STORY OF IMPACT
Friends,
Your support, prayers, and eternal investment in God’s work through this ministry help make stories like this possible.
I trust this testimony will greatly bless and encourage you and once again demonstrate what God can do in a man’s life.
Eternally grateful,
Pastor Mark Darling
From J – husband and father from the Midwest
“The impact that Strong Disciple and Pastor Mark have had on my life has been tremendous. I grew up hearing Pastor Mark when I attended some of the Faithwalkers Conferences, in Missouri and then in Omaha. Late in 2020, I visited this website and Pastor Mark and I began our friendship. I asked him to mentor me and we have been talking several times a week over the phone and emailing since November of 2020.
Unfortunately, I did not apply the things I heard at those Faithwalkers conferences. Up until a few years ago I sold drugs, used drugs, drank way too much, was a thief, and had an affair with another woman. I was running from God every chance I got. I shared this with Pastor Mark and we began coming up with a game plan to tackle my addictions and to overcome the lies I believed about myself. For the first time, I began to believe who I was in God’s eyes after visiting with Pastor Mark and listening to the podcast messages he suggested I hear.
I had been trying to walk with the Lord for the previous 2 years but I kept one foot in the world and was not wholehearted in my pursuit of God. Since Pastor Mark began mentoring me, he has helped build my confidence in God and I began to believe that God loved and forgave me, in spite of my past. God deserves all the credit for where I am at today.
I’ve been reading the Thoughts Provoking articles that Pastor Mark wrote about being a purposeful father and loving husband to my wife and pursuing wisdom as often as possible. His messages on all different topics about how to be the husband and father God called me to be are transforming my life and my walk with God. My marriage is stronger than ever. My wife and I have never been this in love. I’m committed to continuing to listen to Pastor Mark’s podcast messages and reading his articles. God has used Pastor Mark in my life in tremendous ways and he has my family’s support and our gratitude!
As of March 2021, I have been nicotine-free for 11 weeks. I am still working on cutting alcohol completely, but have made tremendous progress thanks to Pastor Mark’s help. I am porn-free since last May and drug-free for 2 years now. How I praise and thank God for what Christ is doing in my life!
As I began listening to the messages on his site and reading the Thoughts Provoking articles he forwarded to me, God has been working in tremendous ways through them, and I am finally aware that the Holy Spirit is here to help me and guide me through each day. I cut nicotine and beer out of my life and my life is beginning to be more about the Lord and less about me. For so long I was selfishly choosing whatever would give me a buzz, when all along Jesus was offering to fill all those “voids” I thought I needed the world to fill. The truth is only God can completely satisfy the holes I was trying to fill in my life. I’m learning every day how to take the narrow road and put God first. Thank you Pastor Mark for all your prayers and for challenging me to be the man God has called me to be.
My story is ongoing and I am eager to continue working with Pastor Mark weekly towards striving to follow the Lord wholeheartedly and put God first all the time.
The habits I’ve learned and I encourage men who are reading this to strive for are: Get up early and go after the Lord. It’s gotta be the first thing you do. Love your wife and children more than yourself. Make a daily commitment to spend time in fervent prayer. Begin to believe that God can 100% satisfy your desires and wants.
Pastor Mark’s “Awesome Love of God” series had a tremendous impact on my life and I would strongly encourage all men who are reading this to listen to it and absorb the powerful truths it contains.
I Thank God every day for the opportunity God has given me to have Pastor Mark mentoring and helping me.
J – husband and father from the Midwest
Here is the series, “The Awesome Love Of God” for any interested in hearing it. https://strongdisciple.com/
Helping you become a Strong Disciple,
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Mark Darling
