Norwich church is set to take a new direction
After 20 years leading Servant’s Church in Norwich, Californian pastor John Brown is stepping down, leaving behind a vibrant, Bible-focused congregation and a newly developing model of shared leadership. Keith Morris reports.
​The church, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, holds a 200-strong Sunday morning service at City Academy in Earlham and a smaller afternoon service at its administrative base, Hillcrest Chapel in Thorpe St Andrews.
Lay elder Thomas Abbott describes the church as “a conservative evangelical church with a California vibe but a strong focus on Bible teaching.”
The story began two decades ago when John and Sarah Brown moved from Calvary Chapel in California to plant the church, part of a wider international movement.
“Calvary Chapel came out of the Jesus Movement — the same as Vineyard — but where Vineyard became more charismatic, Calvary Chapel focused on expository Bible teaching,” Thomas explained. “We would consider ourselves cautiously charismatic.”
Initially meeting in a house, the church quickly grew, moving to public meetings at Earlham Community Centre, and later into the large atrium of City Academy. Today, around 200 worshippers gather each Sunday morning, representing some 50 nationalities — a diversity celebrated at monthly bring-and-share lunches, particularly popular among university students.
The church is strongly family-orientated, with 50–60 children attending Sunday School weekly. A network of home groups spreads across the city and surrounding areas, and Hillcrest Chapel hosts regular community events including Little Seeds playgroup, Youth group, snack-and-chat sessions, and men’s and women’s ministries.
Hillcrest Chapel, recently refurbished, contains the church offices, an 80-seat hall, a kitchen, meeting rooms, and facilities for youth and children's work.
A New Leadership Model
Two years ago, John and Sarah announced their plans to eventually move on. In response, the church began transitioning to a new leadership model based on a plurality of elders — both staff and lay — working as equals.
The first major test of this new structure came with the appointment of a staff elder, leading to the arrival of Mexican pastor Alex Vaca and his Welsh wife, Annie.
The couple met in Mexico, where Annie was teaching at a university. Alex, who had transitioned from Catholicism to evangelical Christianity, played a key role in Annie’s journey to faith. They married but two years later, while Annie was pregnant, she was assaulted at gunpoint.
“In Mexico, violence is sadly common,” said Alex. “But for Annie, it was shocking. She said she couldn’t raise a family there.”
The couple relocated to Wales, where their son was born shortly afterwards. Adjusting proved difficult for Alex, who spoke little English and longed to serve in Christian ministry. He supported the family through a series of jobs — selling ice cream and hot dogs, working as a waiter and barman, and later in finance. Meanwhile, he studied theology, earning a BA from Union School of Theology.
Graduating just as Covid lockdowns began, Alex worked online for Florida-based Ligonier Ministries, answering theological queries. When that role ended in late 2022, he struggled to find a ministry role locally, leading him to explore opportunities further afield.
“Most churches seemed to be looking for a superman who could do everything,” Alex said. "Then I saw the name ‘Servant’s Church.’ It sounded different — like a place where I'd work alongside a pastor (within a team of pastors) rather than on my own as a solo pastor.”
Much to his surprise, Alex was invited to an interview but, meanwhile, a family crisis was developing back in Mexico when his brother was kidnapped by a drugs cartel.
“Usually that is it and they never return,” said Alex. “We all started to pray, day after day and amazingly the cartel said they would return my brother to the house. They came to the house and took our cars, money, jewellery, everything and left my brother behind.”
Two hours before his Norwich interview, Alex received the miraculous news. During the interview, when asked if he’d faced any recent challenges, he shared the story. The elders paused the interview to pray for them — a response that left a deep impression.
“I thought, ‘This is the kind of church I want to work for,’” said Alex.
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Embracing Plural Leadership
“Alex wasn’t the obvious candidate at first,” admitted Thomas. “But going through the process helped us all understand what plurality really means — sharing responsibility, taking decisions together.”
“When it came to a decision, the elders one by one said that they wanted to go for Alex because we felt he would be better and more comfortable working as part of a team in a plural leadership rather than having one person leading everything.”
That was summer 2023 and began the process of transition for the church, which now has four lay elders and Alex and John as staff elders.
The church is also formally stepping away from the Calvary Chapel network — not due to any disagreement, Thomas clarified, but because Calvary’s leadership model of a single, senior pastor no longer aligns with Servant’s direction toward collective leadership. However, they maintain an informal relationship and continue to uphold Calvary’s style of expository teaching and cautious charismatic approach. Servant’s Church also remains affiliated with the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC).
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Hallmarks of Servant’s Church
Servant’s Church is notable for several distinctives.
“We don't have formal membership,” Thomas explained. “We have deep reverence for God’s Word and worship, but there’s a casual style — a bit of a Californian vibe - flip-flops and t-shirts are normal. But we take Scripture very seriously, teaching verse-by-verse in an expository style.”
The church identifies as conservative evangelical: only men serve as elders, but women are active in leadership and ministry roles.
There are also plans to develop Hillcrest Chapel further. “We believe God has a plan for this building and this neighbourhood,” said Alex. “We’re praying for vision.”
Conditions attached to the building’s use require that all activities maintain a Gospel focus, with no alcohol permitted and a sacred atmosphere preserved.
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What to Expect on Sundays
Visitors on Sunday mornings can expect services centred firmly on Jesus and the Bible. Worship is lively but reverent, with an openness to the Holy Spirit’s gifts — especially the gift of love for one another.
A hallmark of Servant’s Church is the mid-service break. After worship and a kids’ segment, there’s a 15-minute pause for tea, coffee, conversation and ministry.
“We disciple and pastor one another — everyone is a minister,” said Alex.
As John Brown prepares to move on, he leaves behind a thriving church community — one rooted in Scripture, committed to shared leadership, and ready for its next chapter.
www.servantschurch.org.uk
Pictured top is Servant's Church Sunday worship at City Academy in Earlham and, above, from the left, church elders Thomas Abbott, Josh Musson, Jonny Hall, Alex Vaca and Paul Dean.