Upon returning from camp and announcing this calling to his church family at Parkway Village Baptist Church in Memphis, he immediately began teaching the 3rd and 4th grade boys Sunday school which he would teach for a number of years years while in high school and college. Around the same time, the youth pastor at this church discovered that Mark could play the guitar and sing and asked him to begin to lead worship for the youth Bible study. God’s call was taking shape!

While attending college at the University of Memphis, Mark would meet the love of his life and his partner in ministry. He and Kelley would marry in June of 1992 and move to Knoxville, TN to continue college and graduate school and begin their life journey together.

Mark’s first official call to serve came in 1993 from a small rural church outside of Knoxville in where he served as the part -time youth pastor for a year. This was followed by a call to serve as youth pastor at a large church in Oak Ridge, TN for the next three years. Their first son was born while living in Oak Ridge. The next leg of the adventure took this growing family to serve as the youth and children’s pastor at a small church in north of Daytona Beach, Florida. A daughter was added to the family during this time. After only a year, the young couple felt a strong call to move to Tampa, Florida to serve as the Minister to Students and Education as well as chaplain for a K-12 Christian school at an inner-city church and school. Next God called this young family to a large county-seat church south of Orlando where Mark served as the Minister to College and Youth. Two more sons would join the family during these years.

After three direct hurricane hits in 2003, the couple jumped at the opportunity to move back to Tennessee closer to family and serve first the Youth and College Pastor and then later as the Family Ministries pastor at a large nondenominational church north of Nashville. Three more children would join the family while serving in Nashville. (If you are counting, that’s seven children!)

Towards the end of his time at this nondenominational church, Mark began to sense that God was reshaping His call in his life. After more than 20 years serving in family, college, youth, and children’s ministry (all with a strong emphasis with worship), Mark sensed a call to “preach, teach, write…and lead worship” in a new setting not directly involving children and youth.

After a nation-wide search for the next place God would lead, Mark and Kelley followed a surprising and exciting call to Red Lion, Pennsylvania to serve at the pastor and worship leader for the contemporary service at a conservative church. He continues to serve at this church today…eleven years and counting.