Mark DeVries - Pastor to Youth and Their Families
 Since 1986, Mark DeVries has served as the Pastor for Youth and Their Families. He is also the founder of Youth Ministry Architects, a coaching service for churches experiencing significant transition in their youth ministries.
Mark has authored a number of books, including Family-Based Youth Ministry (InterVarsity, 1994); and the co-author of The Most Important Year in a Man's Life/The Most Important Year in a Woman's Life., and his latest, Sustainable Youth Ministry Mark's writings have now been translated into Korean, Chinese, and Afrikaanse. In addition to presenting youth ministry training workshops, he is also a presenter for Understanding Your Teenager, a national parenting seminar program.
Mark graduated Summa Cum Laude from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, with a B.A. in English and Greek in 1980, and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1986 with a senior concentration in Youth Evangelism. Throughout these years spent in Waco and Princeton, Mark was involved in youth ministry,—working with Young Life in both Waco and Montgomery, New Jersey, and serving on the Youth Staff at the First United Methodist Church in Waco. Upon graduation from Princeton, he was awarded the first Robert Boyd Munger Youth Ministry prize.
Over the past 23 years, Mark has conducted conferences and taught courses in the United States, Russia, Canada, Uganda, Scotland, and South Africa, and has worked with a wide variety of Christian denominations. As well as authoring several books, he has contributed to Youth Ministry Collections, including Youth Ministry Handbook (Word, 2000), Starting Right (Zondervan, 2001), Reaching A Generation For Christ (Moody, 1997) and Youthworker Journal and Group Magazine. In his spare time, Mark enjoys running marathons.
Currently Mark lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife, Susan. His son and daugther-in-law, Adam and Sara, are serving as missionareis in Ecuador with Youth World. In July, 2008 their daughter, Elizabeth Parish, was born, making Mark a grandfather for the 1st time. Mark has two daugthers: Debbie graduated from from the University of Arizona and is now working in Nashville; and Leigh who is in college in Tennesee. Mark truly enjoys running--whether training for marathons, running to and from youth events, or running here and there to visit his own children!
As a Youth Pastor, Mark has several favorite scripture verses, which vary from time to time. He is perhaps best remembered at FPC for Hebrews 12:1"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
Mark DeVries
615-298-9506
mdevries@fpcnashville.org
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