Mark graduated from Johnson Bible College in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He came to CEM for a 3-month internship and went on to Lincoln Christian Seminary in LIncoln, IL, where he received his Master of Divinity in Pastoral Counseling in 1985.
He worked as a Youth Minister at Central Christian Church in Savannah, GA, from 1985 to 1989. From 1989 to 1990 Mark took post-graduate clinical training in counseling from Emory University Affiliated Hospitals, and from 1997 to 2000 he took post-graduate counseling courses from State University of West Georgia. Mark worked at the New Directions Counseling Center in Union City, GA, from 1991 to 1995 and at Clayton Center in Riverdale, GA, from 1995 to 2008. He was an Adjunct Instructor at Atlanta Christian College from 1999 to 2008.
Mark's heart has been united with Christian Encounter Ministries since his internship in 1980, and he returned to CEM in 2008 to serve as Minister of Discipleship and Assistant Intern Director. He took over as Intern Director in 2010 when Jim Parker retired.