Thad Allender/Journal-World Photo Members of the Ninth Street Baptist Church will begin their search for a replacement for longtime Pastor Rene Brown, who is leaving to lead a congregation in Baton Rouge, La.

The Rev. Rene Brown is leaving Ninth Street Missionary Baptist Church after 12 years to take a job as pastor at the Mt. Zion First Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, La. Brown is pictured on Wednesday in the sanctuary of the church, 847 Ohio.

The first Sunday the Rev. Rene Brown preached at Ninth Street Missionary Baptist Church, there were only 17 people in the pews.

The church had undergone internal turmoil and needed some serious rebuilding.

Now, more than 12 years later, the church has had a major rebound. And Brown, the man credited for much of that rebound, is going to a new church.

“We’ve come a long way,” Brown says.

Brown is headed back to his native state of Louisiana, where he will be pastor at the Mt. Zion First Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. This is his last weekend preaching in Lawrence.

‘Profound’ messages

When Brown took over at Ninth Street, 847 Ohio, he was just 28 years old and had been serving as a youth pastor at a church in Topeka. He entered the predominately black church at a time when many of its members had left during a dispute and court battle over the firing of the Rev. Charles Kenneybrew.

“This church was very patient with me,” says Brown, now 41. “They allowed me to make mistakes.”

Those who filled the pews liked what they heard.

“His messages were so profound,” says Linda Sanders, a member for 11 years. “It was like he was in my house. I didn’t know this man, but he knew exactly what was going on in my house.”

Gradually, more people like Sanders heard Brown’s messages and stuck around the church.

Today, there are about 420 active members who fill the 144-year-old church for two morning services.

To accommodate the growth in members, the church now owns five buildings. In addition to the church structure itself, Ninth Street owns the former Lawrence Workforce Center at 833 Ohio; an administrative building at 901 Tenn.; a house south of the administrative building with classroom space, and an apartment complex next to the house, which the church hopes to someday turn into housing for some of its members.

In addition, the church has added an active college ministry that serves students from Baker University, Haskell Indian Nations University and Kansas University. And the church picks up people in vans, which it didn’t do before.

“I’m pleased with the change,” Brown says. “The Lord’s really blessed this church.”

Long history

The church where Brown will serve in Baton Rouge is going through a membership drought similar to the one that Ninth Street was facing 12 years ago, only on a larger scale.

Mt. Zion now has about 380 active members, down from several thousand.

Like Ninth Street, Mt. Zion has a long history, dating back to 1959. Its pastor and members were heavily involved in the Civil Rights movement. The Rev. T.J. Jemison pastored the church for 54 years – ending in 2005 – and led boycotts and marches along with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Brown appreciates all that history.

“It’s a major deal,” he says. “It’s not some little undertaking.”

Brown says he was hesitant to heed the call to return to Louisiana, even though it is his home state. He says he likes Lawrence and has firm roots here with his wife, Diana, and boys Antonio, 21, and Torrey, 12.

Mt. Zion first contacted him about the position three years ago, before Jemison announced his retirement.

“It’s God’s divine time,” Brown says. “It’s when God said it’s time. It’s not because I desire to leave. But I’ll do the same thing there I did here.”

Next steps

Meanwhile, members of Ninth Street will appoint a committee to search for a new pastor. That process is expected to take months, and an interim pastor will be called to fill the pulpit until then.

“We won’t be in any hurry,” says Alex Jackson, chairman of the church’s deacons. “We need a pretty steadfast person, a person who has a vision for the future, who is willing to work with the new college kids. We’re a college town, so we need a ministry that’s fluid and addresses the needs of students. It’s not whether they stick around but what they take with them.”

Jackson says church members are still getting over the news that Brown is leaving.

“They’re sad,” Jackson says, “but I think the more mature ones realize it’s a call from God, and that Pastor Brown has a lot to offer. … You’re sad to see him go, but you’re rooting for him. He’s leaving a pretty good legacy.”