Mark Rivera Involvement at Church of the Resurrection 

Mark Rivera joined Church of the Resurrection in the mid-1990’s and served as a prominent member at Rez until Christ Our Light was founded in September 2013. During his time at Rez, Mark served and interacted with Rez members in the following capacities:

Rez Prayer Minister: late 1990s-2013

In addition to publicly serving as a Prayer Minister at Rez, Mark also prayed for and counseled Rez members and Rez youth, outside of the church. 

Multiple Rez parishioners met with him regularly for private prayer sessions in his home, and several Rez families also sent their children to Mark for private prayer and mentoring sessions (some of these children we now know were groomed, victimized, and exposed to pornography while they were in Mark’s care to receive prayer and counseling from him). 

Mark also sought out and initiated spiritual mentoring relationships with numerous youth from Resurrection, some of whom were victimized while receiving counseling from him. 

Rez Communion Minister: late 1990s-2013

Volunteer Youth Leader at Rez: ending in 2006, when Mark left for a paid Youth Pastor position at First Baptist Church in Big Rock

Volunteer Webmaster for Rez: 2003-2004

Pastoral Care Ministries Prayer Minister: apx 1996-2005

Mark Rivera worked as a prayer minister for PCM conferences, for around a decade. These dates are approximate and may extend beyond 2005, but this is the time window when [Redacted] attended and served at PCM conferences and recalls Mark and his wife, [Redacted], serving as prayer ministers. 

Redeemed Lives Small Group Leader: apx 1996 – 2005

This is also an approximate time window, and is likely an underestimation, but is based on the time [Redacted] and [Redacted], both RL small group leaders themselves, recall Mark also serving as a small group leader for many years. 

Bird and Baby Theatre Co.

Mark was hired as production manager, Webmaster, and CFO for the Bird and Baby Theatre Co. from 2009-2011. 

While working for Bird and Baby, Mark had regular unsupervised access to vulnerable adults and children during many hours of rehearsals and performances. After the first two plays, Bird and Baby shifted its focus entirely to children’s productions; the child casts for these shows were made up almost exclusively of children who attended Resurrection.

Redeemed Lives Ministries

Mark was hired by Fr. Mario Bergner for set design, operations, and camera operation to film DVD ministry lectures of Mario’s teachings, while Fr. Mario was on staff as a priest at Church of the Resurrection.

Riverside School

Riverside school was renting a shared property with Mark Rivera’s family in Big Rock, before his June 2019 arrest and after he was released on bond. 

As numerous Rez families participated in Riverside school during that time, it is important that they recognize the proximity Mark had to their children. During his time on bond release Mark interacted multiple times with students on the school property, in direct violation of his bond release agreement.