Ask most people where their faith began, and they’ll likely tell you of an individual who greatly impacted their life. For Mark Finley—a Seventh-day Adventist evangelist and assistant to the World Church President—that person was his father.
Though he now holds multiple positions of influence, evangelism is what Finley is best known for. He has presented evangelistic campaigns in over 100 countries. His videos are quick to reach hundreds and thousands of views, and Wikipedia isn’t lying when it says he has written over 70 books (though it’s probably closer to 100).
Growing up, Finley’s parents didn’t see eye-to-eye with their spiritual beliefs. His father was an Adventist, and his mother, a Catholic. However, he never saw the two argue. Instead, they demonstrated a deep sense of respect for one another. Finley’s father would drive his mother to church every Sunday and wait in the car reading his Adventist sabbath school lesson. His mother smoked, his father did not. Come Easter, his mother would make a wonderful meal of ham, mashed potato, corn and peas. His father would fill his plate with vegetables, pass by the ham, and say, “Wow, what a beautiful, beautiful meal!”
“In my home, I saw my father lovingly reaching out to my mom, demonstrating by example what Christ-like living was,” Finley said. “My father was not a perfect man, but he was a Godly man.”
When Finley was still a boy, there came a time for his father to share with his mother the Adventist message. It filled her with such peace, and from that point on, his mother never missed a sabbath.
At age 17, Mark’s father started coaching his basketball team. When the tournament would come around on Friday night, his father would wish the team luck and return home to study his Bible. Since Finley wasn’t yet an Adventist, his father would encourage him to go to the game. But he would also say with excitement, “come home afterwards and tell me all about it.” And so, instead of going out with the boys after the game, he would return home where his father would sit, listen and ask questions about how they had played. His father had a balance when it came to standing firm for Christ in principle while reaching out to a wayward son. These small moments greatly affected Finley. Through his father, he learnt much of what he teaches in evangelism to this very day: forming loving connections, finding commonalities instead of starting arguments, earning the right to be heard, showing respect, when and how to share your faith, and so on.
Finley began to learn about the gospel from his father when they started working together in a factory. The Bible made so much sense to him and gave him great hope and peace. During his final years of high school, Finley started to sense the Holy Spirit moving in his life. The call to ministry was no flash of light or flighty impulse, but something that grew in him over time.
Finley went on to pastor a number of small churches. After teaching at a few small evangelism meetings, he sensed God was leading him to do it full time. Him and his wife Teenie prayed earnestly one night for God’s direction and the next morning received a call to do evangelism in the U.S. state of Connecticut. But Finley had certain conditions. He wanted to branch outside of weeks and weeks of night meetings. He wanted to meet people’s needs in a way that was different to what he’d seen. Instead he would go on to spend six months in a city, first working with church members and young people in prayer and Bible studies, then evaluating the community’s needs, then reaching out to meet them. This was done by running classes on stress-management, natural lifestyle, cooking, exercise, and family life.
In his pursuits he followed, and continues to follow, the famous words of Ellen White:
“Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, “Follow Me.” — Ellen White, Ministry of Healing p143.
After his time in New England and while in Chicago as director of the Lake Union Soulwining Institute, Finley went to Andrew’s University to further his education. Later he served as the Ministerial Director of the Transeuropean division and conducted evangelsitic meetings and training seminars for lay people and pastors throughout Europe. He was a television speaker for the weekly It Is Written telecast for 14 years and regularly appears on the Hope Channel. He has guided Reformation Tours and Bible Lands trips. He was the pioneer of satellite evangelism technology in North America. In 2004, he joined the General Conference as a director of World Evangelism. In 2005 he was elected as a General Vice President. Currently he serves as an Assistant to the President.
On the outset, Finley appears to be a man born with talent. But he reminded us, his first sermons were quite weak (his words, not ours), but he was building a skill, so he kept writing. The first time he ever ran a stress-management program, his knees were knocking, but he kept teaching. His point was this, “We shouldn’t be afraid to do something because we think we’re going to fail. The worst failure is the failure not to do it. Always push yourself. Do something again and again, and let the Holy Spirit lead you, guide you and strengthen you. If you feel content and what you're able to do and capable of what you're able to do, you're not doing enough. Always take another step.”
In 2010, Finley and his wife Teenie planned to retire… but they haven’t yet gotten around to that. The couple moved to a community with that in mind, but instead of kicking back, built a facility to meet the needs of their community and hold church. Over the years the building has seen over 700 non-Adventists attend everything from exercise/wellness classes to Bible studies, concerts and Vegetarian Cooking classes, to a place to sip herbal tea and eat homemade biscuits. The church has an ongoing outreach into the community and the members try to build as many relationships in the community as they can.
“Our life is wrapped up with people. Jesus was wrapped up with people,” Finley said. "The reason for program’s is not for program’s sake but for people’s sake.”
Between preaching and programs, Finley likes to spend his time in nature. He enjoys hiking and taking his bike to the mountains, he dabbles in golf, and loves a quiet beach. He reads daily and widely. But for the most part, he’s in the company of friends or family. He tries to keep up with the youthfulness of his grandchildren and up to date with what his children are interested in. Though Mark and Teenie have always led busy lives, they have always made time for people, and so it’s not uncommon for them to be housing six or seven young people in their home.
“We all have these journeys and these stories,” Finley said. “Getting to know one another and being able to journey together even if just for a brief moment is so special.”
Currently, Finley is working on a project on the Three Angels Messages including sermons, graphics and Bible Lessons. His sister has just completed a two-week curriculum for kindergarten to high school students on the Three Angels Message. He and his wife, Teenie, are running a retreat centre for pastors to come and get physically, mentally and emotionally rejuvenated. And he is working on expanding his online presence. He has had to learn to work smarter rather than harder and is constantly asking himself, “how can I maximise my energy so it has a greater impact for Christ?”
If there ever were a cross between Billy Graham and Dale Carnegie, Finley would be it. When on stage, he can raise his voice to testify to thousands of the goodness of God. Off stage, he can direct his focus to a single individual, exemplifying what it looks like to build trust, seek understanding, be a friend, and only when the time is right, perhaps ask, “may I share something with you?” The “may” part is very important, because, as he shared, “you have to respect people’s freedom of choice. When you demonstrate Christ in your life, just watch the ways in which God works.”
