College Park Church

My family has been privileged to be with College Park Church since it started in 1985. In 1999, the elders asked me to consider joining the staff as the Jr. High pastor and the Outreach Director. The decision was a very easy one to make for my family and me. It is an absolute blast to be part of the College Park Community and to serve on staff here. It is also an honor that I don't take lightly.

God had planted many seeds in my earlier life, and used a close friend in college to show me my need for forgiveness and His love for me through Jesus. Since that time, God has continued to challenge us to grow in our faith and blessed us in many ways. We came to College Park because of the centrality of Jesus and the emphasis on teaching and living out the whole Word.

Over 10 years ago, God brought our family to College Park church. We loved that God's word was preached verse by verse from the pulpit and that the congregation was continually challenged to live out what was being taught. Since coming to CPC, my wife and I have served together in marriage and children's ministries. One of my life's passions is to see Christ glorified through His church. I have been privileged to serve the saints of CPC as both a deacon and an elder. My prayer is that CPC would be a place where we can work out our salvation in a community, proclaim the truth in a postmodern age, and be the light of Christ in a dark world.

Though blessed with a loving family and good home, I chose many wrong paths as a youth and eventually became concerned about where I was heading. Friends introduced me to Jesus Christ and soon by faith I knew Him as my Lord and Savior.  Praise be to God, He has forgiven my sins and mercifully blessed me with His presence and care ever since. The hope of Cindy, my wife, and I is to follow Jesus and serve as He leads along the way. We have four wonderful children and a son-in-law.

I am the Pastor of Christian Education & Compassion at College Park Church. This includes the ministry we call "Next Generations" which extends from Sr. Hi. Youth to the nursery! My wife, Cheryl, and I have been in ministry for 28 years and have three grown children. Joshua is 27 and recently married to Amanda, Tim is 26 and a graduate of IU Kelley School of Business, and Debra is 22 and finishing a degree in elementary education from Indiana Wesleyan University. Our passion is to see the next generations know the One True God and His Son Jesus Christ. I double as the pastor of Compassion Ministries here at CPC. This ministry exists to respond to the physical needs of people in order to participate in the fulfillment of the purpose of God in their lives.

I came to faith in Christ at the age of five into a Christian family. I attended Cedarville College, received a B.A. in Bible then graduated from Grace Seminary with an M.Div. in Biblical Studies. I am currently in the Doctorate of Ministries program at the same seminary.

Cheryl and I have been married for 30 years and have been in youth ministry, teaching ministries and pastoring in the states of Iowa, Ohio and Indiana (and often the "State of Confusion!").

Through loving Christian parents and those in a wonderful church in Bloomington, Indiana, God led me to Himself one night when I was about 10 years old.  I repented of my sins, acknowledging my need for Christ's forgiveness, and placed my trust in Christ as my Savior.  God used my college years and then my wife to help me to grow as a Christian.  Over the years, I regret that I have not honored Him more than I have but I am thankful that he is a forgiving God.  With our three sons, Andy, Charles and David, Lynette and I came to CPC in 1997. We are grateful for the privilege of casting our lot with His people here.  All the way our Savior leads us--we look forward to following Him in the days ahead. 

I have been at College Park Church for 2 ½ years. My wife Jo Ann and I have been married for 29 years. We are blessed with three daughters, a son, two terrific sons-in-law, and a 9-month-old grandson. I have learned that God redeems everything we experience in our lives to prepare us for what He has planned next. I love that we are in a church that sees God as great and His grace as greater than all our sin. I love the counseling ministry because I see God transform lives right before my eyes every day.

My wife Heather and I came to College Park in 1998 as a candidate for Worship Arts Pastor. From the moment we walked through the doors, we knew that this church was serious about life-style worship. For the last decade Heather and I have found a beautiful "freedom to be real" as a part of the community at College Park, and we love the fact that our three girls have been born into an environment where Jesus is the Center!

My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, saved me from my sin at age 17. From that point, He has increasingly awakened me to my sin, His holiness, and His mercy. God has used College Park greatly in this process by continually unleashing His Word upon me since joining the church in 1997. It has been my privilege and joy to serve at College Park in various capacities over the years including roles as a youth sponsor, Kingdom Kids table leader, flock group leader, and elder. The Lord has blessed me with a beautiful, godly wife, Andra, and three awesome kids, Rebekah, Abigail, and Sam. God is good!

Emerging as a street kid at fourteen, I was encouraged by parents into a junior Masonic group where I learned there was a one true and living God. It wasn't until I was subjected to the rigors of Air Force Flight School that I came to know Him on the strength of John 3:16. After subsequent marriage to my hometown sweetheart, Sharon, we started attending church and with each move sought out places of worship to serve and be fed by the Word. God was easily seen to be preeminent in raising three boys, surviving a forty year career as a test pilot and dozens of forced landings. Twelve years ago we were prompted by our son, Brad, to examine the teachings at College Park Church. We have obviously been blessed in our association here: challenged in scripture, drafted into the staff as the first Senior's Director (Active Adults), and Sharon commissioned to serve in Woman's Bible Studies. Now, after reaching fifty years of marriage, our desire is to continue mentoring, counseling and teaching while encouraging our family, friends and others as we are stretched toward God's best here at CPC.

Raised in a Christian home, I came to faith in Christ as a young boy. I enjoyed good teaching and preaching growing up, and became active in my home church where I met my wonderful wife. Though actively serving there as an adult, God brought some difficult times into my life to bring me to a realization of my need for an intimate walk with and commitment to Him. It was at that time He brought us to College Park where He continues to graciously transform my and my family's lives, and to give us the honor of serving Him. What a privilege!

I was a church-goer when we moved to Indianapolis in 1991, but that winter the Gospel unfolded before me for the first time. I had heard the words before, but it was only then that it became clear to me that I was truly a sinner, and that Jesus had died for me. Thus, Easter of 1992 was very special for me, as it was the first Easter season during which I understood what it meant for Jesus to die on the cross, and how His resurrection means life to us all. We moved, as a family, to College Park Church in March of 1995, and CPC has been a wonderful place for me to grow in Christ. I am privileged to serve here as an elder, and my life is closely knit together with the members of the New World Sunday school class, which I have taught since early in 2000.

I am responsible for adult education as well as other pastoral duties at CPC. I love theology and the study of the Scriptures and I love to learn from others and share in the development of the lives of God's people in knowing him more fully and serving him with great passion. I have been blessed with a great wife Cathy who teaches music at Heritage Christian school and three super kids, Tami, Joe, and Christi (married to Dan) who live far, far away - but we see each other fairly regularly, especially at our summer vacations at Myrtle Beach.  

I was saved as a very young child growing up in a Christian family. I went to a Christian school and college and then taught in a Christian high school on Long Island, NY for three years. I then sensed that God wanted me to be equipped to teach his word better so I journeyed to Grace Seminary in Indiana and received an MDiv. degree. God in his providence opened up the opportunity to return to my home church in Maryland and I pastored there for three years. After that enjoyable ministry, God led me back to Indiana through some very difficult family issues. I worked as a manager in a manufacturing plant in Carmel for almost 12 years before God opened up an opportunity for me to return to ministry here at CPC. It has been a real blessing to be back in the ministry, though it was exciting to be involved in ministry those years when I was not on staff. I have had many great opportunities to teach (many classes like Greek, hermeneutics, OT and NT survey, etc.). I have been blessed to do some counseling, preaching, marrying, burying, mission tripping, and all the things that involve the life of the church. It has been fun to minister with my brother on staff as well and to be involved in a church for over 20 years as a "lay person" as well as staff pastor. God has been good to me and there is nothing as fulfilling as serving the church of Christ which he bought with his blood.

God used my upbringing in a Navy household to shape my worldview and expose me to nations and people around the world.  I came to know Jesus Christ as my personal Savior in 1992 through a study of the book of Jonah.  As I grew in my faith I worked in the public sector until 1992 then changed jobs to begin working with Goodwill Industries as a Director of Business Development.

 In 1999 the Lord called me to staff at CPC and has been pleased to allow me to understand the purpose of the scripture found in 2 Corinthians 4:7 - how He uses simple ‘clay jars' for His own glory.  It continues to be a privilege to serve Christ by serving our staff through ‘taking stones out of their way' in order that College Park's ministry vision may be realized.  I enjoy the role of overseeing staff and implementing the vision for the church as it is cast by the elders and Mark.

 I count it a privilege to be able to do this in partnership with my wonderful wife Barb and five children.

“I joined the leadership team at College Park Church as Lead Pastor in April 2008 after serving for thirteen years in Western Michigan. God miraculously and surprisingly called us from a wonderful ministry in Holland, Michigan, to join a clear and historic movement of God at College Park Church.  We see God’s hand all over the ministry here with a unique blend of passion for Jesus, a love for the Word, and a desire to see lives changed.  That vision fit us beautifully, and we see the opportunity for College Park to have maximum impact in the Indianapolis area.  God is at work here, and we thrilled to be a part of igniting a passion to follow Jesus.”

Additional Information:

Mark is a graduate of Cedarville University, Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and he is presently enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  He has published articles in Leadership Journal, Pray! Magazine, Spirit of Revival, and Heart Cry Magazine.  In addition to his responsibilities of preaching, leadership, and vision-casting at College Park, Mark is a conference speaker for Life Action Ministries and a prayer summit leader for Strategic Renewal Ministries.  He presently also serves on the Advisory Council for ABWE and Life Action.

Mark and his wife, Sarah, have four children (Hayden, Joseph, Jeremiah, and Savannah), and they have one daughter, Sylvia, who is in heaven after her unexpected still-birth in February 2004.

God began to shape my heart for the nations before I was even aware of the nations. Born to missionary parents in Pakistan, I had the privilege of growing up there as a Third Culture Kid. But it wasn't until college that God really began to awaken my heart to the plight of peoples like the ones I had grown up with in Pakistan, those who have not only not heard the Gospel but most likely never will because there are so few believers in their people group. God led me along with my wife and family back to Pakistan, where we served for 14 years in theological education with TEAM. Then He brought us back to the States, surprisingly, in 2000 with some health issues. Now in His gracious sovereignty, He has us serving at College Park Church in the capacity of challenging, preparing, and enabling cross-cultural messengers of the Gospel.

I acknowledged my need for Jesus to forgive me of my sins on my seventh birthday and was baptized a few weeks later. As I look back on my childhood and teen years, I can see areas of spiritual growth and am grateful that God led my family to a church that provided a solid biblical foundation. I'm also thankful to God both for giving me a godly mother who cared more about my soul than worldly things and for providencially placing other role models in my life. Despite my godly upbringing, I struggled at the end of high school and into my college years with pride and the sin of not wanting to make Christ the core of everything. I was convicted of my sin and recommitted my life to Christ and His lordship in every area of my life while attending an Institute for Basic Life Principles conference. I began attending College Park Church and several years later God provided me a wonderful godly wife and together we are passionate about pleasing God, growing in Christlikeness, and training our children to follow God. I praise God for His sovereignty in each season of my life and for the joy He has given as I've served over the years in various capacities including church communications, leading small groups, and facilitating Bible studies.