Dave Brown, Hall of Fame basketball coach and longtime ministry leader, has joined the Heritage Community Church staff in Chehalis as associate pastor, effective Feb. 15.
Brown brings nearly six decades of leadership experience in church ministry, education and athletics. Over a distinguished 50-year varsity basketball coaching career, he compiled an extraordinary record of 813 wins and 369 losses, earning statewide recognition for both competitive excellence and character development.
Brown won three state championships while coaching at Horizon Christian School and earned six second-place finishes at state. He won two Oregon State 3A Coach of the Year awards and was named Oregon’s “winningest active basketball coach” in 2017 and 2018. Brown also was inducted into the California Interscholastic Federation Hall of Fame in 2002 and inducted into the Southern California Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2000.
A graduate of California State University, Long Beach, Brown later earned his master’s degree from Azusa Pacific University. He served in teaching, athletic director and head coaching roles at Pioneer High School, Fountain Valley High School, Laguna Hills High School, and Horizon Christian High School.
“I have approached coaching as a ministry for my primary career goal,” Brown said in a news release. “Being a testimony for Christ both on and off the court has been my intention. Praying with and for my teams, their families, and fellow coaches has been a privilege in both public and private school settings. I am excited to help start Heritage Community Church and work alongside my lifetime friend, Darcy Fast.”
Alongside his education career, Brown has served faithfully in church leadership roles for decades, including men’s ministry leadership, elder board service, Bible teaching, and marriage mentoring with his wife Janet across churches in California, Oregon and Florida.
“David and Janet come with a deep love for Christ, a heart for people, and a passion for ministry that aligns beautifully with the mission and vision of Heritage Community Church,” Fast, Heritage Community Church pastor, said in a news release. “We are thankful for their willingness to say ‘yes’ to God’s call and to join us in this season of growth and new beginnings.”
Fast has a storied athletic past of his own.
Fast is best known for his Major League Baseball career and his book titled “The Missing Cub.” Fast played for the Chicago Cubs in the late 1960s.
In Fast’s book, he discusses the Cubs’ 1969 season, when the team seemed poised to win the World Series. The team, however, would lose the series to the New York Mets. Fast, who played most of the season, was absent for the series.
Fast left the team to enroll in college in Portland and join the local National Guard. In a previous article about Fast by The Chronicle, he said even when he was on the cusp of a long career in Major League Baseball, he felt something was missing and a call back to the church.
After his MLB career and getting an education, Fast began looking at places to begin his career as a pastor and accepted an offer at the Centralia Community Church, where he became a fixture of the community for 30 years and helped grow the congregation from 70 members to 700.
As associate pastor, Brown will focus on pastoral care, marriage and family ministry, men’s discipleship and leadership development as Heritage Community Church continues to expand its outreach throughout Lewis County.
For more information about Heritage Community Church, visit heritagecc.church or attend Sunday worship services at 10 a.m. in the Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis.
