Mark was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and grew up in Naperville, Illinois.

Mark went to the University of Chicago on scholarship playing basketball and majoring in pre-law. After a prayer walk through a cow pasture, he felt called to full time ministry and ended up at Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. That’s the short story. Mark also holds a Doctor of Ministry from Regent University. He is the author of a dozen books including his first published title, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and The Circle Maker, a New York Times Bestseller.

Mark and his wife, Lora, moved to Washington, DC, in 1994 to direct an inner-city ministry. He has served as Lead Pastor of National Community Church since 1996. Under his leadership, NCC has grown from a core group of 19 people to one church with multiple locations.

Mark and Lora live on Capitol Hill and have three children: Parker, Summer, and Josiah.