WESTGATE STAFF:

Mark Averill
Worship Pastor

mark@westgatechurch.org

Vitals

Mark has been serving as a pastor in music and worship since he finished college. He began following Christ when he was about 6 but experienced real doubts about that decision while in high school. It was during his senior year that he renewed his commitment and felt God leading him on a path to be trained for ministry. After having grown up here in the Valley, he then left the area to attend Multnomah Bible College where he participated in their sports and music ministry. It was there he met Lisa and got married after later graduating from Warner Pacific College in Portland, OR. He went on to serve as a worship pastor in the Portland area and complete a graduate degree at Portland State University. Mark, Lisa and their two boys, Grant and Taylor, moved back to San Jose in the fall of 1992. The Averill's have been at WestGate since the fall of 2001.

A Few of My Favorite Things
Music -"Most styles and catagories but have recently been drawn to Techno and Acid Jazz stuff. Would love to find ways to remix cheesy elevator music. Probably spend the most time listening to worship music"

Sports - "I currently run 2 to 3 times a week and try and get a mountain bike ride in as well. Occasionally I will catch a pick-up game in basketball which only serves as a glaring reminder of my diminishing capacities."

Movies - "The only movie I actually own happens to be my favorite-'What About Bob?". I also love "Mystery Science Theater" which the rest of my family refuses to watch with me."

Books - "Outside of the Bible, one of the books that seems to have left a huge imprint on how I think about my faith has been "Experiencing God" by Henry Blackaby. Also, "Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Jeanne Guyon and "Listening to God" by Joyce Huggett.

What If"s
What if you weren't in ministry?
"When I was younger I had aspirations about being a music teacher, however, now I can't imagine doing anything else than what I do now."

What if you could spend time with any famous historical person?
"I guess it would be David from the Old Testament, probably because of the whole music thing."