Why We Exist
The mission of Ministry Outfitters is to support pastors and strengthen ministries. We accomplish this through coaching and encouragement, training and equipping, and hands-on ministry assistance.
The concept of Ministry Outfitters was born out of 20 years of experience in working in church ministry and seeing first-hand the struggles that ministry leaders face on a daily basis, particularly those pastors in smaller congregations. Now after 40 years of ministry, I have an even greater burden to help.
According to an article from The Barna Group (“Small Churches Struggle to Grow Because of the People They Attract” September 2, 2003):
“The United States is dominated by small churches, with the average church attracting less than 90 adults on a typical weekend.”
“Overall, the research found that the typical Protestant Church has 89 adults in attendance during an average weekend. In total, 60% of Protestant churches have 100 or fewer adults on a typical weekend, while slightly less than 2% have 1,000 or more adults.”
These small churches are led by one pastor who is often expected to fulfill a wide variety of functions: preacher, teacher, counselor, shepherd, friend, youth pastor, children’s pastor, worship leader, and secretary, not to mention that of husband/wife and parent. Too often these solo pastors are lonely and discouraged, missing out on the opportunity to be supported and encouraged by other staff members. These churches do not have the means to hire additional staff, but they still have the duty to minister to the needs of the congregational members. If we can support and build up these pastors, their church members and community will be supported and built up.
It is out of this experience and understanding that God has raised up Ministry Outfitters to be a support to pastors and to help strengthen the ministries they serve.
What We Believe
We believe there is one God (Deut 6:4; Mk 12:29; 2 Sam 7:22, Is 43:10) who has no beginning nor end (Rev 1:8), consisting of three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Mt 3:16-17).
We believe that Jesus is God in human flesh, who did not cease to be God when He entered this world, and who did not cease to be human when He was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven (Phil 2:5-11; Col 1:19). We believe that Jesus will return for His bride, the Church (Jn 14:1-6).
We believe that apart from Christ, we are dead in our sin. We are in need of the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us under conviction of sin (Jn 16:8), lead us to the saving knowledge of Jesus (Jn 16:33), give us life (Rom 8:11; 1 Pet 3:18), empower us to live for and be witnesses for Christ (Acts 1:8) and to bestow upon us gifts to be used for the building up of the Body (1 Cor 12:7; Eph 4:11-12).
We believe that all scripture is “God breathed’ (2 Tim 3:16) and established through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:21). We believe the Bible is without error (2 Sam 22:31) and completely trustworthy (Ps 119:412); scripture is our only source of truth for living out our faith in Jesus, correcting us when we wander into deceptive philosophies (2 Tim 3:16-17).
We believe that just as Christ’s death has brought about victory over sin, Christ’s resurrection has brought about victory over the grave (1 Cor 15:55-57), giving those who trust in Jesus the assurance of eternal life (Jn 11: 25-26; 1 Jn 5:13).
About Mark
Since beginning full-time ministry in 1986, Mark Opseth has been committed to “preparing God’s people for works of service so that the Body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12). He has ministered to people of all ages through churches, trainings, camps, retreats, discipleship programs and non-profit ministries and currently serves as the Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Missionary Fellowship in Apple Valley, Minnesota. Mark and his wife, Michelle, have seven children and five grandchildren.
952-221-3730 | mark@ministryoutfitters.org
