Mark Driscoll

Pastor Mark Driscoll is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, and is one of the world’s most downloaded and quoted pastors. He and his wife, Grace, co-authored Real Marriage , which became a #1 New York Times best seller. His audience, fans and critics alike, spans the theological and cultural left and right. He was named one of the 25 most influential pastors of the past 25 years by Preaching magazine in 2010, and his audio sermon podcast is regularly #1 on iTunes’ Religion & Spirituality chart and has been among the Top 50 of all podcasts at times. His hour-long sermons received 10 million plays and downloads in 2011, with another 5 million views of his sermon clips on YouTube and other channels.

Born in North Dakota, Pastor Mark grew up in Sea-Tac, the son of a union drywaller. The 1987 valedictorian of Highline High School, he received a scholarship to Washington State University, where he earned a BA in speech communication from the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication. He also holds a master’s degree in exegetical theology from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of 16 books. His 17th book, Who Do You Think You Are? is slated for release in January 2013.

In 1996, at age 25, Pastor Mark and Grace started a small Bible study at their home in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle, which at the time was the least churched city in the U.S. Since that time, the church has exploded with upward of 13,000 people meeting weekly across 14 locations in four states, Washington, Oregon, California, and New Mexico. Mars Hill has been recognized as the third-fastest-growing and 28th-largest church in the country by Outreach magazine in its 2012 survey of churches.

Pastor Mark founded the Resurgence, which services Christian leaders through books, blog posts, conferences, and classes, with theResurgence.com receiving close to 7 million visits annually. He also co-founded the Acts 29 church-planting network, which has planted over 400 churches in the U.S., in addition to 13 other nations. As well, Pastor Mark is a co-founder of Churches Helping Churches with Pastor James MacDonald, which raised over $2.7 million to help rebuild churches in Haiti in the wake of the cataclysmic 2010 earthquake and support Haitian pastors to minister and provide aid to the Haitian community. The organization also delivered over $1.7 million in medical supplies to the devastated country.

With a skillful mix of bold presentation, clear biblical teaching, and compassion for those who are hurting the most—in particular, women who are victims of sexual and physical abuse and assault—Driscoll has taken biblical Christianity into cultural corners previously unexplored by evangelicals. In the same year that he spoke at a Gospel Coalition conference with notable contemporary theologians like John Piper and Tim Keller, he also discussed biblical sexuality as a guest on Loveline with Dr. Drew, The View, Fox & Friends, and Piers Morgan Tonight, was featured on Nightline, and preached for Rick Warren at Saddleback Community Church.