Meet Our Pastor And His Wife:
Steve & Mary Ann Brown
Steve Brown was born in Hagerstown, Indiana on January 3, 1951. His family moved to Sarasota County on the west coast of Florida one year later. His father taught school in Venice. The family moved to Venice in 1958 where Steve was schooled, graduating from Venice High School in 1969.
Steve was groomed to play major league baseball – which was his dream. His father was a semi-pro shortstop. He taught Steve how to pitch effectively both right-handed and left-handed. Steve also learned how to bat with authority from both sides of the plate, thereby endeavoring to become the first all-ambidextrous baseball player to make it to the big leagues. Steve was followed by Cincinnati Reds scout George Zuraw from the Tampa, Florida area.
In the late 60′s, Steve became acquainted with the radio program of the World Wide Church of God and immediately became interested in the Bible, to the extent that he gave up his sport ventures – baseball, basketball & tennis – to devote himself to Biblical studies, much to the consternation of his high school baseball coach (Steve was to be captain of the team his senior year), his father, & the Reds coach. Steve has never given up following the majors and still has an intense interest in baseball. He has never regretted his decision to jettison a potential sports career for Biblical endeavors.
Steve attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas. from 1969-1973. He was able to travel to Jerusalem on an archaeological dig in the summer of 1971.
He has an avid interest in archaeology and geology. He happens to have one of the premier private collections of giant charcaradon sharks teeth to be found in the state of Florida. These were obtained from diving off the Venice beaches after hurricanes stirred up bones and fossils from below.
Steve met Mary Ann while at Ambassador College and they were married in St. Petersburg, Florida on July 8, 1973. They have 5 children. They celebrated their 31st anniversary in the summer of 2004.
Steve was ordained into the ministry in 1976 and has served in congregations in Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, West Virginia, as well as 9 different congregations in Florida.
Steve and his family have been back in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area since 1992, and feel like they’ve come back home to stay.
If you would like to e-mail Pastor Steve, his address is: steve.brown@wcg.org