About Us
-OUR FAMILY-
Katie and Mark were highschool friends who became best friends on July 10, 1999. They feel overwhelmed with the goodness of God and are grateful to Him for His many blessings. First and foremost they are thankful for Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to make a way for sinners to approach a holy God. They are also thankful for their four precious children (Amanda, Matthew, Julia, & Zachary).
- MARK’S TESTIMONY -
It was in 1993 (the summer I turned 14) when I first heard true preaching of the Word of God. My family had just begun attending a Bible church and I had never heard the Bible taught like that before. After a short season under conviction, I repented of my sins and placed my faith in Christ alone to save me from the penalty of my sins.
Prior to this, I had been a “good kid” who made good grades in school, had a good work ethic, and was a Boy Scout (literally, not figuratively). My parents were loving Christians (albeit immature and untaught) and our family attended a mainline denominational church where we were active members. I became a full member at age thirteen and even organized a church event. You might say I was the type of kid who used to annoy his friends because moms would say to their son “Why can’t you be more like Mark.” I was proud of myself; of who I was and what I had done. Even at 13 years old, I had strong ambitions and plans for how I was going to live my life and what I was going to accomplish! I knew everything, and was quite willing to share this fact with anyone who stood close. I thought that God fit well in my plans and never suspected that He might object to who I was or what I was pursuing.
In 1993, I learned that I was wrong. Through the preaching of the Word, I quickly learned how truly sinful I was and how my good works in life gained me no standing in the sight of God (Ro 3.23, Tit 3.5). Although God loved me as His creation, I was under His judgment and wrath for my implicit rejection of Him (Ro 6.23). For although I claimed to be a Christian, I was completely arrogant, and I believed that I was doing right, pursuing right, and always in the right. Although not yet 110lbs and just getting ready for my 1st year of high school, I believed I was a self-made man. I didn’t believe that the world owed me anything. Rather, I was convinced that in time, I could get whatever I wanted through my own efforts.
The truth of the Gospel produced a conviction of sin that began to bury me, because I knew that I did not meet God’s righteous standard. The boy who thought he could get anything he wanted by determination and hard work grew very scared because he knew he could not work his way to heaven. One night in the summer of 1993, I knelt by my bed, confessed my sin and pleaded for God’s forgiveness while asking God to make me fit for heaven. Because of Christ’s work on the Cross and His perfected righteousness imputed to me, I know I am fit for, and destined for, heaven (1 Co 1.27-30, 2 Co 5.21, Ro 8.29-30). I look forward to being in heaven, leaving behind this body of sin and to experiencing the presence of God in purity and perfection.
However, God has ordained that I should live a little while in this world before entering the next. By His grace, I am seeking to grow in Christlikeness and live a life of obedience for His glory. I love His truth and seek to study and apply the Scripture to my life. I am thrilled and blessed to be walking the path of the Christian walk hand in hand with Katie, my wife of 10 years in whom my heart trusts (Prov 31:11). Together we have been preparing for a life of Christian ministry. We have experienced innumerable blessings together in the last decade including the joy of four children. Now, if the Lord wills, we will soon move our family to Lebanon and serve Him as part of a team seeking to plant a training center where men can be prepared to teach God’s Word.
For there are yet many arrogant little boys out there who need saving. Maranatha!
- KATIE’S TESTIMONY -
My hometown is Cape Girardeau, MO. I am the youngest of 4 kids and my parents taught good morals at home. I was spoiled and used to always getting my way. I learned how to manipulate others at an early age and my siblings nicknamed me “the perfect child”
Outwardly, I tried to keep this image of perfection by meeting people’s expectations of me. I was a good friend to my peers, was teacher’s pet, made good grades, and had an optimistic outlook on life. I even read my Bible and acted religious because I was expected to. As long as people loved me, I was happy.
But as time passed, it became harder to please everyone at once. My teachers expected different things of me than my friends. I failed my dad’s expectations by not being athletic. During my pre-teen years, I acted as a chameleon- always changing who I was depending on who I was with. I became confused, wondering who I really was on the inside. I felt empty. My life matched the description Jesus gave of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27-28 27: “…you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
In God’s providence, during this time, my family began attending a local Bible church in town and I visited their youth group. I was intrigued by the genuine Christianity I observed in my peers and the youth leaders and challenged by the pastor’s applications from Scripture. Thirsty to understand more, I quickly became a regular attender there and that summer joined the door-to-door evangelism program. As I flipped through the tract we were to memorize, I stopped at the picture of two cliffs on a page, contemplating about which cliff was I on. I realized that I had spent my whole life trying to reach Christ by being good, yet I fell short. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Ro. 3:23), and that even my very best work was completely tainted with sin (Isa. 64:6). That summer (1994), the Spirit opened my mind and heart to understand my sin and need for the perfect atoning work of Christ on the cross. I repented of my sin and trusted Christ and I finally had peace because I had given up trying on my own to reach God, but rather trusted Christ alone to save me.
During the rest of my teen years, I grew strong in my faith by making solid friendships, involving myself in missions trips, Bible studies, camps, Scripture memorization, and other activities. By my senior year, I was making plans to go to Moody Bible College and become a missionary teacher in Mexico.
“The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Pr. 16:9). I was not accepted into Moody and was greatly discouraged. I resorted to attending the state university in my hometown and joining the youth staff at my church. It was at this time that God directed my steps to Mark, a longtime friend in high school. He was pursuing full-time ministry and it didn’t take long for me to realize that he was the reason why God wanted me to stay in town. I walked down the aisle to marry my lifelong partner in ministry at age 19.
Our ten years of marriage have been full of adventure where God has proven Himself faithful & compassionate to me as I’ve have grown closer to Him. It has been an honor to be Mark’s helpmate in ministry and life in general. The Lord has also blessed me abundantly with 4 little ones to nurture and bring up in a manner that is worthy of Him.