Rev. Jonathon Brown

Jonathon Brown is the lead pastor of Pillar Church, established in 1847 as the first church in Holland, Michigan. In 1882 a major split between the Reformed Church in America (RCA) and Christian Reformed Church (CRC) occurred at Pillar, prompting members to leave the RCA and join the CRC. In the recent past, Pillar experienced significant decline and considered closing its doors. Today, through a wonderful working of God’s Spirit, the church is a thriving, dual-affiliation congregation that embraces both denominations. Jon says his heart for reconciliation beats with Pillar’s in that way.

Jon joined the Pillar team in 2012 after nearly 10 years as the senior pastor of First Reformed Church in Oak Harbor, Washington. Washington is home to more people who indicated no religious affiliation on the latest national census than any other state in the U.S. Jon found preaching in that context an incredible joy with great reward.

Jon has been the keynote speaker at the Nicaraguan Pastors Conference of the Moravian Church, the Cascades Family Bible Camp, and Hope College, his alma mater. Urging the church forward to participate in the mission of Christ in the world is where he finds the deepest joy and the greatest sense of purpose.

Jon is pursuing a doctorate at Western Theological Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. He enjoys reading, running, golfing and watching college football. He and his wife, Kristyn, have been married for 11 years and are the parents of three daughters.