Jennifer Brown: Leader and Mentor

Jennifer Brown is the Global Nazarene Missions International (NMI) president. Elected to the position in 2009, she is the first in that role to be elected from outside the U.S. An ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene, she holds B.Ed. and M.Ed. degrees from the University of West Indies. A teacher since 1980, she teaches high school Spanish and English, currently. Born and raised in Jamaica, she is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene. Her husband, Lionel, is pastor of Burnt Savannah Church of the Nazarene and superintendent of the Jamaica West District. The couple has three grown sons.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A teacher. I'd come home from school and line up rows of soda bottles and would "teach" them, repeating what I had learned that day.

Dream destination?
Mexico or Spain. I teach Spanish and would love to go to either country for an extended period.

Favorite food?
Curry chicken. Curry goat. Anything curried.

What would we be surprised to learn about you?
I can't ride a bicycle! And I grew up in a country where everyone rides one.

What's the best part of living in Jamaica?
Our lovely sunshine, all year long! The beaches and hospitality of people. The food is out of this world. People who visit love to eat our jerk chicken and pork, and Jamaican beef patties.

When you were a young girl, you spent time in England.
For five years, I lived with an aunt there who had no children. That's where I had my primary education.

What skill do you wish you had?
I wish I could play the piano. I regret not continuing in my early piano lessons.

Do you preach?
I do-at least twice a month in my home church and upon invitation in other churches on my district, regionally, and globally.

Define "mission:"
To be sent-whether to preach the gospel to the lost in another land, or at home; to be engaged in hands-on projects and activities. It's not passive, it's active. We must be on the move.

Share about your local church assignments.
I am assistant pastor, chairperson for the evangelism and church membership committees, and I also prepare and conduct leadership and discipleship seminars.

Thoughts on women clergy?
I feel honored to be a pastor. I believe women are equally called to the clergy and that God empowers us to carry out such duties. We don't have many women pastoring in Jamaica. Some churches still prefer to have a male pastor. However, more and more people are learning to respect women clergy.

What does this NMI role mean to you?
It's a wonderful privilege and opportunity to share my passion for missions, to promote and to motivate people to be involved in missions. NMI is the voice of missions in the local church. It's an opportunity to get people more sensitive to needs around the world by involving themselves in praying, giving, educating, and discipling future mission leaders.

How can NMI be dynamic for people?
Get involved in hands-on projects at the local, district, and regional levels. Involve teens in mission trips, adults in Work & Witness trips. Now in NMI, social media is available to help tell the story of missions with the help of World Mission Broadcast. We all work together as a team and have a great partnership with Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International, and with all age groups.

Define "holiness:"
Being pure in heart. Freedom from sin and sinful affections. Sometimes the term is used synonymously with "entire sanctification" where one is totally dedicated to God, set apart for God's service.

How did you adjust in going from Jamaica, to the UK, as a young girl?
This was not easy. First, it was the language. I went there with a Jamaican Patois or dialect (similar to Creole). To be understood, and to understand others, was a challenge for me. With firm determination, I was able to overcome.

Also, racial discrimination stands out in my mind. I went to an ethnically mixed school where my race was looked down on, and I had to figure out a way to stand up to the negative treatment. With time, I was able to overcome this challenge and move on.

Greatest hope for your sons?
That they would remain in the Lord.

Life motto?
Saved to serve.

Mentors?
My husband. He has helped me build my faith over the 29 years we have been married tremendously. My former pastor, in the Baptist church in which I grew up, also played a pivotal role in shaping my life.

Whom do you mentor?
A number of persons in my church and community-some older and some younger. I work with a discipleship group, and have been following some for quite a while, helping them to reach spiritual maturity.

Greatest fear?
Frogs, toads, and any creature that jumps.

Free time activity?
Playing Scrabble.

Idea of a perfect day?
Just being by myself, reading, meditating, and having quiet time (something I don't have much opportunity to do).

Hobbies?
Reading, cooking, baking, entertaining.

How has your life changed since June 2009?
Dramatically! I have met so many people in my frequent travels abroad. My schedule is full. It seems as though there is so much happening so quickly-all very overwhelming but an enjoyable learning experience.

Favorite childhood memory?
Just before I went to England, I received a life-sized doll named Rosebud. She talked. I was the envy of the kids in the community. But someone got jealous and damaged her.

Also, I recall my siblings and I gathering and listening to stories, told to us by our parents, in the evenings. Sometimes we'd be out in the yard by a fire, and we'd hear about our grandparents and ancestors. Some of these were called "Anancy Stories," which had a great moral for us to learn.

How did you become Nazarenes?
My husband was Wesleyan-Holiness when we met. I was Baptist. A few years after we were married, Lionel was approached by the district superintendent, in 1985, to pastor in the Church of the Nazarene. We started with a group of approximately 40 persons in a small, basic school. Within a few months, we moved to a tent in the school yard and stayed there for about a year in spite of the varying weather conditions. Today, we are with that same congregation which has grown to over 400.

Favorite topic when preaching?
Understanding our mission-anything to do with mission.

Holiness Today, November/December 2010 

Please note: This article was originally published in 2010. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.