Pianist Serves Church for Over 70 Years

With a divinely inspired talent and a passion for music, Johnnie Mae Smith has faithfully served her church as a pianist for over 70 years.

Born near Panama City, Florida, Smith was one of nine children in her family. The rural town did not have a church building so her father donated an acre of the family’s land on which a community church was built.

When the construction of the church was finished, 8-year-old Smith became fascinated with the piano that had been purchased for its use.

“Every time I was there, I would lay my hands out on the keys and try to pick out songs note by note,” she says.

Although she longed to develop her musicality, Smith’s family did not own a piano, nor was she able to take formal lessons. But one sunny afternoon, God miraculously granted her heart’s deepest desire.

As she and her sisters played outside under a tree, Smith suddenly saw a bright light and felt a warmth sweep over her body. She immediately looked around to see what was going on, but the bright light was nowhere to be found and none of the other girls had seen or felt anything out of the ordinary.

Unsure of what had just happened, Smith had an impression in her young spirit that God had just done something in her, but she didn’t know what it meant. As the family entered the church building, it was announced that the church pianist would be absent for service and the youth leader at the time was asking if someone was able to accompany the singers with the piano.

“All of a sudden, my sister piped up and mentioned that I had some piano knowledge and they asked me to come up and try to play along,” Smith states.

As the singers began, 9-year-old Smith laid her hands out on the piano keys as she had done many times before. All of a sudden, her fingers started gliding along the keys in perfect synchronization with the hymns being sung.

“Then it all made sense,” Smith says. “I knew right then that God had imparted a gift in me and I would use this gift to serve in ministry for as long as He asked me to.”

Smith continued to fill in for the church pianist on occasion until, at 12 years old, she and her family relocated to Oxford, Florida, where they began attending Oxford Assembly of God.

While at Oxford Assembly, Smith was given occasional opportunities to play the piano during the service for special songs or for worship time. The pastor at the time began to show Smith formal chords and by the time she was 14 years old, Smith was the main pianist for the church.

“The Lord continued to grow my gift and started giving me original songs,” she shares.

When Derrel Strickland became the pastor at Oxford Assembly nearly 38 years ago, he recalls being impressed with the church’s talented pianist.

“In my previous pastorates, we struggled with musicians. When I got to Oxford Assembly, I thought Johnnie was just amazing,” he says.

Smith continued to serve the church without any formal training until she was 32 years old. It was then that a woman from a nearby church asked for a copy of a song she had written. Smith told the woman that she didn’t have any formal training, so she was unable to write the song down on paper as she only played by ear.

Amazed at her talent, the woman offered to teach Smith how to read music, recognize scales, and write scores. This training went on for two years until Smith began teaching beginning piano students of her own.

Smith knew that her gift was something she must continue to use to glorify God so, even while teaching 25 years of piano and working for 42 years as the church secretary, she continued to be the pianist for the church.

“It never mattered who was leading worship, she could play right along. She never missed a service and was always dependable for both beautiful music and a smile through which shone the love of God,” Strickland says.

“This whole thing was simply a miracle from the beginning,” she says. “I always think about how God chose to use me, a little girl, to minister through song. I’ve always given Him all of the praise for that.”

Smith continued to play the piano for over 70 years until, in 2019, she developed a series of health issues that have kept her from being able to continue.

During her career, Smith has worked with numerous worship leaders, accompanied countless performers in the church, and has written over 100 original songs.