At its congregational meeting in January, 2007, the congregation of Grace OPC, Fair Lawn unanimously called Rev. Dr. Mark J. Larson to be the next pastor of the congregation. Dr. Larson succeeds Rev. Ken J. Campbell who retired, returning to his homeland of New Zealand after ministering in Fair Lawn for the previous 26 years.

Pastor-elect Larson, who is no stranger to the congregation, was examined and received by the Presbytery of New Jersey effective upon his installation.

The Larsons, as a young family, attended Grace OPC in the evenings during the late 1980s as Mark was solidifying his embracing of the historic Reformed faith.   Following their brief sojourn in Fair Lawn, he earned his Th.M. (1989) from Westminster Theological Seminary in Phildelphia. Subesquently he earned his Ph.D. (2005) in historical theology from Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where his dissertation was entitled “John Calvin, the Geneva Reformation, and Godly Warfare: Church and State in the Calvinian Tradition.”

Mark has pastored in the OPC since 1990, including Westminter OPC in Hamill, South Dakota; Catawaba Valley OPC in Lenoir, North Carolina; and home missions in Madison, Wisconsin.   He has also taught Bible in Christian schools while pursuing his doctoral studies.   Since 2005 he has served as the organizing pastor of Providence OPC in Aiken, South Carolina which became a particular congregation in the Presbytery of the Southeast of the OPC on May 18, 2007.

Mark and his wife, Cynthia, have four children: Daniel, 24; Lydia, 20; Benjamin, 17; and Hannah, 15.  

Bob Reith, Ruling Elder and Session Clerk

Grace OPC, Fair Lawn