I’m Mark West – lead pastor at Columbia First Nazarene since 2007. God called me into the ministry as a teenager, but it wasn’t until later in life that the full-time call would become a reality. I have been involved in many areas of ministry as a lay pastor before going full-time in 2004. I was a public school elementary teacher for 15 years in California and Kansas. I received my B.S. degree in elementary education from Southern Nazarene University and have graduate hours from California State University. I recently completed my Course of Study through Northwest Nazarene University in Idaho with my ordination taking place in August of 2010. I’ve found that my experience in the classroom was great preparation and training for my ministry call.

God has done a great work in my life and continues to meet me where I am each and every day. We all have our story to tell and we should be sharing it! “Each one reach one” must be our personal goal in evangelism day to day. The opportunities that God gives us to share our story could very well be what it takes to bring a person to the point of accepting Jesus Christ as their personal savior. Being able to lead a person to Christ is the greatest task given to us by Jesus. He instructed us to be active in our world….making disciples!

 

Ministry is the act of giving away something that we know or have experienced that will benefit someone else in their life. Our life experiences are not only for us. Sharing the experiences we encounter with others is what we would call “Doing life together”. Through ministry we share and encourage each other in our daily lives.

 

Theresa and I are quickly approaching our third anniversary here in Columbia. She is a gifted musician and has served in part-time and full-time music ministry positions. We have a passion for the families of our community. God needs strong marriages in this culture! We want to be a part of helping couples strengthen their marriage relationship while growing their relationship with God.”Following in the footsteps of Jesus” is a tremendous challenge. It requires the power of the Holy Spirit to be active in our lives and the encouragement and accountability of those around us.

Each one reach one…Doing life together as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus!