By L.A. Williams
Christian Action League
January 10, 2020
The Christian Action League has added the Rev. Mark Perko to its Board of Directors by a unanimous vote, effective January 1, 2020.
“It is integral to the CAL to have godly servant-leaders on our board to help carry out the League’s mission, and we’re blessed to be able to welcome Mark Perko as our newest member,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, the organization’s executive director. “I’ve been following Mark Perko’s ministry for several years and its clear to me that he understands the biblical mandate of engaging the culture in the public arena. He has demonstrated passion for addressing the social issues of our day. He knows what it means to be salt and light as a pastor. That’s the kind of leadership we need on the CAL Board. I’m confident Mark will serve well.”
The CAL’s twelve-member board meets quarterly at the office of the Christian Action League in Raleigh and sometimes in various locations across the state. They are the governing body of the League. They set policies and handle administrative matters. Board members support the CAL’s work in between times with their contributions, prayers, and advocacy.
Perko has been pastor of Deep Creek Baptist Church in Wadesboro for the past eight years. In addition to North Carolina, he has led churches in Tennessee and Kentucky as well as in his native state of Florida during nearly three decades of ministry.
He earned his Bachelor of Theology from the Baptist College of Florida and his Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Perko is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, has participated in Family Research Council/Watchman on the Wall briefings in Washington, D.C., and is a prayer partner to N.C. State Sen. Tom McGinnis.
In Anson County, he serves as an elections chief judge for the Gulledge Precinct and is a chaplain for the local fire department and hospital. He and his wife of 37 years, Sara Perko, have a daughter and son-in-law in Little Rock, Arkansas, and a son and daughter-in-law in Lafayette, Indiana. They have four granddaughters.
While Perko says his path to Christianity wasn’t necessarily unusual, he does believe that his decision to follow Christ saved not only his life but also the lives of others that were within his circle of influence.
After slipping into alcoholism as a teenager (an addiction that would cost him a baseball scholarship), Perko took a job tending bar and attended a church service only as a way to get a date with the woman he would eventually marry. But that one Sunday morning service prompted a visit from an evangelism team that led him to Christ the following Tuesday. He is forever grateful to his wife’s Mom, who insisted he come to church as a condition for dating her daughter.
“If you are a Christian parent, don’t be afraid to make sure your children are dating believers. I owe my salvation to a godly single-parent mother-in-law who wasn’t afraid to make sure that I would come to church,” Perko says.
Learn more about Mark Perko’s transformation From Bartender to Pastor or visit his church website.
Currently serving on the CAL Board of Directors:
Rev. Jack Marshburn, President
J. Russell Capps, Vice President
Pam Blume, Secretary
Jerry Haywood
Kenneth Jones
Rev. Curtis Norris
Rev. Ray Barnhill
Jerry Boyd
Dr. Joe Sturz
Rev. Frank Sossamon
Rev. Mark Perko
Dr. Mark H. Creech is the executive director.
John de Rosset is Dr. Creech’s administrative assistant.