Joy grew up in the Montreal area. From an early age, she was sure she would be a veterinarian. But after she received Christ as Saviour at age 19, she discovered that God had other plans! For several years, she worked as a registered nurse. In 1989, she felt a call to China, where she served as an English teacher until 1991.

After returning to Canada, she became senior pastor of Kahnawake Pentecostal Church in a First Nations community near Montreal. During her fifteen years of ministry there, she was also involved in short-term missions to northern First Nations communities and to several African nations. In additional to her pastoral and missions work, she served as a part-time chaplain in public elementary schools.

In 2007, Joy founded Joy Johnston Ministries Inc. and launched into full-time ministry as a missionary-evangelist. In North America, she ministers in a variety of cultural settings, with a particular heart for First Nations communities. She endeavors to commit approximately three months per year to International Missions ministry. Her heartbeat is to see people restored to a right relationship with God and ignited with a passion to fulfill the Great Commission. Her preaching style has been characterized as “simple yet powerful,” “communicating life and not only knowledge,” and “demanding a response.”

Joy currently lives in Chateauguay, Quebec. She has a Bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies, and a Master of Divinity degree in Missions. She is an ordained minister with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.