Before serving in the Legislature, Brown worked for 23 years in the Huron Intermediate School District, starting as a social worker and eventually becoming principal of the Huron Learning Center. Brown has been an ordained minister for more than 30 years. He most recently served as an associate pastor. He has spent much of his adult life giving back to the Thumb, working with Habitat for Humanity and working to end homelessness and child abuse.

Brown lives in Pigeon with his wife, Carol. They have three children- Teresa, Bryan and Christopher.