Our Pastor
For some inspirational reading written by our pastor,
click on our Devotional webpage, which includes a devotional study
on the Incarnation of Christ and principles of discipleship
gleaned from the book of Mark.
Marcus Johnson came to pastor our church in November of 2002. He and his wife, Gwen, were married in 1992 and have three children. Since the late 1980's, he has ministered pastorally and evangelistically through youth groups, children's ministries, an inner-city street ministry, and a food & clothing pantry, and to millennials, special needs persons, senior citizens, the LGBTQ community, and to some in the Muslim community, and he has served with African-Americans and Latinos in rural and urban neighborhoods.
From 1990 to 1996, Marcus served with Emmaus Ministries in Chicago, a Christian outreach to young adult men in prostitution on the streets. He was an outreach volunteer for two years, and their outreach coordinator for four years. Following that, he pastored Living Hope Church in Plano, IL from 1996 to 2002, where he was ordained as a minister in March of 1997. During that time, Marcus directed the ministry center of Living Hope Church which offered food, clothes, and spiritual help to over sixty families a week.
Our pastor serves with our other elders in leading our church as we seek to be a God-glorifying, Christ-centered and Spirit-filled congregation. He gives priority to expository preaching & biblical teaching, youth ministry, outreach, fellowship, prayer and leadership development. He serves in our children's ministry and helps in areas such as administration and yard work. Marcus was also instrumental in developing the vision for our youth & young adult mission called The Bridge, and serves as the Executive Director. He is also active in the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), which our church joined in 1970. Our pastor helps guide our church in living out the biblical model of "interdependence." We are an autonomous local church who chooses to support, cooperate with, and seek the guidance of the Evangelical Free Church of America, and its international mission called Reach Global. He also leads our church and The Bridge in working together with local ministries and community organizations, such as Informed Choices, Frontline Street Intervention, Child Evangelism Fellowship, and the Round Lake Area Scouts.
Back in 1987, Marcus started teaching & preaching through the ministry of an interdenominational youth group, in his hometown of Prophetstown, IL. It was during that time that he sensed God's call into ministry. He later attended Wheaton College where he met his wife Gwen, and earned a bachelor's degree in Christian Education (1992), and later a master's degree in evangelism at Wheaton Graduate School (1996). He has continued to study extensively in areas related to evangelism and reaching the culture, a topic he gives priority to in his preaching, teaching and overall ministry.
During their time here at Lake Region Bible Church, Marcus furthered his theological training by taking Bible & theology classes through Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. In September of 2006, his ordination as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was acknowledged and transferred to the Evangelical Free Church of America. His wife Gwen earned a Bachelor's in Sociology (1992) and served as a case manager in foster care, when they lived in the inner-city of Chicago and worshiped at Uptown Baptist Church. Gwen invests significant time in educating their children and also works part-time at a local library. She is active in the fellowship & ministry of our church, and is gifted in hospitality and in writing & directing plays for high school students.
"My wife and I are very grateful to God for His grace, and to the way He has blessed us through numerous family & friends, who have impacted our lives with love & support and who we have served with in gospel ministry over the years. This includes loved ones from our hometowns, Wheaton College, Emmaus Ministries, Uptown Baptist Church, Living Hope Church, the EFCA, Apple Tree, the Round Lake Community, and Lake Region Bible Church." ---Marcus Johnson
From 1990 to 1996, Marcus served with Emmaus Ministries in Chicago, a Christian outreach to young adult men in prostitution on the streets. He was an outreach volunteer for two years, and their outreach coordinator for four years. Following that, he pastored Living Hope Church in Plano, IL from 1996 to 2002, where he was ordained as a minister in March of 1997. During that time, Marcus directed the ministry center of Living Hope Church which offered food, clothes, and spiritual help to over sixty families a week.
Our pastor serves with our other elders in leading our church as we seek to be a God-glorifying, Christ-centered and Spirit-filled congregation. He gives priority to expository preaching & biblical teaching, youth ministry, outreach, fellowship, prayer and leadership development. He serves in our children's ministry and helps in areas such as administration and yard work. Marcus was also instrumental in developing the vision for our youth & young adult mission called The Bridge, and serves as the Executive Director. He is also active in the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), which our church joined in 1970. Our pastor helps guide our church in living out the biblical model of "interdependence." We are an autonomous local church who chooses to support, cooperate with, and seek the guidance of the Evangelical Free Church of America, and its international mission called Reach Global. He also leads our church and The Bridge in working together with local ministries and community organizations, such as Informed Choices, Frontline Street Intervention, Child Evangelism Fellowship, and the Round Lake Area Scouts.
Back in 1987, Marcus started teaching & preaching through the ministry of an interdenominational youth group, in his hometown of Prophetstown, IL. It was during that time that he sensed God's call into ministry. He later attended Wheaton College where he met his wife Gwen, and earned a bachelor's degree in Christian Education (1992), and later a master's degree in evangelism at Wheaton Graduate School (1996). He has continued to study extensively in areas related to evangelism and reaching the culture, a topic he gives priority to in his preaching, teaching and overall ministry.
During their time here at Lake Region Bible Church, Marcus furthered his theological training by taking Bible & theology classes through Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. In September of 2006, his ordination as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was acknowledged and transferred to the Evangelical Free Church of America. His wife Gwen earned a Bachelor's in Sociology (1992) and served as a case manager in foster care, when they lived in the inner-city of Chicago and worshiped at Uptown Baptist Church. Gwen invests significant time in educating their children and also works part-time at a local library. She is active in the fellowship & ministry of our church, and is gifted in hospitality and in writing & directing plays for high school students.
"My wife and I are very grateful to God for His grace, and to the way He has blessed us through numerous family & friends, who have impacted our lives with love & support and who we have served with in gospel ministry over the years. This includes loved ones from our hometowns, Wheaton College, Emmaus Ministries, Uptown Baptist Church, Living Hope Church, the EFCA, Apple Tree, the Round Lake Community, and Lake Region Bible Church." ---Marcus Johnson
