Bethel Church Senior Leader Bill Johnson has married Linda Francoeur, four years after the death of his first wife, Beni Johnson, following a lengthy battle with cancer.
The couple were married Aug. 18 in a private ceremony, one month after the longtime pastor proposed during his birthday celebration. Kris Vallotton, a senior leader at the Redding, California-based charismatic church, reportedly officiated the ceremony, according to a report from Protestia.
The marriage comes shortly after Johnson publicly announced his engagement while speaking at Kenneth Copeland's Southwest Believers' Convention. Johnson, 75, who is currently on a four-month sabbatical from Bethel, asked Francoeur to stand as he shared the news with attendees.
“I am engaged to be married,” Johnson told the crowd, which erupted in cheers at the news. “We are getting married very soon. … we’re keeping it hush-hush on the dates.”
Johnson said he proposed July 18, his 75th birthday, after seeing the close relationship Francoeur had developed with his children and extended family.
“We have such an incredible time as a family. … Linda loves my family so much, my family is so crazy about her that I thought, ‘I’m going to do the unusual. I’m going to propose at my birthday party,’” he said.
Johnson said he got down on one knee to ask Francoeur to marry him in front of his family, adding that his children enthusiastically welcomed the engagement.
“And I went down on a knee. I’m not going to right now, but I went down on a knee. If I do it now with tears and all, I’ll be a mess,” he told the crowd as Francoeur blew him kisses. “So, but anyway, I asked her to marry me and my kids just cheered and just went, ‘This is great.’ Yeah. So, so fun.”
Johnson also previously shared news of the engagement with the Bethel congregation, describing Francoeur as a woman of “deep, deep compassion” with “great wisdom and discernment” who had become “a great strength” in his life.
At the time, the pastor stressed that his relationship with Francoeur wasn’t an attempt to replace Beni, his wife of more than four decades.
“She’s not going to be filling Beni’s shoes. That’s impossible,” Johnson said. “Beni took her shoes with her, and Linda has her own shoes to fill.”
Beni Johnson died in July 2022 at age 67 following a yearslong battle with cancer. She and Johnson had three children and 11 grandchildren and had co-led Bethel beginning in 1996.
Beni Johnson was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2018 after doctors discovered two lumps in her right breast. The lumps were removed, but doctors later discovered she had a BR2 gene mutation that placed her at increased risk for developing cancer.
As her condition worsened in 2022, Bethel launched a 24/7 prayer campaign for her healing. She underwent chemotherapy before being moved to at-home hospice care shortly before her death.
“We continue to stand with the Johnsons for Beni’s complete healing,” the church said at the time. “Medicine is a blessing and a great help, but in this moment we need a miracle from the Lord.”
Following her death, Bill Johnson shared a photo of his wife on social media with the words, “Healthy and Free.”
Bethel Church, which has drawn thousands of attendees to its Redding campus and international ministry, is known for its emphasis on supernatural healing, prophecy and other charismatic practices. Bill Johnson has served as a senior leader at the church since 1996.
