Episode #119
119: Her Prayers Don't Have an Expiration Date: Jon Brown on Losing Mama Brown and the Legacy She Left Behind
If you've read Janet Boynes' first book Called Out , you know the story. Three o'clock in the morning. A grocery store. A woman with a buggy full of food for her four boys who stopped to talk to a stranger — and changed her life forever. That woman was Tammy Brown. And in this episode, Janet sits down with Tammy's oldest son, Jon Brown — Executive Pastor of Journey Church in Wisconsin — to honor her memory, process her loss, and talk about what a praying mother leaves behind. Tammy was diagnosed with cancer in 2023. The family believed for her healing — completely. There was no category in their minds for her not making it. She witnessed to nurses and doctors from her hospital bed. She sent her son on a mission trip to Honduras the day before she passed, because she said the best way he could honor her was to go tell people about Jesus. He got the call halfway through the trip. She was gone. In this conversation you will hear: The story behind the story — why Tammy was at a grocery store at 3 a.m. the night she met Janet What it was like to watch his mother witness to everyone in the hospital, even while dying How his father is doing after losing his high school sweetheart of 50-plus years The "Brown Boys" text thread — and how four brothers learned to grieve together His brother Tim, who has walked away from the Lord — and why Jon believes Tammy's prayers are still being answered Why our prayers don't have an expiration date — they outlive us What it means to keep praying for a prodigal when nothing seems to be changing The seeds of prayer that go into the ground and look dead — but aren't A pastoral prayer for anyone who is grieving the loss of someone they love This episode is for anyone who has lost a parent who prayed. It is for anyone who is carrying grief while still showing up for ministry or family. And it is for anyone who has a prodigal they have not stopped praying for. Tammy Brown's race is finished. But her prayers are still running. Janet Boynes Ministries: janetboynes.com Jon Brown: Executive Pastor, Journey Church — jrnychurch.com
