About Us
Core beliefs
Bible
God
Father
Jesus
Holy Spirit
Creation
Eternal Life
Salvation
Confession
The second part of confession is to receive forgiveness from God, as announced by the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting but firmly believing our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.
Prayer
Baptism
Romans 6:1-14
Communion
Matthew 26:26-28 1 Corinthians 11
Confirmation
Matthew 10:32-33, Revelation 2:10
Marriage
Genesis 2:24-25, Mark 10:6-9
Death
John 10: 24-28, Eph. 1:3-6
Our Mission
ONE BODY.
SEEKING CHRIST.
TEACHING HIS WORD.
SHARING HIS LOVE.
Our Vision
Succeeding in our mission, we believe…
That all of God’s children, young and old, would be baptized into faith through God’s Grace alone, taught the Word of God, and brought together in the Peace of Christ; and that we, as members of Saint Mark Lutheran Church, would live this Peace in our words and actions, giving our time, talents, and treasures, and taking an active role in our ministries, missions, education, and outreach, for service to His kingdom locally and throughout the world.
Values
Preamble
Worship
- The grace of God in Jesus Christ
- The transforming power of the Holy Spirit
- The Word of God
- The Sacraments, and prayer
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.”
Hebrews 13:15
Family Ministry
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:11-13
Education
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.”
Deuteronomy 6:6-9
ASSIMILATION
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:24-25
OUTREACH, MISSIONS, & EVANGELISM
“He said to them Go into the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
Mark 16:15
STEWARDSHIP
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
1 Peter 4:10
Meet our Staff
Chris Rubino
SMP Pastor
I began my pastoral ministry in August 2018. My responsibilities focus in large part on shut-ins, hospital visits and hospice care. My overall responsibilities include doing periodic sermons, and organizing worship services and prayer programs. In summary, my role as SMP Pastor requires flexibility to serve wherever and whenever needed. I find joy in my ministry at Saint Mark working with my christian family of Senior Citizens, through home and hospital visits that gives me the opportunity to remind them that Jesus is still with them and will be there for them until He takes them to their heavenly home. The joy is seeing them smile as they are reminded of the hope that they have in the promise of eternal life. I also treasure the hugs I receive from them as a form of their expression of love for me in sharing God’s Word with them.
I served Saint Mark from April 2011 as a Licensed Deacon prior to being Ordained and Called as an SMP Pastor (Specific Ministry Pastor). I spent my career working in sales for the Postal Service, retiring in 2010.
Obe Vandertol
Music Director
I started playing for a contemporary service at Saint Mark in 1994. In 1996, I also became the accompanist for the choir and eventually took over the organ. In 2000, I officially became the Saint Mark Music Director and now play the organ for early services, praise team in the late services, and direct the choir and handbells.
I've been a music teacher for my entire career. I worked full-time as a music teacher with the Grand Rapids Public School until 2010. I am still teaching part-time at West Michigan Lutheran. I graduated from Western Michigan University with a Major in Music Education (BM). In my first semester of teaching, I was drafted during the Vietnam War. I spent two years in Washington, D.C., as a clerk typist and was fortunate to never have to go to the war zone. After the service, I came back to Grand Rapids to pick up where I left off. I received my master's in 1979. My main passion has always been teaching. I still count many of my former students as friends. It always warms my heart when I hear comments (on Facebook of course!) about how I touched their lives.
History
1966
Saint Mark Lutheran Church had its beginning as a mission effort in a canvas of twenty-five hundred homes by its first pastor, the Rev. Wayne Pohl. The story is told that Pastor Pohl wore out a pair of shoes visiting homes around the church inviting our neighbors to join us in worshiping and serving God in Kentwood. The first service was held at Bowen School, in Kentwood, on October 16, 1966, with 117 people in attendance.
1968
Land in Princeton Estates was purchased, and in April of 1968, we dedicated our first sanctuary.
1970
Within two years, we constructed the educational wing and began our Christian Preschool.
1986
In 1986, we broke ground on our current sanctuary.
2016
In the fall of 2016, we celebrated our 50th anniversary!
We look forward to God leading us in our mission for the next fifty years.
A look through our history
