KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (ABNS 2/21/24)—The American Baptist Churches of PA and DE (ABCOPAD) Board of Directors met Tuesday, February 13, 2024, to unanimously affirm the Rev. Mark Mahserjian-Smith as the next Executive Minister for the region, effective immediately.

Search team Chairperson and ABCOPAD Board President, Bryon Luke, said the search team, after a 10-month process, prayerfully reviewed and interviewed candidates from a nationwide search and fully recommended Reverend Mark Mahserjian-Smith to the region’s Executive Board. The Executive Board met on January 30, 2024, and voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of the Search Committee and to make a full recommendation to the ABCOPAD Board of Directors, who unanimously affirmed that recommendation on February 13, 2024.

“The ABCOPAD Region was blessed to have 9 candidates from both inside and outside of ABCOPAD apply in response to our call for applications of Regional Executive Pastor,” said Luke. “Our Search Committee prayerfully considered and reviewed each application. We conducted first and second round interviews and are honored to recommend Reverend Mark Mahserjian-Smith as the next Regional Executive Pastor. Knowledge and relationships within the Region and its church families, recognition and forward thinking of the theological challenges we are facing both as a region and denomination and a leadership plan for creative staffing and training up the next leaders, fully aligns with the vision of the ABCOPAD Board, and makes him an excellent choice for the Region.”

Rev. Dr. C. Jeff Woods, associate general secretary for Regional Ministries, American Baptist Churches USA said, “Mark brings a very long trail of experience, wisdom, respect, and accomplishments in the ABCOPAD region to his new journey as Executive Minister. I greatly appreciate his dedication to the Lord, to the region, and to the American Baptist family. As Associate General Secretary for Regional Ministries, I look forward to engaging in ministry with Mark in an even greater capacity as he begins service in this new role.”

Mahserjian-Smith has served in ABCOPAD for 25 years, first as a volunteer in 1999 doing data entry while serving as Pastor of Hepburn Baptist Church. In 2001, while still serving at Hepburn Baptist Church, he became a part-time staff member of Technology and Communication and in 2008 was called full-time as the Central Area Minister.

In 2010, when the region adopted a new model for regional ministry, he became the Regional Pastor for Mission and Communication.

Upon the retirement in 2021 of the Rev. Dr. Frank Frischkorn, Mahserjian-Smith has been serving as Acting Regional Executive Pastor since January of 2022, first as team with the Rev. Dr. Jeff Johnson until his retirement in December of 2022. He has been serving as the solo Acting Regional Executive Pastor since January 1, 2023.

Mahserjian-Smith earned his bachelor’s degree from Eastern University in 1985 and a Master of Divinity from the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1988.

Mark has been married to his wife, Susan, for 38 years and God has blessed them with a large, blended family of multiracial and special needs children. Mark and Susan especially love spending as much time as possible with their grandchildren. Mark’s passion for both U.S. and overseas mission work has taken him across the country and across the globe, from New Jersey and Kentucky to Mexico, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Uganda.

American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with approximately 5,000 congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.