Our Ministry Team

Pastor Mark has served First Reformed since January 2016. He and his wife Kristin have been married since 1995. They have three children: Ahna (2000), Joshua (2006), and Carly (2008). Before serving First Reformed, Mark was a manager at Toys R Us (1996-2001), Youth Director at St. Paul Lutheran in Sandusky, OH (2001-2009), and Youth Director at his home church, Second Reformed, in Lennox, SD (2009-2015). Mark is a graduate of Liberty University (B.S. Religion) and Western Theological Seminary (M.Div). Pastor Mark was received as a Teaching Elder in the Rivers and Lake Presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in April of 2023. In December of 2023, Mark released his devotional book “Dwell in Philippians”.

What is your favorite book?
My favorite book is Michael Horton’s book on worship, “A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship” but when people ask that question, they are usually wondering about a work of fiction, so I will answer that as well.  My favorite novel is “Till We Have Faces” by C.S. Lewis.  I have read it three times, and every time, I enjoy it more.

What is your favorite movie?
The Dark Knight.  I tend to like the middle movie in a trilogy the best (Empire Strikes Back and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers are two of my favorite films), and the story and acting in The Dark Knight are great.  Batman is one of my favorite superheroes (Nightwing is my actual favorite), and so the entire Dark Knight Trilogy is one I enjoy watching.

What is your current favorite song?
“Banquet for Traitors” by Oh, Sleeper.  The imagery of Christ as the host of the banquet and the forgiveness given to traitors, thieves, and liars nearly moves me to tears every time I hear it.

What is your favorite song of all time?
Reborn Empowered by Living Sacrifice.  The band has been my favorite since the first time I heard them more than 30 years ago, and that song that starts off their album “Reborn” is powerful lyrically and musically.

What is one of your hobbies?
I’ve recently started enjoying collecting music.  For years, I only purchased digital downloads of music.  Now, I feel we are missing something by not holding a compact disc or vinyl album and owning it.  I like a relatively small sub-genre of music, so it is fun to track down albums.  I have also really come to appreciate the sound a vinyl album has compared to digital music.  It is also refreshing to put on a record and listen to a band’s record all the way through without shuffling or skipping around to your favorite songs.  While I love the convenience of digital music in the car or on a walk, there is something we are missing out on if we only pull up a playlist on Spotify and hit the shuffle button.

What do you like best about your job at the church?
There are many things that I love about my job, and that is what I like best.  It is a job with great variety.  I get the privilege of preaching God’s Word.  I teach Middle School Catechism and go to RYM with them every summer.  I work on the website and do some work with social media and communications.  I have people stop in to talk and have coffee with me.  I go to community sporting events, cheer on our students, and chat with people.  You get the idea.  It lets me be a jack of all trades and a master of none, but I am just fine with that.