in the heart of the Heavenly Father, and they gained a new identity as children of God.
Years later, Bryan Johnson noticed a glaring gap in available ministry resources for fatherless children, particularly within the Christian community. To address this need and to honor the memory of his father, Bryan founded Psalm68Five Ministries, a beacon of support and comfort for children who, like him, grew up without their fathers.
Psalm68Five Ministries was born out of a deep understanding of the pain and longing that fatherless children experience. It exists to help the fatherless experience God as Father and embrace their true identity as God’s child through faith in Jesus Christ.