Church History

St. Mark Baptist Church

St. Mark Baptist Church was founded in 1892. Our church began in a nameless storehouse located on 31st and Izard Street, with four members. They were Rev. Tatum, Brother Ward, Sister Martha Leeks and Sister Pullum. The services consisted of congregational singing, scripture reading, preaching and offering.

In 1895, the late Rev. Fentress was called to reorganize the church. The first deacon was his brother, the late Bro. Charles Fentress. Within thenext five years, the church was named the Izard Street Baptist Church. The Sunday School was formed and Sister Martha Leeks served as the first superintendent.

In 1905, the late Rev. J. W. Sanders became pastor. The first edifice was built at 31st and Ringo streets and the first cornerstone was laid. The name was then changed to St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church. Within the next six years, the first Sunshine Band (Children’s Sunday School) and the Missionary Society were started by Sisters Leeks and Pullum.

In 1911, the late Rev. R. B. Porter was elected as Pastor and served for the next twelve years. During the years of 1923-1928 five pastors were selected: Rev. Joe Brown, Rev. Powell, Rev. Allen, Rev. Pinkey and Rev. James Steele. During Rev. Steele's pastorate, five deacons were chosen. They were the late Bros. F.E. Ashford, Sam Kindle, John Pullum, Will Reynolds and John Williams. A church belfry was added, and the Senior Usher Board and Senior Choir were started.

In 1928, the late Rev. Calcote was called to this pastorate. During his pastorate of 32 years, the late Bros. William Daughtry, Charles Kern and Willie Murray were named deacons, and the Senior Usher Board and Senior Choir were reorganized. The church was remodeled with brick and Rev. Mose Turner became assistant pastor. Rev. Turner served for 17 years. The Junior Choir and Junior Usher Board were organized under his leadership.
From 1960-1966, the late Rev. V.W. Nelson served as pastor. During his pastorate, the first organ was purchased.

In 1966, the late Rev. Duggar Johnson became pastor. During his 15 years, our 3221 Gaines Street location was constructed and the young people were able to take a more active role in church services. We burned the mortgage for this building on December 29, 1980.

In August 1981, Rev. Maurice Watson was elected as pastor. Under his leadership our first church van and three lots were purchased. Several ministries were started including: The Roddy E. Collins Bible Class, Mission in Action, the Watson Primary Ensemble, The Joshua Generation (Young Adult Men), a Boy Scout troop and a radio broadcast. An assistant pastor, Rev. Steven Arnold and a full time secretary were added to the staff.

On January 21, 1989, then Rev. Steven Arnold was elected as pastor. Pastor Arnold was then elected Presiding Bishop of the Fellowship of Christian Churches. Under his leadership, the St. Mark congregation grew from 300 members to 7,700 members. He served as Senior Pastor through 2010.

More ministries were added to continue development of the whole man through evangelism, discipleship and mission including: Women's, Men's and Singles' ministries, a Wednesday Morning Bible study, the Ambassadors for Christ and a Girl Scout troop. The Roddy E. Collins Bible Class has been expanded to a school of ministry offering classes in several areas. We have consequently added outreach ministries such as the Young Lions, Raven By The Brook, and Wednesday Night Youth Outreach ministry. In June 1992, we added an 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning worship service to accommodate our increased membership growth.

The vision of St. Mark is “Reaching People Where They Are". Listed below are strides toward that vision.

Through God's divine direction and guidance, St. Mark made the journey from the 3221 Gaines Street location to our present location at 5722 West 12th Street on January 9, 1994. In May 1994 we began a television ministry, "The Light of the World", which now airs in more than 130 countries around the world. In May 1995, we began a Wednesday Mid-Day Service. In June 1997 we purchased a 17,000 square foot strip center which is now our Education Center. This facility hosts such programs as our Roddy E. Collins School of Ministry and several Sunday School classes.

On June 7, 1998 we burned the mortgage on our current sanctuary building after only 4½ years.

In June 1998 we sent six missionaries on a mission trip to Haiti along with missionaries from Fellowship Bible Church. We have since sent 21 more mission teams to Haiti and in 2007 we began sending teams to Kenya.

In February 1999 we completed a sanctuary expansion project resulting in an additional 300 seats to the main floor.

On April 28, 2000 we purchased property located at 1010-1020 South Taylor Street with 15,500 square feet of building space, which is now used for our Activity Center and the Outreach Center. This also gave us an additional parking lot for our members. We also completed a major renovation to our Family Life Center that same summer.

On September 10, 2000 we began a new Sunday service in Jacksonville, Arkansas at 10 a.m. at the Jacksonville Community Center. This service continued to grow and is now a church plant in Jacksonville named the St. Mark Community Church of Jacksonville.

On Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006, we began a three service format for Sunday mornings, 8, 10 and 11:30 a.m. due to growth in membership.

We now have 22 full time staff and several part time staff and a host of hard-working volunteers.

In October 2007, we launched Raising the Mark marking the beginning of a financial stewardship program that is designed to decrease the amount of debt that will be incurred on our upcoming building project. During this time of leadership transition, the church has temporarily suspended the building project plans.

In April 2012, the church confirmed Pastor Phillip L. Pointer, Sr. as our new Senior Pastor.  He will begin serving the first of June 2012.

As St. Mark continues to grow in numbers, we continue to remember our humble beginnings, and pray God's grace and continued blessings upon our church.