Keynote Speaker

Mark is the founder of Youth Ministry Architects, a hands-on coaching service for churches whose youth ministries are in (intentional or unexpected) transition or churches who hope to see their youth ministries move to the next level. For the past 20 years, Mark has served as the Associate Pastor for Youth and Their Families at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, where he continues to oversee the youth ministry on a part-time basis.

Mark has trained youth workers across the United States, as well as in Russia, Canada, Uganda and South Africa, working with a wide variety of denominations. He has taught courses or been a guest lecturer at a number of colleges and seminaries, including Princeton Theological Seminary (Princeton, N.J.), Vanderbilt Divinity School (Nashville, TN), David Lipscomb University (Nashville, TN), Travecca Nazarene College (Nashville, TN), King College (Bristol, Tenn.), Montreat College (Montreat, N.C.), William Tyndale College (Detroit, MI), Presbyterian College (Montreal, Quebec), Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte, N.C.),Tyndale Theological Seminary (Toronto, Canada) and Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI).

Mark is the author of a number of books, including Family-Based Youth Ministry (IVP, Revised and Expanded, 2004), and his articles and reviews have been published in a variety of magazines and journals, including The Christian Century, Theology Today, Group, and Youthworker Journal. Mark's writings have now been translated into Korean, Chinese, and Afrikaans.