When the sanctuary and fellowship hall of Brown Missionary Baptist Church burned down in 1987, what could have been a disaster turned out to be the catalyst for the growth and outreach acceleration of what is today a thriving church in Southaven, Mississippi.
Brown, a predominantly African American congregation founded by formerly enslaved people in 1882, still worships from the same property today. But the fire in 1987 paused its ministry and brought about a church split: Some members and the pastor chose to leave the then-rural area and start a new church closer to the urban center of nearby Memphis, Tennessee. Fewer than 100 members stayed and rebuilt, welcoming then-19-year-old Senior Pastor Bartholomew Orr in January 1989 and opening the newly constructed church building that May.
“We are a church that is busy not only between the walls but beyond the walls of the church,” he explains. “We are ministering to the needs of the people.”
Prior to the fire, the church’s identity as a cornerstone of its community was already cemented into its DNA.
“We have a history that says the greatest things in the African American community start within the church,” Orr says. “There were barriers to education, so they started their own schools. Graves date back to 1889 in our church cemetery, because the only way to bury our dead was if we did it ourselves. They started these things so that they could minister to their community. That’s what we seek to continue, and the Lord blesses us because I believe that’s the way Jesus intended.”
Brown has accelerated its trajectory toward growth, spiritual health, local and global missions, and generosity, which has made it one of the most influential churches in the area. According to David Brown, the church’s creative director, it’s also one of the largest predominantly African American churches in the region.
Soon after the church reopened, word spread that Orr’s preaching was worth hearing, and some who had left eventually returned. Additionally, many new members joined. By 1996, the church had tripled in size and added a second service.
Around 2002, Orr took a mission trip to Africa. According to David Brown, it was a turning point for the church “because [Orr] developed this heart for serving the community, serving lost people, serving across the globe. The church started to be even more missional. That became part of the fabric of the church.”
Ministries were created for local and global missions. The church started supporting missionaries. Church members went on mission trips. Over the years, Brown has planted two churches in Africa, a church in Brazil, and two Hispanic churches locally. It also started a volunteer ministry to support local organizations in Memphis and the greater mid-South.
The church tripled in size again, and as the years passed, the Southaven area began to grow too. New faces, many who had never stepped foot in church, encountered Brown through its numerous partnerships in the community, prompting visits that have turned into memberships.
By 2005, the church had outgrown its old sanctuary, so a new one was built to seat 1,200 people, as well as a full gym that’s open to the community. As the years passed, two services became three, and then four. By 2010, the church knew it needed a second campus.
Four years later, a church property with a 2,600-seat sanctuary came up for sale about a mile down the road. Brown purchased it and now uses both campuses to meet the needs of the congregation and its neighbors, including hosting community events at minimal or no cost, like school graduation ceremonies, funerals for non-members, community sports leagues and HOA meetings. In 2022, they also purchased a conference and retreat center in Memphis, primarily for use by the community as a venue for pastoral conferences, retreats, weddings or other special events.
During the pandemic, the church started Greater Memphis Mission, an ongoing partnership with a local news station where each week the station selects a nonprofit to highlight in a news segment, and the church gives that nonprofit $1,000. It also partners with local small businesses in a summer job training program for young people. Youth work at the businesses, the church pays their salary, and in exchange for mentoring the youth, the businesses receive free labor. It’s a win-win for everyone, Orr says.
Generosity has strong roots in the church. Since 2000, Brown Missionary has given more than $25 million in college scholarship funds. It’s partnered with food banks, homeless shelters, local schools and other agencies and organizations. With more than 80 ministries in which members can volunteer, it’s easy for people to find a place they feel called to serve. And they do—each year more and more members step up, currently totaling more than 800 volunteers.
“We believe the church is the roundtable to bring everyone together in order to focus on the issues and come up with workable solutions [for meeting the needs] of the community,” Orr notes. “We have partnerships and outreach programs in the medical community, government, law enforcement, schools and local business to make that happen.”
The valuable partnerships the church has with its community have made it a household name in the area. Many of those people have come to make it their church home, but when people do join the church, a plan is in place to help them grow deeper in their faith walk.
Orr believes spiritual growth and maturity come from simply being in the Word. “Once they’re in the Word, everything else begins to fall into place.”
That’s something the church has prioritized for many years via a digital discipleship program that closely links Orr’s preaching plan with the churchwide reading plan.
It works like this: Members read about a chapter of the Bible each day and receive on their phones a daily devotion from Brown about the reading. Each devotion follows the REAP model: Read, Explain, Apply and Pray. Wednesday’s reading is always the topic of that week’s Bible study, and Friday’s reading becomes the focus of the weekend’s sermon. In that way, the reading and preaching plans work together to help cement the Scripture into the minds of congregants and create an attainable path toward reading through the entire Bible.
Today the church is up to 6,000 attendees every weekend. Last year, it saw a 20% increase in baptisms, a 50% increase in new members, and 2,600 new donors. It’s seen the 80/20 giving ratio (20% of members doing all the giving) start to equalize. The church continually increases its own giving, with over 11% of its tithes and offerings currently going toward missions and benevolence.
“We are making sure we create that warm, family atmosphere of unity,” adds Orr.