Ashley S. Johnson - president 1893 – 1925
Motivated by a strong conviction that the one great need in the cause of Christ was more laborers, Ashley Johnson founded the School of the Evangelists in 1893. Dr. Johnson was a native of East Tennessee and an evangelist, teacher, and author. An important element of his vision was to provide an education for worthy young men regardless of their ability to pay. The College was renamed Johnson Bible College in 1909 at the request of students and friends. From its founding until 1941, the College also included an Academy for students who had not completed their high school requirements.

In founding the institution, Ashley Johnson was greatly influenced by Alexander Campbell, the founder of Bethany College. They both desired to combine the family, preparatory school, college, and church in one system of education. Even the design of the Old Main Building contributed to this idea of educating the total person, for it housed the dormitory, dining room, classrooms, chapel, and library. Showing the mark of Campbell 's influence, Johnson also made the Bible the central study in the curriculum. At the same time the College offered a substantial number of courses in the arts and sciences, such as English, zoology, literature (Livy, Horace, Dante, Milton), astronomy, sociology, geology, economics, European history, and psychology. Johnson Bible College has always required a solid core of general education courses as necessary for an educated ministry.

Ashley Johnson and his wife, Emma Elizabeth, were essentially a team. Under their direction the College and Academy grew and prospered from a combined enrollment of 42 students in 1894 to 132 in 1925. A high of 188 was reached in 1910. The students came from many states and a number of foreign countries. The progress was briefly set back in 1905 when the main building burned and during the 1918-19 period of World War I.

The reputation of the College was enhanced by the worldwide renown of Dr. Johnson as an author. Between 1881 and 1903 at least twenty books came from his pen. One of them, The Great Controversy, sold 100,000 copies.

Emma E. Johnson - president 1925 – 1927
Mrs. Johnson outlived her husband by two years and served as president during that time. The couple dedicated their lives to the development of the College. Not having children, they gave and bequeathed all their possessions to the school. The students, faculty, alumni, and supporters were their family.

Alva Ross Brown - president 1927-1941
In 1927 Alva Ross Brown, a brilliant young graduate of Johnson and the University of Michigan, succeeded to the presidency of the College. At 22, he was reputed to have been the youngest college president in America at the time. His fourteen years of faithful service were greatly complicated by the Great Depression. The growing debt of the College became a heavy burden on his heart and probably contributed to his early death. At the same time, the enrollment held steady, the academic standards were raised, the quality of the faculty was strengthened, and the number of graduates increased.

Robert M. Bell - president 1941 – 1968
Robert Monroe Bell, former Johnson teacher and established professor of economics at the University of Tennessee , became the fourth president of the College in 1941. The Academy was dropped that year, and Johnson became coeducational a few years later. The school was brought out of debt and placed on a firm financial footing. During Dr. Bell's twenty-seven years of service the enrollment steadily increased, the academic program was improved, new buildings (Bell Hall, Myrtle Hall, Alumni Memorial Chapel, and Glass Memorial Library) were constructed, and the reputation of the College was expanded by his influential writings.

David L. Eubanks - president 1969 to 2007
In 1969 David L. Eubanks, a native of Maryville, Tennessee, was called to the presidency. A graduate of Johnson and the University of Tennessee, Dr. Eubanks had been a member of the Johnson faculty for eleven years. Under his leadership, the College has continued to develop within the context of its historic mission and purpose. The enrollment grew to 900; the faculty and staff increased; regional and national accreditation were achieved; undergraduate program offerings expanded; and graduate, distance learning, and degree completion programs were added.

The physical plant was greatly improved with the construction of the Phillips-Welshimer Building, married student housing, the enlargement of Glass Memorial Library, the Eubanks Activities Center, the Emma Johnson Hall for women, and the Alva Ross Brown Hall for men. Computers and network infrastructure were added to provide campus-wide computer accessibility. Between 2000 and 2004, the Global•Education•Technology Center (now named Richardson Hall), larger residence halls for both men and women, and the renovation of Myrtle Hall into a state-of-the-art counseling center were completed.

Gary E. Weedman - president 2007 to present
Gary Weedman assumed responsibility as the sixth president of Johnson Bible College in 2007. He graduated from Johnson in 1964 and returned as a professor from 1969 to 1976. Since then he has held administrative roles as Lincoln Christian College, Milligan College, Palm Beach Atlantic University, and TCM International Institute. JBC's Board of Trustees unanimously selected him to become president in 2007. Recently retired president, David Eubanks, has extended his unqualified support saying, "Gary is one of our own. He loves Johnson Bible College and is committed to her heritage and mission.  I believe that our trustees were led of the Lord in his selection."

Gary's wife, Janis Morgan Weedman, is also a Johnson Bible College graduate. She is the daughter of Russell and Jean Morgan, who served at the college for over twenty-five years. Janis' love of and commitment to Johnson Bible College strengthen her service as first lady. Campus development has continued under Dr. Weedman with the completion of the Gally Commons dining, bookstore, and post office facility in the fall of 2007. Construction is underway for the new Bob Russell Preaching Center.

A Heritage with a Far Reaching Impact
Johnson Bible College graduates have served and are serving faithfully as preachers, youth ministers, missionaries, Bible college presidents and faculty members, ministers of music, church secretaries, and in other areas of specialized Christian service all over the United States and throughout the world. Many of them have also made important contributions to mankind as doctors, lawyers, statesmen, public school teachers, and business executives. Wherever they have gone, they have shown the marks of personal commitment to Christ and faithfulness to the Word of God.