After two decades of leading Servant’s Church in Norwich, California-born pastor John Brown has announced his decision to step down, leaving behind a thriving congregation and a innovative model of shared leadership. The church, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, has always been focused on Bible teaching and has a unique blend of conservative evangelical values and a casual, California-inspired vibe. With a weekly attendance of around 200 people from over 50 nationalities, the church is a vibrant and diverse community that is deeply rooted in the city of Norwich. The church’s story began 20 years ago when John and his wife Sarah moved from California to plant the church, which is part of the wider Calvary Chapel movement. This movement emerged from the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which also gave birth to the Vineyard movement. However, while Vineyard became more charismatic, Calvary Chapel focused on expository Bible teaching, and Servant’s Church has continued this tradition while remaining cautiously charismatic.
As the church grew, it moved from meeting in a house to public meetings at Earlham Community Centre, and eventually to its current home at City Academy in Earlham, where it holds a 200-strong Sunday morning service. The church also has a smaller afternoon service at its administrative base, Hillcrest Chapel in Thorpe St Andrews. The church is strongly family-orientated, with around 50-60 children attending Sunday School weekly, and a network of home groups that spreads across the city and surrounding areas. Hillcrest Chapel, which has recently been refurbished, hosts a range of community events, including Little Seeds playgroup, Youth group, snack-and-chat sessions, and men’s and women’s ministries. The chapel is also home to the church offices, an 80-seat hall, a kitchen, meeting rooms, and facilities for youth and children’s work. All of these activities are designed to serve the local community and provide a welcoming space for people to encounter God’s love.
Two years ago, John and Sarah announced their plans to eventually move on, and the church began transitioning to a new leadership model based on a plurality of elders, both staff and lay, working as equals. This new model is designed to be more collaborative and less reliant on a single leader, and it has already led to some exciting developments, including the appointment of a new staff elder, Alex Vaca. Alex, a Mexican pastor, and his Welsh wife Annie, joined the church after a remarkable journey that took them from Mexico to Wales, where they faced significant challenges, including violence and adjustment to a new culture. Despite these challenges, Alex was drawn to Servant’s Church because of its unique name and its emphasis on teamwork and collaboration. He was impressed by the church’s response to his family’s crisis, when his brother was kidnapped by a drugs cartel, and the elders’ willingness to pause the interview to pray for them.
The church’s transition to a plural leadership model has been a significant development, and it has required a shift in mindset and practice. As Thomas Abbott, a lay elder, explained, the process of appointing Alex as a staff elder helped the church to understand what plurality really means – sharing responsibility, taking decisions together. The church now has four lay elders and two staff elders, including Alex and John, and it is formally stepping away from the Calvary Chapel network, although it maintains an informal relationship and continues to uphold Calvary’s style of expository teaching and cautious charismatic approach. Servant’s Church is also affiliated with the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC), which provides a network of support and resources for independent churches. The church’s leadership model is designed to be more flexible and adaptive, allowing it to respond to the changing needs of the community and to make decisions that are guided by a shared sense of vision and purpose.
Servant’s Church is notable for several distinctives, including its casual style, which is reflected in its dress code – flip-flops and t-shirts are normal – and its deep reverence for God’s Word and worship. The church has a strong focus on expository teaching, with a verse-by-verse approach to Scripture, and it identifies as conservative evangelical, with only men serving as elders, although women are active in leadership and ministry roles. The church also has a unique tradition of taking a mid-service break, where worshippers can grab a cup of coffee, chat with friends, and engage in informal ministry. As Alex explained, “We disciple and pastor one another – everyone is a minister,” and this emphasis on shared ministry and collaboration is at the heart of the church’s vision. The church is also committed to developing Hillcrest Chapel further, with plans to use the building to serve the local community and to provide a welcoming space for people to encounter God’s love.
As John Brown prepares to move on, he leaves behind a thriving church community that is rooted in Scripture, committed to shared leadership, and ready for its next chapter. Visitors to the church on Sundays can expect services that are centered firmly on Jesus and the Bible, with lively but reverent worship, and an openness to the Holy Spirit’s gifts. The church’s emphasis on community, collaboration, and shared ministry is reflected in its welcome center, where visitors can meet new people, grab a cup of coffee, and get involved in the life of the church. As the church looks to the future, it is clear that its unique blend of conservative evangelical values, casual style, and emphasis on shared leadership will continue to make it a vibrant and diverse community that is deeply rooted in the city of Norwich. With its strong focus on Bible teaching, its commitment to serving the local community, and its emphasis on collaboration and teamwork, Servant’s Church is well-placed to continue thriving and growing in the years to come.
