Mark Morris

Mark Morris, Sunday Operations Coordinator

Mark was born in Dallas, Texas. He was blessed with Christian parents and grandparents that raised him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Mark answered the call to salvation as a young boy and it was that faith that pulled him through a somewhat tumultuous childhood and adolescence which included the divorce of his parents. During those difficult years, Mark found peace and community through his involvement in organized sports. Mark was blessed with godly influence through Christian coaches and teachers and during high school he felt the Lord leading him into ministry. Mark did not answer that call, however, until after completing his first year of college.

Mark sat out of school a year before enrolling in a Christian college. It was at that Christian college that he met the love of his life, Leilani Miller. Mark and Leilani were married in January 1993. Mark and Leilani invested in full time student ministry for 10 years serving on staff at churches in Texas and Arkansas. In August of 1998, while serving in Arkansas, Mark and Leilani were blessed by the birth of their only child, Madison Grace. While those years were very rewarding, Mark and Leilani grew somewhat disillusioned with “status quo” church and had a real desire to expand their ministry outside the four walls of the church. In 2002, Mark left full time ministry and took a secular job that enabled him to minister to people outside of his job description as a church staff position. Mark became very involved in prison ministry and also serving as a mentor to abused and neglected children in the foster care system. The Morris family also helped serve in 2 church plants in the Little Rock metro area and served as Life Group leaders and in the Children’s Ministries of those two churches

Leilani was the college roommate of Erin Hunt Young, the wife of The Sanctuary’s Founding Pastor, Thomas Young. When Thomas was speaking at an engagement in Little Rock in October of 2006, he asked the Morris family to pray for him as he was preparing to plant a church in Fort Bend County. As the Morris family prayed about that church, they felt the Lord leading them to not just be a prayer supporter, but to move their family to the Houston area to personally invest in The Sanctuary Fellowship. Their family moved from Little Rock to Houston in 2007 and became Charter Covenant Members of The Sanctuary. The entire Morris family serves in various capacities at The Sanctuary and feels greatly blessed to be a part of a life giving church.

Mark works in Management for Sam’s Club while Leilani is a Real Estate Agent for Keller Williams in Sugar Land. Madison is a middle school student who enjoys art and reading. The Morris family is huge Dallas Cowboy and college football fans. The family loves going to the beach, enjoying good movies, and playing games together. They also enjoy spending time with the world’s greatest dog, Max, their 6 year old Chinese Shar Pei. Mark loves watching and playing sports, fishing, golf, and doing anything outdoors. The Morris family is passionate about seeing God glorified in their lives and in the lives of their family at The Sanctuary Fellowship.