Brian Browning
Hello!
My story is one that has been affected by poverty and homelessness. I spent the first 10 years of my life in Logan, Ohio before our house was repossessed and we were forced to move in with relatives. Since then I’ve moved all over Athens county. I’ve lived in Athens, Nelsonville, New Marshfield, The Plains and in the middle of nowhere for various lengths of time varying from a couple of months to a few years. It’s to the point that I don’t feel like I can say that I’m from anywhere other than “Athens county”.
However, I thankfully was still able to graduate from Hocking College as a medical lab technician. I worked as a lab tech in the microbiology department at Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster, Ohio. I had received financial stability in a job I was very comfortable in, but instability in other areas and a growing commitment to Christ and his mission led me to start an internship at Good Works. I gave my life to Jesus in 2023 and since then I have learned more and more about His character and His mission. Not everyone is called to quit their job to start ministry but the more I read Scripture the more I feel the conviction that one misses a key part of being a Christian by foregoing the opportunity to serve the poor and to pour out love and hospitality to those who are in need.
“17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. 18 He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. 19 Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10:17-19)