John came into the Church of God after his conversion in 1971. He became part of the Salem Avenue Church of God in Dayton, Ohio, where he was called from an engineering career with General Motors to the pastoral ministry as Salem's Discipleship Director.

He served on the staff of this dynamic church for four years while attending Anderson and United Schools of Theology. He then pastored the Dallas First Church of God for 12 years as it grew from150 to over 550.

In 1989 John and his wife, Judy, along with Rev. Jeffrey and Tamara Barnes, planted the Sawgrass Community Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It is now a thriving Church of God congregation in south Florida. In 1995 John sensed a call to the State Ministry, where he has been the Executive Secretary of Florida since 1996.

He has previous degrees in Industrial Engineering, a Masters of Business Administration, a Master of Divinity, an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Warner Southern College, and a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Seminary.

He and Judy have been married for 37 years and have two children, Lynelle Vaughn of Dallas and Kelly Johnson of Oklahoma City. Both are married to committed Christian men and have provided six grandchildren for the Boedekers to spoil.

John chaired the Publication Board of the Church of God for nine years. He is currently serving on the Church of God National Prayer Ministry Board of Directors and is also a member of the Board of the National Prayer Summit Ministry. He has led ministers' meetings and revivals in 42 states and in the countries of Korea, Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, India, Greece, and the Cayman Islands.