Lead Pastor
Ordained in 1985, Pastor Mark Brocker has served as the Lead Pastor of St. Andrew since September 2005. Prior to coming to St. Andrew, he served for five years as lead pastor at Trinity Lutheran in Tacoma, Washington. He has also served congregations in Decatur, Illinois, Franklin Grove, Illinois, and McMinnville, Oregon. His internship was in Juneau, Alaska.
In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Mark has taught occasional classes in theology and ethics for Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley since 1998. Mark has served on the board of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) and is currently a member of EMO’s Creation Justice Committee. He was the volume editor for Conspiracy and Imprisonment 1940-1945, volume 16 of Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, and the co-editor for Ecumenical, Academic, and Pastoral Work: 1931–1932, volume 11, and for Theological Education at Finkenwalde: 1935–1937, volume 14. He served as president of the International Bonhoeffer Society—English Language Section in 2016. His book Coming Home to Earth was published in 2016.
Mark received his B. A. in philosophy from Pacific Lutheran University, his M. Div. from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and his Ph. D. in Theology from the University of Chicago Divinity School.
Mark and his wife Donna were married on September 10, 1977. They have six children and four grandchildren. Donna provides home care for a special needs student and subs occasionally as a teacher’s assistant in special education for the Beaverton School District. Son Isaac and his wife Jenny and their three children, Avari, Dean, and Amity, live in Troutdale. Isaac teaches science with middle school students at the Franciscan Montessori Earth School. Rachel and her husband Andrew live in Eugene, where Rachel serves as the pastor of Emmaus Lutheran Church. Matia and her husband Brandon and her daughter Penelope live in Hillsboro. Justina Hailey Hope is in the Navy and is based in San Diego. Kofi served in the Army and works as an Administrative Assistant for an afterschool program in the Portland School District. Justina and Kofi were adopted from Liberia, West Africa, in 1997. Our youngest, Mary, is engaged to Ethan Pearson and works as a Head Teacher for Guidepost Montessori Preschool. She was adopted from Sierra Leone, West Africa, in 2002.
Mark and Donna have been contributing members of Bread for the World since their college days at Pacific Lutheran University. They also support PLAN for the Children in Liberia, Second Home and Creation Justice of EMO, and the Nature Conservancy.
The Brocker family enjoys outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, and cross-country skiing. Mark also enjoys fly fishing with Isaac. While they are all avid Blazers and Timbers fans, Mark has a special passion for the Green Bay Packers and is happy to be one of 110,000 owners of the team.