Many Taylor students know Forrest Brown as a co-pastor serving in ministry at Exit Church. But who was he growing up and how did he begin his ministry?
What challenges did God present to him as tests of faith?
At his home church in Utah, students starting in 10th grade would mentor middle school students. Brown’s mentorship would become a part of his faith journey growing up.
“I feel like my faith really became my own around (age) 19 to 20 when I stuck with that youth group,” Brown said. “Even after I got out of high school, I continued to mentor and work with other high school students, or ‘my kids,’ which I called them. And there were a few things that happened in that season, but two of the biggest ones were one of my kids committing suicide, which was just hard.”
At the time, Brown was working as a banker.
On the night of the grieving service, he took a colleague to work; when he got there, he explained he had to leave. However, his absence would not be excused since he was not grieving his personal family. This made him decide whether he should stay at work.
When he hesitated, Brown stopped and realized he shouldn’t even question going to the grieving service. The bank wasn’t important compared to this, he said.
“I remember thinking, ‘Why am I even thinking about that?’” Brown said. “This really bothered me. So that was a big event that caused me to rethink about what I said was important to me and what my life reflected. And that was a big step in my own faith journey.”
The other event that impacted Brown’s faith consistently happened shortly after his friend passed away whenever he read scripture.
Whenever he would read a text that he either didn’t agree with or didn’t understand, his brain would click and tell him that the Bible’s right and their culture and perspective on the church is wrong. That click in his mind brought the Word to life, he said.
These were the two events that became catalysts for his faith.
“I remember sitting down and thinking, ‘What’s important to me?’” Brown said. Brown soon realized he placed his self-preserving habits at the top of the chain, and he wasn’t as involved in the church as he wanted to be. Reflecting on his skewed priorities, he felt bothered.
This was one of the first events that made him feel called to work in ministry.
Over a decade later, Brown was looking for a church ministry across the country, since seminary opportunities were limited in Utah.
He began working for a company called Slingshot when he moved to Indiana. The company happened to belong to the person who founded the Exit Church, and he moved into a condo that was owned by the company. Since then, Brown became more and more involved in the church.
“Grant County is an interesting place,” Brown said. “There are people who are Grant County residents and then there are college students, and it’s two different cultures … But that’s not quite specific to being a small town pastor. It is worth noting that one of the difficulties of being a pastor in general is that you are kind of marrying your faith, your job and your community. All three of those come together to where if you lose your faith, you’ll lose your job and your community.”
Brown said that this difficulty is what makes his career as a pastor different than having worked at the bank. He could’ve lost his faith and wife, and still kept his job as a banker, he said. But it’s a different kind of balance as a pastor.
Exit’s mission is to pour into people, serve together and make disciples, Brown said.
College students are in a season of growth and development on their faith journey and what they’re going to do. Brown acknowledges this and hopes to make Exit a church of training and resources. Exit hopes to do this especially for Taylor students who enjoy attending the church’s services.
Some of the ways that Taylor students can get involved in Exit activities and ministry, Brown said, are neighboring, missionary work and pouring into fellow college students.
