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Rev. Mark S. Fieger

Isaiah 40: 8   "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever."

Biographical Information

Mark S. Fieger  is Senior Pastor of St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Toms River, NJ. Prior to his appointment to St. Andrew, Mark served as the Pastor of Titusville  United Methodist Church (Titusville, NJ), and as an Associate Pastor at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Turnersville, NJ. 

He has served  full time in ordained ministry for thirty years, since 1979.  His heritage is in the Greater NJ Annual Conference.   He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pa. in 1974, majoring in History and Education.  He taught world history and social studies at Edgewood Junior High School, in Tansboro, NJ, where he also served as the Freshman football coach.  He received a Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1979, and a Masters of Theology degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1981.

Mark is happily married to Rhonda (Hanna) Fieger.  Their twenty fifth anniversary was celebrated in September 2009.  They are the proud parents of their three daughters, Bethany, Leah, and Kara.  (Ages 23-18)

His hobbies include: exercise, jogging, golf, music, playing trumpet, guitar, and the stereo, and enjoying his “side-kick,” Barney the Boxer.  While attending Overbrook Regional High School, in Lindenwold, NJ, Mark played football, baseball, as well as trumpet in the band.  During his freshman year, he organized a “professional band,” which played for weddings and socials.   While playing football at Ursinus College, Mark suffered an accident which became a catalyst for his conversion to Christ.   Although raised in a Christian home, he looks at his sophomore year in college as the time when Christ became alive and real in his life.   After a journey through teaching junior high students, being a football coach, attending seminary, and serving as a youth pastor, he felt “called” into pastoral ministry. 

His keen interests have always been Biblical theology, and applying the life changing truths of God, through Jesus Christ, in contemporary life.  The joy and calling of his life is to “make disciples” of Jesus Christ, who love one another and the world.

 

 

 

Rev. Erik C. Hall: Associate Pastor

My upbringing lacked the influence of Christian faith.  As a young man I began cultivating a passion to know truth.  I desired to know my life's purpose and meaning.  My passion for truth led me to study Philosophy at The College of New Jersey.  Rejecting the notion of God as Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, I accepted the popular view that reason and analytical theorizing were separate from, and superior to, faith.  It wasn't until September 1995 that my passion for truth would meet squarely with the hand of God.  Through the work of a Christian philosopher and TCNJ professor, Dr. Roy Clouser, I was invited to begin a quest for understanding the nature of God, and myself, through faith as well as reason.  I believe this was God's prevenient hand and first revelation of God’s call on my life.  God invited me to know God through the very medium that had taught me to reject God: analytical metaphysics.

I wrestled with this stuff for a few years...   but God kept calling to me through those words of Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given you, search and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you". And, as I asked, sought, and knocked God found me and has not let me go.

When I received the call to pastoral ministry in 2004 I had a successful career as an Operations Manager for a carpet, upholstery, and water damage restoration company. Working my way up through the ranks in that company in the late 90's,  I often found myself working on site at our biggest client at the time: Princeton Theological Seminary. I spent many nights working on their floors and wondering what God would have in store for me. When it came time to begin my pastoral training, I left my managerial work, took a youth ministry position at St. Andrew UMC, and enrolled in the M.Div program at... sure enough...   you guessed it...   Princeton Theological Seminary in 2004.

After graduating in 2007 I continued to work on staff at St. Andrew and was commissioned as the Associate Pastor in 2009. These days I have become very passionate about expanding the growing edges of our Christian faith and life to embrace the global community of the 21st century. In a time of so many interconnected global crises (economic, political, environmental, human rights, etc.) my hope is that Christians (through a life lived for Jesus) can bring the good news of love, restoration, peace, and justice to the wider world no less than they are doing in their own communities.  Further, there are so many people outside of the church and so many who have rejected the church...   we who follow Jesus need to be real examples of love, servanthood, justice, courage, and powerful relevance in the global culture. We sell ourselves short and send a poor message when we focus exclusively on personal piety stuff like not using bad language, dressing modestly, and going to a weekly Bible study (important as those things may be). We need to go deeper and make sure we don't support sweatshop labor with what we purchase. We need to include the planet in our notion of 'stewardship' and live a lifestyle that is green and environmentally responsible. And we need to include those displaced by war, famine, poverty, and human trafficking in our concept of 'neighbor'...   and love them as ourselves.

When I am not about the business of the ministry, I love to spend time with my wife Amy and stepchildren Austin and Collin. I am a Tiger Scout leader and Collin is a Tiger Scout. We like to camp, build rockets, and learn how to be good and responsible scouts. I have been an avid surfer for 27 years and now I am teaching my step-daughter Austin how to surf. My other hobbies and interests include mountain biking, trail running, camping, fishing, fitness training, golf, philosophy and poetry.