John Woodward Jr. was raised in a Christian home and came to know Christ as his personal Lord and Savior at an early age. The home churches of his family during his formative years were First Baptist Church of Bloomfield N.J, West Essex Baptist Church of Livingston, N.J., and First Alliance Church of Atlanta, GA.

After attending Florida Bible College for a year, John toured for two years with the Internationals. This music ministry presented concerts in the USA, Canada, and Europe in order to share the gospel of Christ and encourage believers in their spiritual walk. During the first year of touring, John met Linda, a singer in the group who grew up in Levittown, PA. They were married in 1978 and are blessed with five children and four grandchildren. Linda holds an Associate of Arts degree in music from Bucks County Community College.

After the Internationals, John completed his B.A. degree in Biblical Literature at Northeastern Bible College, Essex Fells, N.J. (now the Kings College in NY), then earned the M.Div. degree at Biblical Theological Seminary in Hatfield, PA. in 1981.

From '82-'89 John served as Associate Pastor at Peoples Church of Montreal. The church is a multi-ethnic congregation located in the center of this major city. The church sent him on short term missionary trips to Indonesia ('85) and India ('87).

From 1989 through July, 2001, John served as pastor of Winona Gospel Church in Stoney Creek, Ontario. The church is affiliated with Associated Gospel Churches of Canada. God blessed the ministry in Winona over the years with the assistance of L.K. Redinger as Minister-at-Large and John Bryan as Assistant Pastor.

In 1996 John and Linda attended Charles Solomon's Exchanged Life Counseling Workshop in Pigeon Forge, TN. This training solidified the insights in Dr. Solomon's books, including Handbook to Happiness, The Ins and Outs of Rejection, and Handbook for Christ-Centered Counseling.

In 2000 John became an instructor with Grace Fellowship International, helping with three Institutes. In the fall, TransWorld Radio started using a recorded script of Grace Notes for weekly episodes of their MemCare by Radio program, which was sponsored by GFI. In August, 2001 John left the pastorate in Ontario and moved with his family to Tennessee where he serves with Grace Fellowship International as Director of Counseling and Training. In this role he presents counsels, teaches conferences, conducts Workshops and oversees the certification tracks in Exchanged Life Counseling and Recovery Coach ministry.

In 2004 John earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in Discipleship Counseling at Luther Rice Seminary in Lithonia GA.

His published books include: Man as Spirit, Soul and Body: a Study of Biblical Psychology (2007), Blessed Reassurance: Finding Security in Christ (2008), and The Worthy Walk: How Believers Can Live According to Their New Identity in Christ (2022). These are available from the GFI bookstore.

In 2013 John was trained by Walk thru the Bible in Atlanta, GA and became an Associate Instructor to teach their Old Testament and New Testament live events.

In 2019 John opened the online course portal, GraceStudyHall.org. Twenty course are now available there, and most have free enrollment.

In 2024 John became a member of International Fellowship of Chaplains (IFOC.org).

John is the author of Grace Notes and editor of GraceNotebook.com.

For his itinerary, see GraceFellowshipInternational.com Events Calendar.