05
family members
Brian and Tara were married in May 2001. They met at a student camp where Tara was serving on the camp staff team and Brian was a student pastor who had brought his students to camp. It’s one of the few student camp relationships that has ever worked out.
Brian and Tara have three children—Joshua, Hannah, and Caleb. All three kids were born in Florida and still see themselves as Floridians at heart.
If you count pets, the number would be 7 thanks to their two dogs, Della, a chocolate lab mix, and Chester, a beagle mix. They’ve also had a bird, Charlie, which would make 8, but he left this earth some time ago.
09
places lived
Brian was born in the suburbs of Baltimore. His family moved to Hawaii and then Germany before returning to Baltimore. That’s three.
After college (we won’t count those places), he moved to Tampa. Then, after Tara and he were married, they served at churches in Maryland, central Florida, central Kentucky, and then back to Tampa. That’s five more.
They then moved to middle Tennessee, where they have lived since 2014. And they don’t want to move ever again.
05
degrees earned
Ph.D., Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2022
Th.M., Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2022
D.Min., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 2013
M.Div., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2006
B.S., Towson University, 1995
05
books written
Brian has written five published books, and a few more that live on his MacBook hoping to be published one day. His latest book, Faith Foundations, by IVP, will release in October 2025. His next most recent book, Family Discipleship That Works, was published by IVP in October 2024. His other three books are published by B&H. You can learn about them here.
06
other writings
Like many published authors, Brian got his start by writing by writing magazine articles and curriculum. He has written content for The Gospel Project (where he was also managing editor), Bible Studies for Life, Bible Teaching for Kids, and FLYTE. He wrote articles for Living with Teenagers and ParentLife.
02
schools taught
Brian loves to learn, in part because he loves to teach. He is an adjunct instructor for the Children & Family Ministry program at Lancaster Bible College & Capital Seminary. He also served as an online instructor at
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
18
jobs held
Lawn Mower
Hardware Store Salesman
Bellman/Valet
Sports Editor
Writer at a Dental Consulting Firm
Sporting Goods Store Salesman
Substitute Teacher
Athletes in Action Baseball Staff Member
Youth & Recreation Pastor
Children, Youth & Family Pastor
Discipleship Pastor
Pastor
Census Worker
Executive Pastor
Publishing Team Leader
Managing Editor
Associate Publisher
Online Instructor
16
countries visited
Brian loves to travel. He has been to the United States (obviously), Canada, Guatemala, Nicaragua, South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Philippines, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, and Switzerland. Cape Town, South Africa is perhaps his favorite place on earth.
If you count countries where he never left the airport, England, Japan, and Senegal would be added to make 19.
Israel, Poland, and Japan (outside the airport) are the new places he’d like to add to the list, but a return to Germany would be most ideal. And he’s always up for his fifth visit to Cape Town.
brian dembowczyk 