About Our Church
Our Mission & Vision
Our vision and mission is to help connect people to faith
OUR VISION STATEMENT
Restore unity and hope to those living in despair through empowerment practices that foster personal strengths.
Mission & Purpose
To meet the needs of area youth, men and young women that require a helping hand in critical areas of education, faith, social graces, and cultural tolerance.
• Bethany Ministries educates and encourages public support on a wide array of community issues, focusing its efforts to promote education, family foundation, and volunteerism and health initiatives in Jacksonville, Florida.
• Bethany Ministries is committed to livable and sustainable communities by asserting the importance of assisting and preserving safe, healthy, and educated families as an integral part of the community infrastructure.
• Bethany Ministries is committed to reaching out and engaging the community in decisions where the quality of life for families and their neighborhoods are involved.
• Bethany Ministries actively participates at all government levels in order to achieve policies for safe, sound, and sustainable communities.
A family united through the bond of love and the blood of Christ.
Bishop Dr. Walter M. Brown Jr.
Senior Pastor
Walter M. Brown, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia and ordained an Elder in the Central Georgia Jurisdiction of the Churches of God in Christ in 1977. From 1985 – 2005 he enjoyed a distinguished career as a Navy chaplain, ministering to Department of Defense personnel and their families, while conducting workshops and seminars around the world. He is the founding pastor of Bethany Ministries in Jacksonville, FL. He is an adjunct professor at Columbia College in Jacksonville, FL, Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ), and has worked for Marketplace Chaplains USA. He has also worked as a tutor/mentor for the To-Nurture Educational Program with Principle Woods, Inc., a PRN Chaplain for Shands Hospital and Trauma Center, and a substitute teacher for Duval County School System. He organized “Operation Dandelion,” an outreach ministry that teaches ethical decision making classes in the alternative middle-school setting. He is a graduate on the Hands-On Jacksonville Blueprint for Leadership Cohort Class of 2011 and a 2012 graduate of the Barnes Family Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for Veterans with Disabilities, Syracuse University. Under Pastor Brown’s leadership, Bethany Ministries opened an Access Center, partnering with the Florida Department of Children’s and Family Services. He is a contracted employee for Full Armor Group, working as a CREDO facilitator at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. Pastor Brown is the founder of Kingdom Minded Association of Churches (KMAC), a newly formed fellowship that equips, guides, and educates new church pastors and Christian leaders.
Dr. Brown has completed the following educational institutions: Atlanta Junior College – Associate of Science; Georgia State University – Bachelor of Social Work; Interdenominational Theological Center – Master of Divinity; Emory University – Master of Theology; Webster University – Master of Arts (Counseling); Columbia Theological Seminary – Doctor of Ministry.
Dr. Brown has published four offerings: “Preaching, Teaching, and Counseling Values” in The Navy Chaplain Magazine; “And He Took the Cup” in The African American Pulpit Magazine; “Moses and the Meal” in The African American Pulpit; “Are We Merely Gazing” also in The African American Pulpit.
Dr. Brown has published two books: Igniting Prayer’s Passion and Power in Us and Why the Wilderness; God Sends Angels After We Go Through. [Why the Wilderness has earned Editor’s choice and Reader’s choice honors from his publisher, iUniverse; Why the Wilderness also has a Workbook/Study Guide.] His two books have recently been converted to audio and are available at most online publishers.
He and his wife of 45 years, the former Beryl Thompson, have three children: Geoffrey Walter (43), Marcus Theodore (41), and Judith Beryl (36).
Dr. Brown’s personal interests include writing, reading and athletics.
Our Leadership
Our leaders are handpicked men and women of God who have a proven track record in service to the Lord. The foundational requirements are based on character, integrity, and purity. Love is our team’s motivation.