Welcome to the Pastoral Residency Page!
We are thrilled that you are considering supporting our current pastoral resident, Taylor Brown! The pastoral residency program is First Presbyterian Church of Battle Creek’s way of supporting the next generation of pastors who seek to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. The program is designed to equip those called to pastoral ministry with mentorship, seminary training, and hands-on ministry experience. This page will tell you everything you need to know about how you can support Taylor, including Taylor’s own reflection of his calling and convictions.
We are thrilled that you are considering supporting our current pastoral resident, Taylor Brown! The pastoral residency program is First Presbyterian Church of Battle Creek’s way of supporting the next generation of pastors who seek to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. The program is designed to equip those called to pastoral ministry with mentorship, seminary training, and hands-on ministry experience. This page will tell you everything you need to know about how you can support Taylor, including Taylor’s own reflection of his calling and convictions.
How It Works
The pastoral residency is funded 50% (approximately $21,000) by First Presbyterian Church of Battle Creek and 50% by a team of supporters of our pastoral resident. The church and the support team also commit to regularly pray for the resident in this important season of preparation and training. The program is designed to last 2 to 3 years and serves as a launching pad for a career in gospel ministry. The pastoral resident will regularly update his support team with newsletters and updates throughout the duration of the program. The program launches in January of 2027.
The pastoral residency is funded 50% (approximately $21,000) by First Presbyterian Church of Battle Creek and 50% by a team of supporters of our pastoral resident. The church and the support team also commit to regularly pray for the resident in this important season of preparation and training. The program is designed to last 2 to 3 years and serves as a launching pad for a career in gospel ministry. The pastoral resident will regularly update his support team with newsletters and updates throughout the duration of the program. The program launches in January of 2027.
How To Give
You can give to Taylor’s program by going to our “Give” page and in the drop down menu, selecting “Pastoral Residency.” Mailing checks to the church with “Pastoral Residency” in the memo line is also an option. Thank you for supporting the next generation of pastors who seek to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus the Christ!
You can give to Taylor’s program by going to our “Give” page and in the drop down menu, selecting “Pastoral Residency.” Mailing checks to the church with “Pastoral Residency” in the memo line is also an option. Thank you for supporting the next generation of pastors who seek to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus the Christ!
A Note From Taylor
Hello Dearest Potential Ministry Partner! You found the pastoral residency page! Thank you for checking this out. I am humbled that you are considering partnering with me in ministry! I want to take this space to share a little bit about my heart for ministry and what you can expect from me as a ministry partner.
First, a bit about me!
From my earliest days, I remember believing in Jesus and knowing that I wanted to make His great love known! I was baptized and raised in this very church, and now it is a great honor to serve here! The Lord has been kind to this community for generations and we are in an exciting new season of growth and newness!
I received my call to ministry when I was seventeen at an international Christian leadership conference that I attended with a group sent from First Pres. After receiving this calling, I went off to college to study theology and ministry at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. In college I received top marks and was recruited for a pastoral residency in Colorado Springs, where I also began seminary part-time at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School online after graduation. All was going according to (my) plan until 2020 hit and with it, COVID-19, which completely turned my life upside down. I developed a profound chronic illness which I would later discover was set in motion by the COVID virus. I had developed Long COVID Syndrome or PASC (Post Acute Sequelae of Sars-COV-2.) This illness so leveled me that after a year of decline, I left seminary, the residency, and finally moved back home to Michigan.
The last six years have been a journey of learning how to depend on Jesus in every area of my life. This spiritual wilderness season has been overwhelmingly sorrowful and difficult, and yet, it has strengthened my sense of God’s nearness and my call to serve others who are suffering and waiting for the deliverance of the Lord. I began serving part-time at First Pres here in Battle Creek in October of 2024. Since that time, we have baptized five high school students, launched a social media ministry and podcast, seen a deepening of discipleship and spiritual formation activities at the church, hosted two conferences, and are preparing for an exciting new ministry structure.
2026 has been a year of resurrection. I got married to the woman of my dreams and my health has improved to the degree that I am ready to try getting back on track with my calling to a career in pastoral ministry. I still struggle quite a bit, but I have learned to walk with a limp and depend on the Lord far more consistently than when I had substantial strength and energy. The invitation I extend to you is to join my ministry team and see how the Lord can do amazing things through a weak vessel like me, because He likes doing that kind of thing.
My objective is to be faithful to the Lord and to make his gospel known to as many as will hear it. Pastoral ministry experience (at First Pres) in combination with theological training (the seminary is still to be determined) will increase my capacity to do so effectively. Thank you for hearing my story! I think the best is yet to come!
Second, the invitation!
I invite you to partner with me in prayer and financially for the duration of this program. I am asking supporters to prayerfully consider giving $25 a month. I hope to build a team of approximately 70 households who are passionate about Jesus and making him known through this partnership. Below is a form for signing up for my newsletter so you can be in the loop on exciting new ministry developments and prayer requests. Please reach out to me if you have any questions, I also want to be available to you to pray for you and hear your heart. Here is my contact information if you need it for any reason.
Thank you for considering this partnership!
E: tayjbrown96@gmail.com
C: (269) 580-6165
Hello Dearest Potential Ministry Partner! You found the pastoral residency page! Thank you for checking this out. I am humbled that you are considering partnering with me in ministry! I want to take this space to share a little bit about my heart for ministry and what you can expect from me as a ministry partner.
First, a bit about me!
From my earliest days, I remember believing in Jesus and knowing that I wanted to make His great love known! I was baptized and raised in this very church, and now it is a great honor to serve here! The Lord has been kind to this community for generations and we are in an exciting new season of growth and newness!
I received my call to ministry when I was seventeen at an international Christian leadership conference that I attended with a group sent from First Pres. After receiving this calling, I went off to college to study theology and ministry at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. In college I received top marks and was recruited for a pastoral residency in Colorado Springs, where I also began seminary part-time at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School online after graduation. All was going according to (my) plan until 2020 hit and with it, COVID-19, which completely turned my life upside down. I developed a profound chronic illness which I would later discover was set in motion by the COVID virus. I had developed Long COVID Syndrome or PASC (Post Acute Sequelae of Sars-COV-2.) This illness so leveled me that after a year of decline, I left seminary, the residency, and finally moved back home to Michigan.
The last six years have been a journey of learning how to depend on Jesus in every area of my life. This spiritual wilderness season has been overwhelmingly sorrowful and difficult, and yet, it has strengthened my sense of God’s nearness and my call to serve others who are suffering and waiting for the deliverance of the Lord. I began serving part-time at First Pres here in Battle Creek in October of 2024. Since that time, we have baptized five high school students, launched a social media ministry and podcast, seen a deepening of discipleship and spiritual formation activities at the church, hosted two conferences, and are preparing for an exciting new ministry structure.
2026 has been a year of resurrection. I got married to the woman of my dreams and my health has improved to the degree that I am ready to try getting back on track with my calling to a career in pastoral ministry. I still struggle quite a bit, but I have learned to walk with a limp and depend on the Lord far more consistently than when I had substantial strength and energy. The invitation I extend to you is to join my ministry team and see how the Lord can do amazing things through a weak vessel like me, because He likes doing that kind of thing.
My objective is to be faithful to the Lord and to make his gospel known to as many as will hear it. Pastoral ministry experience (at First Pres) in combination with theological training (the seminary is still to be determined) will increase my capacity to do so effectively. Thank you for hearing my story! I think the best is yet to come!
Second, the invitation!
I invite you to partner with me in prayer and financially for the duration of this program. I am asking supporters to prayerfully consider giving $25 a month. I hope to build a team of approximately 70 households who are passionate about Jesus and making him known through this partnership. Below is a form for signing up for my newsletter so you can be in the loop on exciting new ministry developments and prayer requests. Please reach out to me if you have any questions, I also want to be available to you to pray for you and hear your heart. Here is my contact information if you need it for any reason.
Thank you for considering this partnership!
E: tayjbrown96@gmail.com
C: (269) 580-6165
Sign Up For Resident Newsletter
Below is a form you can fill out if you’d like to receive my newsletter as a ministry partner. It is a great way to stay in touch during this program!
Below is a form you can fill out if you’d like to receive my newsletter as a ministry partner. It is a great way to stay in touch during this program!