Rev. Mark E. Whitlock II, has committed his life to serving God and the Church.
Rev. Whitlock is the pastor of Christ Our Redeemer AME Church in Irvine, CA. Christ Our Redeemer started with five members on the UCI Campus to one thousand seven hundred members in their newly develop thirteen thousand square feet sanctuary in Irvine, CA.
As a minister and the economic development officer for the Fifth District of the AME Church, Rev. Mark is the Chief Executive Officer of Nehemiah Ministries, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) funding vehicle that offers mortgage loans, transportation services, health programs, training and technical assistance, and legal services.
Rev. Whitlock serves as the Director of Corporate Partnerships the AME denomination. The AME denomination has seven thousand churches with over two million members internationally.
Rev. Whitlock is the Co-Director of the Passing the Mantle Program at USC School of Religion. This program offers classes on leadership, civic engagement, and community development for pastors and lay leaders.
Before his full-time call to the ministry, Mark served as the founder and executive director of FAME Renaissance, the economic development arm of First AME Church, Los Angeles. As the executive director, Mark raised over one hundred million dollars in grants, loans, and contracted service initiatives that created over four thousand jobs with South Los Angeles. The FAME Renaissance Venture Capital Fund and Commercial Loan programs funded over one two hundred small businesses. FAME Renaissance’s Home Loan Program has created over two hundred new homeowners and has trained over two thousand home loan candidates.
Mark also co-founded the Richard Allen Men’s Society (RAMS), an organization with over 3,500 men who exemplify positive African American images. The RAMS are best known for contributing to reclaiming the community from gangs and drug dealers and for closing thirteen rock cocaine houses while leading young men away from drugs and gangs.
Mark’s corporate experience amply equipped him to lead the 21st century church realm of economic development. He was a former Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank and Vice President of the Commercial/Industrial National Division, Chicago Title Insurance Company. His responsibilities included providing title insurance and financing for commercial buildings, resorts, hotels, and shopping centers. His clients included attorneys, developers, and financial institutions.
Boards, Honors, and Accomplishments: Rev. Mark is a member of several Boards of Directors including the Harvard Divinity School's Summer Leadership Institute, Fuller Theological Seminary, The Red Cross, Orange County Human Relations Committee, The First American Corporation, Genesis Los Angeles, and the USC Passing the Mantle Program. He is a former State California State Commissioner and a LA City Commissioner.
He continues to lecture at the Harvard University School of Divinity, Indiana University, USC School of Religion, UCLA Anderson School of Business, California State University Los Angeles, many high schools and churches. Rev. Mark has also lectured at the White House’s Faith-Based Conferences. Rev. Whitlock is completing a book on Faith-based community development.
Rev. Whitlock is a recipient of national, statewide, and local community development awards. He was honored by the City of Los Angeles for raising over four hundred million dollars for community development at his retirement from First AME Church's FAME Renaissance Project in 2004.
Rev. Whitlock has completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Laverne with a major in religion. Rev. Whitlock will complete a M. Div. in 2009 from Fuller Theological Seminary. He received an honorary doctorate from American International University in Humanities. He is happily married to Attorney Hermia Shegog Whitlock for twenty-three years. They have three sons, Ariel, Mark and Devin.
