Oregon is one of the least-churched states in the nation. It’s where Vergil and Kelsey Brown planted one successful church in Portland and after 10 years, felt God’s call to leave it in the hands of a new pastor and plant again. 

The family moved to a part of the city that might as well have been another world away—especially for the couple’s kids. For people in the Brown’s community, Christians are an oddity. 

“Most of our neighbors do not know a single Christian, but they ask questions. We quickly had to get comfortable with that. God is leading them to Christ through relationships,” says Vergil. 

The Browns started with a home prayer group that quickly grew into Redemption Church. 

The church is now growing in attendance and baptisms and hopes to soon launch additional church plants. 

“I’m hooked on church planting now and just doing bold things for Jesus,” says Vergil. “It was scary. It was really scary, but we’re so glad we did it.” 

Prayer Requests

• Redemption Church to be faithful and bold in their evangelism efforts.
• Unity in the growing young church.
• Joy in the journey for the Brown family.