Born in North Carolina, I was raised in a loving family that was very active in the United Methodist Church. I attended Sunday School and Worship regularly as a small child. When I became old enough I joined the church youth group and eventually took on leadership roles. After high school, I stayed active in the church. During college my knowledge of God changed from being something I knew in my head to something that transformed my heart.
I graduated from East Carolina University with a B.S. in Business Administration and went to work in retail banking. After several years in banking, I decided to attend Campbell University School of Law and earned a Juris Doctor. During law school I married Stacey Scott and after school opened a law practice. I ran the firm for about eight years and then went to work for another law firm. During this time Stacey and I were blessed with three sons, Tate, Dixon and Hunter, now 12, 10 and 8 respectively.
When we were first married Stacey and I remained active in the United Methodist Church until we visited a Presbyterian Church. We soon realized that we had found our spiritual home. The pastor of the Presbyterian Church made a great impression on me. His sermons were biblically based and Spirit filled. What he preached was more than an academic understanding of Scripture, it was also an insight into how that Scripture and the God it spoke of impacted his life and how it could impact mine.
Rev. Mark Jernigan
