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J. Mark Martin is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Community Church, a grace oriented fellowship of over 12,000 believers located in Phoenix, Arizona. Pastor Mark grew up in Medford, Oregon and later attended college in Northern California where he graduated with a B.A. in theology. While attending college, he met his wife to be, Leslie, and they now have three children. Pastor Mark has been teaching God's grace for over 25 years.
Pastor Mark was raised in a legalistic denomination that emphasizes salvation by works and absolute adherence to the doctrines of their false prophetess. Mark started pastoring during college and was forced to resign when he began to teach the grace of God. Mark's experience under legalism gives his ministry a unique emphasis on the love and grace of God, which is demonstrated by Jesus' death on the cross for our sins.
Pastor Mark started Calvary Community Church as a non-denominational church in 1982 with eleven people. In 1984 Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, California invited Pastor Mark and the Calvary Community family to join the Calvary Chapel fellowship of churches. The rapid growth of Calvary Community eventually led to the purchase of their present facility, a former shopping center adjacent to the Black Canyon Freeway.
Mark's radio outreach began in the early 1990's with a single 1-hour slot on a local Christian radio station. Today, Grace Upon Grace reaches across the United States on several different radio stations each weekday as well as the church’s 24-hour web-radio station, CalvaryRadio.com Pastor Mark comments, "Throughout the years we've seen God work in extraordinary ways. We've seen through this work that where God guides, God provides."
Radio is not the only means on which Pastor Mark is heard. Each year the tape ministry of Grace Upon Grace duplicates and distributes over 150,000 cassettes around the world. This ministry enables the Word of God to reach even the toughest places, like prisons, broken homes and persecuted countries. It has always been Pastor Mark's practice to provide the tapes at minimal cost or FREE of charge; as he often says, "We don't want your money, we just want to be a blessing to you". |
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