In 2004, while in college, the seed for Neighborhood Church was planted in Mark’s heart. While sitting in chapel at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, the president, Danny Akin, challenged his students as they were preparing for Christian ministry. The first challenge was to consider going to another continent where the Gospel is not. Second, consider starting a new church in the United States where the Gospel is weak, and third, go to an established church and continue the good work of sharing the Gospel.  This challenge set Mark on a journey to determine his role in ministry. Over the next 15 years God has refined Mark’s calling, grew him as a pastor, and given him a vision for a new church in Reisterstown. 

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In January 2019, Mark and a team of 11 adults and 10 children begin to meet, pray, and talk about the possibility of starting Neighborhood Church. They knew that starting a church is not an easy task and took the time to make sure God was truly leading them to begin this work.  They prayed for God to provide confirmation of this calling and support by an established church. The Lord provided this confirmation through a partnership with Northwest Baptist Church, and the SEND Network.