Jeff Brown: Faith, Community, and Leading North City Church

Jeff Brown built a church that looks like its neighborhood. The lead pastor of North City Church in Indianapolis describes how a kid from the east side who got expelled, lost his brother and best friend to violence, and never planned on ministry ended up leading one of the city's fastest-growing congregations. Brown traces his path from the streets of Indianapolis to Ivy Tech, Crossroads Bible College, Southern Seminary in Louisville, and a staff role at College Park Church before taking over a struggling 25-person congregation in Pike Township. Three years later, North City has more than quadrupled in size and reflects the racial and economic diversity of the community around it, roughly 45% Black, 45% white, with Latino and Asian families filling out the rest. He also discusses his role as board chair of Together Indy, a coalition of more than 50 Indianapolis churches working across racial and denominational lines, his involvement with the men's leadership group Citizen 7, and why he believes Indianapolis is on the verge of something significant. His definition of success has nothing to do with church size. Talent Scout host Dave Neff sits down with leaders across Indiana who are building something that matters. New episodes available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Learn more about JDA Worldwide at jdaworldwide.com.