He’s one of the very best.
This month Mark Larsen is celebrating 25 years of faithful oversight for A3. As VP for Operations & Finance, he is an unsung hero who quietly and consistently makes A3 go. Since his start in August of 1999, he has been a valuable contributor on whom we rely to keep things running.
A3 needs to celebrate people like Mark who faithfully devote their time, energy, and gifting to the Lord’s service without much recognition. We want our friends, advocates, and supporters to know this tremendous person who enables A3 to change the few who change the many.
The fact is that Mark Larsen—and the leadership he brings—is essential for A3 to achieve its mission.
Financial Expertise
Mark is our proficient CFO who provides financial duties and oversight for the mission. Every day, he puts his CPA to work for A3 whether it’s working with his co-workers Christine and Kyle to process financial donations, paying our bills, compiling business plans from every department and ministry division, working with our auditor for the annual audit, generating form 990s for the IRS, filing reports and applications, generating numbers for reports and fundraising proposals, getting funds to where they need to go, handling staff members’ tax questions, responding to donors’ questions, asking strategic questions, and on and on...
Our board of directors, auditors, and consultants have all commended Mark’s financial oversight and reporting; they have all said something like:
“Mark is one of the best CFOs we’ve ever worked with.”
With unquestioned integrity, he’s our beloved “Bean Counter”.
Operational & Technological Prowess
Mark is also our adept COO, who oversees operations and technology. Both these areas are crucial for A3 to operate. In the world of software, he lives in a constant state of migration. There are always new patches, updates, upgrades, and migrations that he is coordinating—many simultaneously. He is the administrator for more software packages than we even know. He directs everything related to our servers, filesharing, project software, and A3 email. He also serves as our “Excel Master”. And when something doesn’t work quite right, it’s Mark we ask for help. And it’s Mark who fixes it for us. He’s our beloved “Fixer”.
Most of his A3 co-workers think he knows just about everything. And he pretty much does.
Incredible Work Ethic
We cannot imagine what we would do without Mark Larsen on the job. Because of what he does in the background, he makes our jobs doable and far easier. We don’t even know all that he does on our behalf. He’s done it for 25 years and counting.
The man works extremely hard. It’s not unusual to get an email response regardless of what time of day it is. I know that sometimes he is at the office very late into the night and sometimes early morning.
Man of Deep Character
Mark’s financial acumen is only exceeded by his character and gentle spirit.
We don’t hear complaining. We don’t see him get angry, miffed, annoyed, or even flustered. He is even-keel all the time—always mild-mannered. Despite the late budget entries from departments or logistic challenges, he doesn’t miss a beat. It’s part hard-wiring but also godly fruits of the Spirit.
He’s served as a role model for my kids in addition to his own. When my kids were small, they loved sitting on Mr. Mark’s lap, playing with his calculator, and joking around with him. Mark is taking a few days off this month to help his daughter move into Berkley. With parents like Mark and Tomoko, is it any wonder how she got to be so smart?
Mark does not seek the limelight or recognition. He probably isn’t very comfortable with all the fuss. I can’t even find a good photo of him to accompany this post. Mark flies under the radar and just does his job every day with excellence.
Valued Friend
Now that A3 works remotely, I miss seeing Mark regularly. I miss the daily interaction and fun banter. I think he’s one of the best. It was an honor for me to serve as Mark’s best man at his wedding years ago, and it’s a privilege to work alongside a man of his depth, character, and skill. His hearty laugh makes everyone smile and is always appreciated.
Thank you, Mark, for your 25 years of faithful stewardship, amazing abilities, godly character, and valued friendship. You are our beloved friend.
You are indeed one of the best!
Jeffrey S. Johnston
More Information
Jeff Johnston has served with A3 since 1987 when he first moved to Tokyo as a short-term missionary. Now in Los Angeles, Jeff serves as VP for Advancement & Communications, helping tell the story through writing, video, web, and print. He has also contributed to establishing the A3 leader development program in North India and Bangladesh. Jeff and his wife Nozomi have two adult children both seeking to reflect the Father's love to their world.
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