Congratulations to the Lounsbrough for 16 years of full-time service to Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary
May 14, 2024
Congratulation to Dr. Mark and Becki Lounsbrough for 16 years of full-time service to Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary.
Colossians 3:23 says, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” Today, Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary honors Dr. Mark and Becki Lounsbrough for their years of service to the Faith family. They have truly served the Lord heartily over the last 16 years.
In December 2023, Dr. Lounsbrough announced that this academic year would be his last as associate professor and chair of the World Missions Department. After much prayer and many long conversations with each other and friends, the Lounsbroughs had concluded that God was leading them on from Faith. Where He was leading remained unknown at the time. A little over a month later, however, God led the people of Community Baptist Church in Ankeny, Iowa, to extend a call to Dr. Lounsbrough to serve as Associate Pastor to oversee Christian education, discipleship, and outreach. Lounsbroughs accepted that call, and Mark will begin his full-time pastoral ministry in July.
The Lounsbroughs’ association with Faith goes back to their student days. Mark began his collegiate career in 1978. As a senior in 1981, he met Becki who had arrived on campus that year as a freshman. Mark completed a bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Studies and a Master of Arts degree in 1983. Becki completed the three-year diploma in Bible in 1984. They were married on June 16, 1984, and then moved to Washington State where Mark completed his Master of Divinity degree at Northwest Baptist Seminary and Becki her Elementary Education degree at Washington Baptist Teachers College. In 1989, the Lounsbroughs began serving in northeast Brazil as missionaries with Baptist Mid-Missions. In Brazil, Dr. Lounsbrough was a Bible professor at a Baptist seminary from 1991 to 2008 and founded Maranatha Baptist Church in 1994, a work he handed over to a national pastor in 2002. Becki supported Mark in these roles and the home. The Lounsbroughs have four children and nine grandchildren.
In 2008, the Lord led the Lounsbroughs back to Faith. Mark began serving as the chair of the World Missions Department, and Becki began serving on staff as an administrative assistant. Under Dr. Lounsbrough’s teaching and leadership and Becki’s administrative assistance, the missions program at Faith has flourished. In addition to the many students the Lounsbroughs have mentored and prepared for vocational missions work, the department improved and rebranded several signature events and programs. The missions conference became the Global Reach Conference. Missions prayer band became Global Reach Connect, and short-term missions trips became Global Reach Encounter. The Lounsbroughs were also integral to the launch of Faith Abroad, a study abroad program that began in Spring 2023. In that same semester, they also initiated a missionary-in-residence program. This program invites current missionaries to stay on campus for a week or longer to interact with students and answer their questions about missions.
This May, Dr. Lounsbrough concludes his collegiate teaching career after thirty years of ministry on campuses in Brazil and Ankeny, Iowa. Reflecting on his years of service here at Faith, Dr. Lounsbrough recently said, “As an alumnus of FBBC, I returned in 2008 to a college that has maintained its doctrinal and philosophical posture through the years. Faith’s motto, ‘With the Word to the World,’ captures the heart of the school’s intention to prepare laborers for worldwide ministry.
Colleagues and students alike have challenged my own heart and blessed me in ways that will make a lasting impact as I step into my new role as an associate pastor.”
In recognition of their faithfulness to Christ, excellence in their work, and the use of the talents that God has given them to support Faith’s mission, we sincerely thank and congratulate Dr. Mark and Becki Lounsbrough for 16 years of full-time service to Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary.