Great question! If you Googled "Henry Brown" before you viewed this page, you found out he is an actor, an artist, an attorney, a Nineteenth Century photographer, the inventor of the safe deposit box, a slave who shipped himself to freedom, a Rough Rider chaplain, a United States Congressman, and a fallen war hero. Of course, none of these "Henry Browns" are me.
You're probably still thinking, so who is this Henry Brown behind Volunteer U?
Well, I am . . .
. . . a native Texan
I was born and raised within 10 miles of the Spindletop Oil Field in Texas' Golden Triangle, where the Lucas Gusher erupted in January 1901. I grew up in the same house my mom grew up in. It has been in our family for over 80 years. In high school I was a jock (a winning distance swimmer and cross country runner) and a computer geek (a champion computer programmer--yeah, they have contests for that!). I have called Central Texas and West Texas home at some point in my adult life, and I now live in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex suburb of Burleson.
. . . a youth minister
Over the last 18 years, I have served on the youth ministry staff at four churches in roles ranging from youth pastor to interim youth minister. In 1991 I received a Bachelor of Arts from Howard Payne University with majors in Practical Theology and Youth Ministry. It was my time at HPU which cemented the importance of sharing ministry with volunteers. In my first church after college, we implemented a "lead team" system directly involving 30 people in 16 ministry areas. They were responsible for everything from planning to budgeting to execution.
. . . a graphic designer
My senior year in high school our youth minister left. The student leaders in our ministry pitched in with different areas. I did our weekly newsletter and publicity for events. In college, a church member gave me free reign on a revolutionary, new Macintosh desktop publishing system to produce promotional pieces for our youth ministry. And for the last nine years I have worked as a graphic designer for Student Discipleship Ministries and See You at the Pole.
. . . a student ministry volunteer
Since moving to Burleson, I have volunteered in the student ministry at my church in various roles. Currently, I am responsible for the visual technology used in our Student Worship Services (i.e., PowerPoint graphics and video) and, more importantly, I work with a group of 7th grade (Class of 2015) guys after my Seniors (Class of 2009) graduated. I trekked through four years of high school with them, and can't wait to see how God uses them in college and beyond. With our past youth minister, I was the Volunteer Coordinator. I played an integral role in enlisting and equipping our staff. I am fortunate to work with some great adults who not only love God, but love teenagers as well.
. . . a trainer
For the last 12 years, I have worked with a core group of about 25 people to plan and implement Super Summer leadership camps (for around 4,000 students) each summer. One of my main responsibilities is training, equipping and guiding adult volunteers to lead their small groups effectively. Prior to working with Super Summer, I worked with a group of youth pastors to pull off the Beaumont Hot Hearts Student Conference. Because I was new to the group, I was assigned Security for the 7,000 attendees. I recruited several dozen adults to be wristband checkers when the doors opened, arena ushers, concourse monitors, stage front security and backstage security. These are some of the least glamorous volunteer positions. It is not fun to be the one who tells the concession workers to close down when there is a long line of teenagers with the munchies, nor to be the one who has to pull a Contemporary Christian Music artist away from throngs of adoring fans because they are about to be on stage or have an interview scheduled or just need a break so they can eat.
. . . a learner
Whether it is sitting down with some new software to figure it out, or researching information, I believe it is important for leaders to continually be learning. In addition to leading conferences for youth workers, I attend them as well.
. . . a trivia junkie
For as long as I can remember, I have had the ability to recall "useless" information. Did you know that the letters Z, I and P in Zip Code stand for "Zone Improvement Plan"? Or that a polar bear's fur is not white, it's clear? Or where the nearest statue-making art foundry is? Of course, this type of information comes in handy during a game of Trivial Pursuit, when devising a PowerPoint trivia game for our students, and when a friend's wife asks if you know where she can get a pair of bronze flamingos for the entry to their new development, "Flamingo Estates."
. . . a techie and Apple aficionado
In high school, I programmed Apple //e's for a gold medal in programming. In college I began using "borrowed" Macintosh for design. For college graduation, I got my first Mac. In 1995 I built my first website (for Hot Hearts Student Conferences). In 2003, I built my first e-commerce storefront for See You at the Pole. In 2006, I purchased my first home, and while it was being built, I ran 3000 feet of cable for network, telephone, and home theater to multiple points in every room! Now I am anxiously awaiting for large screen, flat panel HDTVs to become affordable to complete my home theater living room complete with surround sound and, of course, Apple TV.
Vocational Timeline
(for the linear thinkers out there)
Kid through High School
• swam competitively and ran cross country
• learned critical thinking skills programming BASIC on an Apple //e computer
age 17
• began creating newsletters and publicity for youth group after youth minister
left for another church
18-22
• attended and graduated from Howard Payne University
• used borrowed Macintosh SE/30 to create stuff during two and a half year
student ministry internship at a local church in Central Texas
• headed up a team of student volunteers to plan many aspects of HPU's
Centennial Homecoming, including Coronation and Parade
• received my first Macintosh as a college graduation gift
23-29
• involved 30 people in 16 areas of youth ministry from start to finish
(from dreaming to budgeting to planning to pulling events off) in a local church
in Southeast Texas
• devised event security plan then enlisted and trained volunteers for Beaumont's
Hot Hearts Student Conference
• began serving on Administrative Staff with Super Summer Leadership Schools
of Evangelism and Discipleship providing training and support for volunteers
staffing schools
• Introduced lead team concept to a local church in West Texas
30-present
• graphic designer, technical specialist, customer service representative for
Student Discipleship Ministries and See You at the Pole
• volunteer in student ministry at my local church
• served a year as interim youth pastor at a local church in North Texas
• continue to equip volunteers at Super Summer Schools
• began leading volunteer training session for friends in their churches