Reverend Doctor Mark L. Cooper
Senior Pastor/Head of Staff

Reverend Mark Cooper earned his Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Literature at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois.  He received seminary training from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree and, following additional studies there, was named a Fellow in Pastoral Leadership Development.  Mark was awarded a Doctor of Ministry degree by the Graduate Theological Foundation in South Bend, Indiana.  He was ordained by the Presbytery of Donegal in Pennsylvania in 1982.

Mark has served churches in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and, most recently, near Chicago, Illinois.  The churches include one of the oldest Presbyterian congregations in the country (Setauket Presbyterian Church on Long Island, NY, est. 1660) as well as a Presbyterian church deep in the heart of Amish country in Pennsylvania.  Mark also has worked as a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry, working for a number of years with thousands of physicians and corporate executives across 47 states.

Throughout his ministry, Mark has been involved in the broader community.  He has served as a member of the American Friends Service Committee in refugee resettlement; as a member of the board of directors of the Welsh Medical Center, which provides medical care to an economically-disadvantaged community; as vice president of the board of directors of the Care and Share social service organization; and as president of the South Suburban Ministerial Association.  Mark's service as chair of the Presbytery Peacemaking Task Force and as a member of the Presbytery Committee on Ministry are representative of his association with the connectional church.