Mark Griffen, Senior Adults Pastor

I was fortunate enough to be raised in the church at a very early age and get to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I, along with my siblings, went to church every Sunday near our home in Compton, CA. But it wasn’t until I met my wife Deborah 40 years ago that my relationship with the Lord deepened. Deborah’s parents were missionaries with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, so she also grew up with a good foundation of Jesus Christ being her Lord and Savior. After our daughters were born, who are now 34 and 32, we knew it was important to raise them knowing Christ as their Lord and Savior. We attended a local church in the Moreno Valley area, where my fire department schedule allowed me to have every Sunday off. After several years there, we outgrew that church. We started attending another local church, where I volunteered on the safety team, as a Deacon, an associate minister, and finally became an associate pastor. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it was time for me to leave, which was a really hard decision for me to make. Tom Lance was one of my instructors when I was in the process of obtaining my bachelor’s degree in Christian Studies at California Baptist University. Tom really taught us a lot about what a healthy church looks like. God put it on my heart to give Tom a call in 2018; I met with him and Pastor Daniel and have been at The Grove ever since.

I retired from the Los Angeles County Fire Department as a Fire Captain / Fire Chaplain in 2017 after 30 years of service. This was the best 20 years of my career as I could share the love of Jesus with people in their most trying times. I am an avid cyclist and was instrumental in starting a bicycle ministry right here at The Grove.

My prayer for The Grove is that we continue to carry out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). I see what God is doing through The Grove and how He has blessed our church because of its heart, to be changed by God to reach all people. My prayer is that we as a church always keep God at the center of it, and God will continue to use The Grove to show people all around the world the love of Jesus Christ.

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