Former Church Leader Mark Abbott Passes Away
Rev. Mark Stephen Abbott, former International Director of Youth and Christian Education (now Youth and Discipleship), passed away on Thursday, April 15, 2021 following a brief illness. He was 61.
Mark Abbott
Abbott was called to the ministry as a teenager and spent some of his early ministry as an evangelist in his native Delmarva-DC region. He accepted his first pastorate in 1981 at Baltimore/Inner Harbor where he served for five years. At the age of 27 he was appointed state director of Youth and Christian Education when he served in Wisconsin/Upper Michigan from 1986-1990. He also pastored the Milwaukee Metro Church during this period. Subsequent appointments for the same post followed at Pacific Northwest (1990-1992), South Georgia (1992-1996) and Alabama (1996-2000). At the Church of God General Assembly in 2000 Abbott was elected Assistant Director of Youth and Christian Education where he served until 2004 when he was elected to the director’s role, completing his leadership there in 2008.
Abbott was then appointed state overseer of Indiana and served from 2008-2011. Other leadership roles included state evangelism director in Pacific Northwest, Wisconsin/Upper Michigan, and Indiana alongside his primary role in those regions.
For the last several years, Abbott has been in private business as owner of Affordable Roofing Co. in Cleveland, Tenn., while maintaining his status as an ordained bishop with the Church of God. He was a member of the Cleveland Rotary Club.
Abbott’s education included completion of the Ministerial Internship Program (MIP) in 1976, attendance to Lee University and Washington Bible College as a Christian education major, and a Master’s degree awarded from the Pentecostal Theological Seminary.
Rev. Abbott and his wife, Valerie, have been married for 44 years and are the parents of five sons: Mark Stephen II, Benjamin, Joel, Caleb, and Jacob. Valerie serves as insurance administrator with Business and Records at the Church of God International Offices.
“Mark Abbott left a legacy of love for the youth of the Church of God,” stated General Overseer Tim Hill. “He followed a calling from an early age and made an impact for the Kingdom.”
.
