Mark Pickard, 38

"My whole life has led to this path," explained Mark Pickard in reference to his ministry as pastor of Semo Community Church in Malden.

He believes that all his other life experiences have given him a background for this ministry.

Mark was born in 1976 in St. Louis- the son of a police officer and a stay-at-home mom. He has one brother.

The family soon moved to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri when his father transferred.

In 1989, they moved to Malden when his father retired from the police force and began working for the Missouri Division of Liquor Control.

While in school, Mark enjoyed football, golf, and hanging out with his friends.

He graduated from Malden High School in 1994 and soon joined the United States Army. He trained as a tank gunner and spent time in California, Georgia, and Egypt. Fortunately, he did not experience any combat and had achieved the rank of Corporal when, after three years, he left the Army.

Upon moving back to Malden in 1989, he went into construction and eventually into construction management which sent him to work in Alabama.

In 2001, Mark married his wife Hope who he met when he returned to Malden.

In 2002, he began pursuing a bachelor's of education degree which he completed in 2007 from Southeast Missouri State University.

In 2011, Mark completed a masters of Christian Studies through Luther Rice Seminary in Atlanta and in 2014, completed his educational specialization from Arkansas State.

Mark and Hope are both now teachers in the Malden School District, Hope teaching kindergarten and Mark teaching eighth and ninth grade science. The couple has two children, Ian, 9, and Payton, 5.

The family enjoys spending time together and enjoys being active with their church.

Mark feels it is extremely important to spend time together.

"The only way you can show your kids you love them," said Mark, "is to spend time with them."

As a family, they make it a practice to travel together- often visiting colleges.

As a co-sponsor for Malden's High School Beta Club, Mark often travels with the award winning club. The entire family is able to enjoy these trips together.

Mark is also involved with the FCA and has in the past worked with junior high football and high school golf.

Mark remembers that he attended church as a child and made a decision to choose to become a Christian when he was a teenager. He did not, however, feel called into Christian ministry until much later in life.

He credits his wife's influence as showing him his need for a closer relationship with Jesus.

"I knew Him [Jesus Christ] as a Christian, but I did not know Him as Lord," he said.

Both his own parents and his wife's parents have been extraordinarily supportive and influential.

Bill Jackson, a former pastor at First Southern Baptist Church, was also influential in Mark's life. He was a minister with 60 years of ministerial experience from whom Mark learned many things. Aulden LeBlanc, the current minister of First Southern, was also someone who Mark says he learned much from.

Mark understands that his heart, as well as his wife's, was over the last several years, being prepared to become a lead pastor in a church.

He recalled that in 2004, when he became youth pastor at First Southern Baptist Church in Malden, he would have taken a position as a church pastor, but God had to make him ready and used the men who pastored the church to help him prepare.

In 2014, that happened when he was called to pastor Semo Community Church.

Mark is thankful for the church families at both First Southern and Semo C.C. that he and his family have been blessed with.

"God has blessed us with a great church family over the years. It's the people that it's all about."

One thing that has especially made an impression on Mark since he has been pastoring is the fact that, having returned to his home town, he is able to witness people that he grew up with turn to Jesus and have a relationship with Him.

"It's exciting. He does things that you and I can't do."

Semo Community Church is still a relatively young church and Mark hopes that most importantly, Mark hopes the people that attend and continue to visit the church enjoy worshipping God.

He has both goals personally and professionally that center around the young people in his life.

Mark explained that both of his children have accepted Christ as their Savior and he hopes to continue to raise them to know Christ more.

"Both kids are saved. They know God. My prayer for them is that they become better Christians than Hope and I are and everything else will take care of itself."

He also hopes that his students at school understand that he loves and cares for them and hopes that both they, and the staff and faculty, can see Christ through him.

A verse that motivates him is: "He answered, 'Love the Lord you God with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and 'Love your neighbor as yourself'." --Luke 10:27.