Our Pastor
Dr. Amos C. Brown |
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A Living Legend
Known among World leaders, Presidents, celebrities, and academicians alike for his trademark activism, intellectual discipline, and masterful oratory, Dr. Amos C. Brown is a legend in his own time. At TBC we find him to be a shepherd who takes seriously his responsibility to protect the sheep from predators-whether elected government officials, public analysts, or religious leaders – who would misguide, mislead, or mis-feed his flock. Tutored by Medgar Evers, Benjamin Mays, Samuel Williams, J. Pious Barbour, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (as one of the eight students in the only class Dr. King taught in his lifetime at Morehouse College), Dr. Brown has never seen the issues of society as separate from the mission of the church, especially when the members of the church are directly affected by systems of evil.
A Disciplined Mind
A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Dr. Brown has been Pastor of San Francisco's Third Baptist Church since 1976. As a scholar, theologian, preacher and social activist, he has maintained a marriage of piety and political action in his ministry. He was equipped for great and distinct ministerial leadership through his training at Morehouse College, B.A. (1964) and earned degrees of Master of Divinity degree from Crozer Theological Seminary and the Doctor of Ministry from United Theological Seminary. Before accepting the call to Third Baptist, he served as pastor of Saint Paul's Baptist Church in West Chester, Pennsylvania and Pilgrim Baptist Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
A Local Pastor with a Global Reach
Under his leadership, Third Baptist Church has established a summer school program, created an After-School Academic enrichment program (Back on Track) in partnership with Temple Emanuel Congregation, the Charles A. Tindley Academy of Music; sponsored more African refugees than any local congregation in the nation and sponsored 80 children from Tanzania to receive heart surgery in the United States. He led the Bay Area in raising $68,000 for the Somalian Relief Effort in 1984, led in founding the Black American Response to the African Crisis, which raised $300,000 for the Ethiopian Famine crises, and led an airlift to Ethiopia under the auspices of the National Baptist Convention.
In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, he has served as a member of the governing board of San Francisco Community College, National Chairman of the National Baptist Commission on Civil Rights and Human services, member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Chairman of the Bay Area Ecumenical Pastors Conference, first Vice President of the California State Baptist Convention, President of NAACP Branch in San Francisco, California, and a member of the governing board of the National Council of Churches of Christ.
Dr. Brown was a delegate to the 2001 United Nations Conference on Race and Intolerance in Durban, South Africa. He represented the National Board of the NAACP in this World Conference. Also in the wake of the tragedy of September 11, 2001, Dr. Brown was one of the principal national faith leaders to give a response address to the tragedy at the San Francisco's Day of Remembrance. In September of 2001, Dr. Brown and Jesse Jackson met with the venerable, Nelson Mandela in South Africa around issues of African development and U.S. foreign policy matters. And as a great champion of educational enterprises, he brought to Third Baptist the Honorable Kweisi Mfume for an evening of "Celebrating our Commitment and Passion for Education and Academic Excellence". From this effort over $67,000 was raised for scholarships for worthy students who are pursuing higher education and training.
A Pastor of Distinction
Dr. Brown was awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Ministerial Award for outstanding leadership and contributions to the Black Church in America. He was also inducted into the International Hall of Fame at the King International Chapel at Morehouse College. For a second time, Dr. And Mrs. Brown was invited by President and First Lady Barak and Michelle Obama to a Christmas Reception at the White House. Most recently, the City and County of San Francisco honored Dr. Brown during the Martin Luther Ling Jr. Holiday, and gave a brilliant address to the community. In April of 2011 he will be honored by his hometown of Jackson Mississippi.
His Family
Sharing Dr. Brown's commitment to service and racial uplift are his wife, Mrs. Jane Smith Brown of Richmond, Virginia, two sons, Amos C. Brown, Jr., David Josephus Brown, and daughter, Kizzie Marie Brown.
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Mrs. Jane E. Brown |
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We consider ourselves doubly blessed to not only experience the forward leadership of Dr. Brown but also the to witness the complimentary services and gifts of our first lady, Mrs. Jane E. Brown. Mrs. Brown credits her dear parents Irving Russell and Jane Rosetta Smith, who owned and operated a neighborhood grocery store, for fostering an entrepreneurial spirit within her from an early age.
A Lady of Distinction
A woman of distinction, Mrs. Brown attended Spelman College just long enough to meet her husband-to-be, Amos C. Brown, who was a neighboring student at Morehouse College. After receiving her B.A. degree in French from North Central College of Naperville, Illinois, Mrs. Brown went to live in France and Spain through the Experiment in International Living Program. In 1966, after having arrived back to the U.S. she married Pastor Brown as they prepared to move to West Chester, Pennsylvania, and later St. Paul, Minnesota where he pastored churches. In 1976 when Dr. Brown accepted the call to become Pastor of Third Baptist Mrs. Brown demonstrated her delicate yet humble taste when she meticulously set up their beautiful new home in our Church parsonage.
A Lady of Service
Aware of the importance of Civil Rights, Mrs. Brown marched in Selma and worked in an Exchange Program to foster better understanding between northern white and southern black students, demonstrating a calm but consistent devotion to service of God and others.Mrs. Brown is widely hailed as the best fundraiser in TBC. Whatever committee she joins or task she assumes will achieve excellence.
In 2001, she chaired the 150th Church Anniversary Committee, the crowning moment of which was the 150th Church Anniversary Gala at which President William Jefferson Clinton was the keynote speaker. As Chairperson of the Scholarship Committee she has raised over $100,000.00 to assists young college aspirants in attaining their education. One summer she was asked to organized the Third Baptist Summer School program to benefit black students after the public schools laid-off a disproportionate number of black teachers. This program, BIBBS (Being Black is Being Smart) has become one of the long running academic institutions in the community.
Most recently, in what started out as a church evangelistic effort was elevated to a Bay Area community effort to speak to the escalating violence between Asian and African Americans, by creating a venue where both communities could become aware of the many positive programs such as Back on Track that are made available by other institutions both religious and secular that aim to help parents tutor and mentor their children toward academic and civic excellence. Her effort resulted in galvanizing a committee of more than 25 persons, and organizing an event called "Living Beyond Limits" which was held at St. Mary's Cathedral, attracted over 4,000 people, and featured the World-renowned Nick Vujivic, a man with no arms or legs as the keynote speaker. The program included the presence, commendation, and support of the likes of Danny Glover, mayors, and state senators.
A Lady of Business
In 1991 she opened her own business, Optimum Reality & Financial Services, a very successful real estate company in the Bay Area that has gained national recognition as a result of her business achievements. She oversees a full-time staff and has expanded to several different locations outside of the Bay Area.
A Lady of Faith and Family
In her own words, "One of the greatest challenges I have faced is being a breast cancer survivor, and hopefully my experiences and testimony will give faith and strength to others who face this disease. My greatest blessings have been my husband, my 3 children, Amos, Jr., David, and Kizzie, and my 4 grandchildren who bring joy and light into my life."