In this episode, Rich Brown welcomes his very first guest—his wife of more than 40 years, Dr. Janet Kay Brown—for a heartfelt and deeply practical conversation about family, faith, and the quiet power of showing up for kids who may feel on the margins.  In sharing her story, Janet traces God’s faithfulness from a childhood shaped by a local church bus ministry to a life spent empowering families, students, and future leaders. She then shares how her early experiences—growing up in a non‑Christian home, finding Christ through a friend’s invitation to church as a second grader, and eventually being shaped by caring adults—now fuel her passion for equipping the next generation. This episode encourages every children’s, youth, and family ministry leader to keep showing up, keep leaning in, and never underestimate the long-term impact of consistent love in a child’s life.

Links

Email for Rich Brown (NGM): [email protected]
Subscribe for NGM Thursday Tools email
Watch this episode on YouTube

Timestamps

• 00:00–03:30 – Introduction to the podcast and meeting Dr. Janet Kay Brown

• 03:31–07:30 – Personal life, hobbies, vocation, and passion for education

• 07:31–12:15 – Family “one” and family “two”: marriage, children, and grandchildren

• 12:16–16:20 – Janet’s faith story: coming to Christ as a child without Christian parents

• 16:21–20:30 – The role of faithful adults, bus ministry, and unseen seeds of impact

• 20:31–24:50 – Developing a passion for family ministry and spiritual formation

• 24:51–28:40 – Encouragement to children’s and student ministry leaders

• 28:41–34:00 – Call to action: identifying and leaning into the “one foot in” students

• 34:01–End – Closing encouragement, resources, and next steps for leaders