Written by Ben Cox – Two blocks from Taquito Millonario on Avenue E sits a quiet white church building. The spot is the new home for a recently established church in an older part of town. Brownwood Community Church, or BCC, is the passion project of Head Pastor Scotty Crawford.
Crawford, no stranger to ministry efforts in Brownwood, started the church after a realization that God was calling him to reach the “unchurched” of the area. While leading the Common Ground service at First United Methodist Church in Brownwood, Crawford felt that it was not his place to change an existing church to reach people he felt were often overlooked by traditional churches, so he began the process of starting his own.
“The realization that over 80 percent of the Brownwood area population were unchurched, uncommitted, uninvolved. Not necessarily non-Christian, but unrelated to church life… That worked on me for a long time, and I didn’t feel like where I was, was going to be able to be effective in doing church in a way that actually prioritized those people as opposed to church people, so I finally decided that I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do something about it,” Crawford explained.
The church began weekly worship services in February of last year in the Adams Street Community Center with a small handful of members. In their current location since October 1st, they have seen growth, and currently have over 50 adults in attendance every week. BCC is also beginning a youth ministry.
Crawford says “we value dialogue as much as we value preaching. We value that opportunity for people to process and talk and discuss…around a sermon topic. It gives people the opportunity to hear not just from the preacher, but from other people.”
Authentic community is the churches foundation, according to Crawford.
“Growing together, building deep relationships, and inviting outsiders into that community.”
Making the church truly friendly to those who are “giving God and church one more chance” or people who feel like the walls would cave in if they walked in the doors is Crawford’s focus. He has told his youth leaders to always make sure there are seats for more people than they have in the room, because “as soon every seat is taken, you’ve just told (visitors) inadvertently that there is no room for them and they’re not welcome.”
Building relationships with people who are not part of church is another focus of the church.
“If we want to grown the kingdom of God, its through those relationships that its going to happen,” Crawford said.
Crawford shared one such example with the story of a man he met last summer who was sent to prison at 16, and released in his 30’s. The man was struggling to begin his new life. By being willing to have a conversation with him, Crawford and his wife, Emily, were able to help him get an ID so he could cash paychecks. A small step towards a normal and productive life.
The Crawfords also included the man in their family life, as a simple, loving, and powerful part of their ministry to reach out to the unchurched and show God’s love.
The church is located at 2911 Avenue E, and holds services every Sunday at 10:30. Youth, or Wildfire Students, meet Wednesdays at 6 p.m.
The church can be contacted at 325-998-2359, brownwoodcommunity@gmail.com, or via their website.
