Long before Pastor Tevaun Brown officially took the pulpit as a minister of the gospel, he was ‘practising’ for it as a child.
He recalls his grandmother sharing with him that, when he was really young, he would put on his glasses and preach!
In hindsight, he said he sees it as a testament to what was to come concerning himself.
“But as I progressed, as I began to grow, as I gave my life to the Lord, I saw those things, which were at the beginning, starting to come to the front of my life, and the call to ministry for me; also, I believe it was a covenant with the Lord. I remember when I was coming from Portmore, my friend and mentor at that time went to preach, and I remember I looked up into the sky, I still remember it, and I said to the Lord, “If You bless me and if You provide for me, I make this covenant that I will do ministry all the days of my life.” So that is where I believe the call to ministry started for me,” he shared, in responding to the call on his life to preach.
He said it can be a difficult task dealing with the flock as they all come with different personalities and different mindsets. As a shepherd, he noted that you cannot be steered to just one set of people, for God will send a mixed multitude and diversities of people to your congregation.
“And so, the difficult part, I believe, is learning how to deal with people effectively, and that is where I believe reading, studying, and personal investment can help me learn how to understand and deal with different personalities. So, that is the most difficult part for me right now as a shepherd,” he responded.
PASTOR DAD & DEACONESS MOM
In reflecting on his faith journey, Pastor Brown said he was heavily influenced by his father, who was a pastor, and his mother, a deaconess.
Growing up, he was also strongly involved in the Inter School Christian Fellowship, a community he proclaimed helped build his faith.
One of the things he revealed that also helped him at the time was seeing other young people who were Christians—not just going to church and going through the motions, but serious about God, serious about ministry, and serious about living right.
“That community helped to basically form me—my father and mother, their actions in terms of serving God, how they would serve the ministry, and how they were committed to God to the extent that they would go to church and clean it. They didn’t wait for anybody to go; they were the ones who cleaned the toilets, and all of these things,” he recalled, pointing out that their actions, in terms of how they served God, were an eye-opener for him and his friends.
This has helped to make him all-rounded and is perhaps part of the reason he has never had any issues being in leadership. Thankfully, he has had no bad experiences so far, and that has also contributed to building his faith.
BUSNINESS VENTURES
When Pastor Brown is not busy with church affairs, he is engaged in his small business, TB Art Graphics, and an organisation that he founded, “Let the Oil Flow Movement Jamaica.”
This pastor is involved in so many activities that one can easily wonder how he balances his time. A certified life and leadership coach, Pastor Brown is a gospel artiste, musician, and public speaker.
He hastens to assure, though, that his family life does not suffer, as he is intentional in allowing his word to be his bond.
“I create a balance by making sure I make the time. You know, some people are trying to find time, but I make the time. It doesn’t matter what it is or where we’re going. Let me share an example – “My wife and I, almost every Sunday after church, find ourselves at our ice cream shop because that’s one of the things we do to bond and spend time with each other,” he says, emphasising that his wife’s time is hers and that there is room for church as well. The one thing he will never allow to happen is that he will not let church get in the way of the time he has delegated for family and himself.
Although nothing much bothers him in Christendom, Pastor Brown admits there is one issue that irks him: Christians who allow themselves to miss when the Holy Ghost shows up.
“You know, sometimes we can get caught up so much in the system of the church that we miss the Spirit of the church, the Holy Ghost, and God can be moving in our midst and you miss it,” he declared. Alluding to the Sons of Issachar in the Bible, he said one should be aware of the seasons and times.
Born in Greenville, Mandeville, he is a past student of Tivoli Gardens High School and Hydel High. Married, he has been serving as senior pastor at the Kingdom Word and Power Liberation Church, located at 4 Central Road, Kingston, for two years.
FOCUSSED ON MENTORING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SPIRITUAL LEADERS
He lists his ultimate goal as raising a generation of spiritual leaders.
“To raise young people who pray, who are spiritual leaders, in whatever capacity they are, whether it be in school or on the job, and to raise young people who know their assignment, who know how to pray, and young people who will fulfil their assignment and their calling, people who are goal-oriented and God-oriented at the same time and know how to balance their life with their work with God,” is his impassioned vision.
In closing, Pastor Brown shared his one pet peeve, which is the misconception many entertain that all pastors are hypocrites.
“What I will say is: don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. You know, don’t use another man’s fat to fry all of us. All of us are not the same. God said to the Prophet that there are still a few who have not soiled their garments. There are still a few loyal ones.”
