Introduction: Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Welcome to Exploring Missions: connecting mission needs with those equipped by God to meet those needs across the world or across town. And now, the Bert Harper of Exploring Missions, Bert Harper.

Bert Harper: Thank you for listening to Exploring Missions, where we really take the opportunity to share with you how you can just join in in what God's doing, and He is changing lives. This is Bert Harper, along with Nathan Harper. And Nathan, God is changing lives, isn't He?

Nathan Harper: All the time, every day, all over the place. He's changing people's lives. That's right.

Bert Harper: The interview we're going to have later on is about how God's changed some men's lives, and how they are growing in the Lord. Nathan, after we're saved, God could take us home right then. He has some people, like the thief on the cross. But most of us are left here to grow in discipleship and following Christ, aren't we?

Nathan Harper: Yeah, that's absolutely correct. And speaking of God taking some men and transforming their lives, I'm thinking of a passage in Mark chapter 1, verse 17. Actually, I will read 16 through 18 to get the full context, but it says: "As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will send you out to fish for people,' or 'I will make you into fishers of men.' Verse 18: At once, they left their nets and followed him."

You can see a process for discipleship right here in this one story, the verse 17. There's kind of three parts. The first part is Jesus giving an invitation to come. So like, drop what you're doing, stop what you're doing, turn around—almost a picture of repentance, right? Change your mind about how you've been living your life, and come, come to me, come be with me. And so that's Jesus's first call to all of us, is that we would come and be with Him for salvation, for new life, for spiritual life. So we can come to Jesus.

And then the next part: follow me, okay? And even the phrase "I will make you into fishers of men"—as we follow Jesus, He is making us. So how do we become transformed? How do we become a new creature? How are we made into a disciple? By following Jesus. Come be with Him, but then we have to actively follow and do what He says, and learn from Him, and be with Him, and travel in our lives, like going on this journey with Him.

And then the third aspect: "I will send you out" or "you will be sent out to fish for people." In other words, we are to become disciple-makers. We are given a mission. It doesn't stop with us; it works through us. God works through us. And so, you see discipleship, this whole process, right there in that one verse of Jesus talking to fishermen.

Bert Harper: Amen. And God calls all the men, all the women to come unto Him, and He changes their lives, and they go out and they make a difference in their world. So today on this program, we want you to enjoy this interview that I believe with all my heart will help you to understand that God is working around you, because there's people around you that need to know Christ. And after they come to know Christ, disciple them, and they become missionaries themselves into their homes, into their territories, into their workplace. And that's what Exploring Missions is all about: trying to understand that as a follower of Christ, wherever we go, whatever we're doing, we are to make a difference and let people see Jesus Christ in us. So we hope you'll enjoy this interview today as we continue to grow in Christ and follow Him.

Bert Harper: Today on Exploring Missions, we're talking to Mark Walker from Paragould, Arkansas. Mark, thank you for being with us.

Mark Walker: Thank you for having me on.

Bert Harper: And we know you're there in Paragould, Arkansas. There's people going to have to get their map out to find out where Paragould is.

Mark Walker: Paragould is north of Jonesboro, and Jonesboro is north of Memphis. We're in the northeast corner of the state. There's only one Paragould in the world. If you look it up, you can't get the wrong one.

Bert Harper: So if you say Paragould, you're just talking about Arkansas. Well, that's interesting. I did not know that. And we appreciate you being with us today, and we're going to talk about the ministry that's going on there in Paragould, and we're praying God would just use this to help others to see, hey, there is hope. Well, what is the name of the ministry there, Mark?

Mark Walker: It's called The Master's Way. It's a men's discipleship program. It's all about doing things the way the Lord would have us to do it and becoming godly men.

Bert Harper: Discipleship. Okay, I can't help but go back to the Great Commission when He was telling those men and women that were gathered there: "Go and make disciples." He didn't say, "Go and make converts." He wants disciples, those that would follow Him, that would serve Him, and learn and teach others what He is. So this is a program that God has blessed and started. I've done enough research to know that God is using you guys and blessing the ministry. The Master's Way, so is that what you're teaching, that the Lord Jesus Christ paid the price and we've been bought with a price, therefore we're to follow Him? Is that the idea of The Master's Way?

Mark Walker: Absolutely. Absolutely. Be more than just fans, but be followers, be disciples. And disciples make more disciples. So that's the idea here, is just what the Great Commission was: just to pour into other men, teaching them all that the Lord has commanded us, and then they take that and do the same.

Bert Harper: Well, amen. Well, I want to know this, and it would be helpful to know: what is the history of The Master's Way? How old, and give us a little bit background on that.

Mark Walker: We're coming up on our fifth year that we've been in a program. Most of our guys had drug and alcohol problems, and of course, they've had run-ins with the law and probation and parole and things like that. And so they come to us. Some of them are ordered by the court, and some just come of their own free will looking for help.

And so what we do is we focus on following Jesus. And what we find is not only does it fix the problems with addiction, but those deeper problems of unforgiveness, of hurt, of anger, and things like that. And so the whole principle is that Jesus is all we need. If we have Him, He'll give us everything we need.

The history, how we came to be, was I worked for law enforcement after I got out of the military. I worked for law enforcement for 25 years. I was working here in Paragould, and when I retired, I had seen so many families where the children were separated, and moms and dads in and out of jail, and just broken homes. All of them had a common denominator of drugs and alcohol.

And I thought, man, it's the biggest plague on our nation. I don't know a family around that doesn't have somebody who's been affected by it. And so, you know, I prayed about it, and I wanted to try to do something. I just was looking for opportunities, and it seemed like it just kept being blockaded here or there. And one day, I had purchased a couple of rent homes, and one of them came available. The Lord just spoke to me, He said, "Well, there you go. Start small."

God blessed it. It just grew like crazy. We have six homes now. We can hold up to 35 men. Right now, we have 20 men right now—I wanted to make sure of the numbers. But I have people waiting for court right now waiting to come in, and they're waiting to see if the judge will let them or not. But our full capacity would be 35. We're even looking at adding another house very soon. There's such a big demand for this.

So, like I said, my heart was broken when I seen all these families broken up and these children suffering, and I just seen so many things, and it was all alcohol and drugs involved. And I knew Jesus was the answer for all our problems. And so when this opportunity arose, I just stepped out on faith and said, "All right, Lord." And He has provided all the way. It's been a blessing to see so many lives turned around, and people getting their children back from DHS and their marriages restored, and just walking with the Lord. It's such a blessing.

Bert Harper: Amen. When you say this, let's have some clarity on it. I know I've pastored as long as I have, I've been involved in the courts deciding where someone would go. With your law enforcement background, did that help you with judges when they're making their decision, do we send them to this place or that place? Because of your background, did this kind of open some doors for you for the court side—let's send them to The Master's Way? Has that been a help to you?

Mark Walker: Absolutely. And not only that, but like I said, I was here in Paragould for over 20 years. So they know me, and know that I'm really about helping these men. And so the probation and parole officers know me, the judges know me, they know that we're serious about what we're doing. And so it has definitely been a blessing.

You know, it's funny because God prepared these things way in advance. I'm pastoring a church. I've been pastoring now for, well, I think I'm coming up on 14 years now that I've been pastoring this one church. And all of these things, it's like God just, you know, my time in the military learning leadership skills and things, time in the law enforcement and making the connections I made, and then in the ministry—God has like put all that together to make this the perfect training grounds for me, to prepare me for what He had in store.

Bert Harper: Okay, I want to take a little bit of a trail away from that, and I want you to talk to someone out there. Maybe they were in the military, law enforcement, and they come to the point where maybe they have enough years that they can quote "retire" from that position and maybe even draw retirement, and God giving them an opportunity to expand in ministry. I hear what you say, that's awesome, the combination that God used in your life to bring about this. Would you mind encouraging some of those guys out there that maybe they're looking, "Okay, God, I'm no longer in law enforcement, I'm no longer in the military, I'm no longer doing this," to look at the possibility of what God has for them now? Is that a possibility, Mark?

Mark Walker: Absolutely. So the thing about men, you know, like the Army had spent a lot of money to find out what mottos that it would stir men's hearts. It said, "Be all you can be." Men have a natural desire to want to be what God has made them to be, to be all they could be. And they look to other men for examples of that.

And so many times what I'm finding is a lot of my men either didn't have a father in the home, or the father was just absent, you know, was not involved in their lives. And so they're looking. Even at older ages, we still look to other men to set an example of that's the kind of man I want to be, and we learn from them.

And so if you've had this kind of experience and you can take that and pour that into other people, and help them and encourage them along the way, that you didn't do that just for the paycheck. God was preparing you for something bigger. I'm certain of that.

Bert Harper: Amen. You know, God doesn't waste anything. I'm always amazed at what God does. I was telling someone the other day, God takes a mess and does something with it. I think that speaks to a bunch of our lives, you know, God taking who we are and even bringing glory to Himself.

Well, I want to move on to the program itself: the length, the content. And those of you that are listening, we're talking to Mark Walker. He's from Paragould, Arkansas. It's a ministry there called The Master's Way, where they help men in a discipleship program to become all that God wants them to be. Tell us a little bit about the program itself, Mark.

Mark Walker: So the program is a year-long program. I don't believe that you can change lifelong habits in 30 days. It takes time to establish what is your new normal for you. Plus, it takes time to grow in the Lord.

So the program is a year long, and the way it works is when they first come in normally, they can't pass a drug test. And so there'll be what we call a blackout period, where we just let their bodies rest, we keep them away from the phones where they can't call maybe whoever was supplying them with drugs or alcohol. And it's just some time for you to rest, to get your body and your mind clear.

And then after that point, when God made man, He put him to work, and we believe in work. And we believe it's good for your hands to stay busy, keep your mind occupied. So we work during the day, and then in the evenings we have classes every evening. We may be doing Celebrate Recovery at one of the local churches one evening. The next evening it might be Overcomers. And we do different Bible studies, but there's classes. Of course, we have Wednesday night is Bible study at church, and Sunday's of course is at church.

We keep them pretty busy, and it's good to stay busy. It's good to stay focused on the next step. And before they know it, time has just gone by quick.

Our goal is not to—because we have to be in this world, but not of this world. So we don't just separate you out from everybody else. We want you to go to work, we want you to earn a living. But the goal is to have a year's worth of drawing closer to God and getting to know Christ, and getting a job.

And then it's mandatory that we put money into a savings account, and then that savings account, we only touch that to get your driver's license and to get a vehicle. Because at the end of the year, if you've got a good relationship with the Lord, you've got a job, and you've got a way to get back and forth to work, you can make it from there. It's all up to you. You've got all the tools you need to have a successful life.

Bert Harper: Wow, amen. I want to go back. It sounds like with Celebrate Recovery, Overcomers, and church, you've got other ministries and people involved in this discipleship program where they—again, I know it's that group, but Celebrate Recovery, is it just for them, or is Celebrate Recovery where they are involved with others?

Mark Walker: No, we go to another church for Celebrate Recovery, and they support us in that and pour into these men. We have our own Overcomers, but people from other recovery groups or just people that just need to stay plugged in, they're welcome to come to that, and they do. There's something every night. It keeps them option.

Bert Harper: How... You got to. Hey, listen, there was a word that my dad would not let us use, and I know most folks—he was strict on foul language, but if we used the word "I'm bored," I guarantee you it didn't last long. Being our hands, idle hands is the devil's workshop, someone said. So anyway, tell us about the work. Is the work that they do during the daytime connected with other, you know, ministries around, or you guys provided? Or do they work at a business that has agreed to come alongside The Master's Way and be a part of the recovery process?

Mark Walker: Right. We have connections with some businesses: a place called The Steel Yard, Gibson's Hydraulic and Welding. We have a Peco—it's a... where they process chicken, and so there's several chicken houses around here. And there's others, but if they have a skill, we try to find a job to promote that skill because they can build their skill while they're here. Some of them learn how to weld and do other things like that. We want them to find something that they can market out there to whatever abilities they have.

Bert Harper: Yeah, amen. One more thing, and then I know we've got some men there that's going to share what God has done in their lives, but one more: I heard this, you'd been pastor 13 years, The Master's Way has been around about five years. So did your church buy in to you being a part of this and birthing it and starting it and ministering there?

Mark Walker: Yeah, I told them what the Lord had put on my heart, and they were supportive of that. And even gave seed money to help get this started, and it was a blessing for sure. And the church—I believe that this discipleship making is twofold. Sometimes in the church, you can have folks that get used to... they just come and sit in the pews, hear the message, go home. And in this way, we're helping these men, but these men are helping us, that maybe you might say the old churchgoers that have been there for a long time. Because now we're getting opportunities to pour into other people, to get involved in their lives, to be praying for them. Some of our senior ladies, if one of our guys—unfortunately, we do lose some—and if one of them is not there, they're like, "Oh, what happened? We've been praying for him," you know? And it's so wonderful to see that they're not just sitting and souring, but they're involved in pouring into other people's lives.

Bert Harper: Wow. You said something, and I want to do this right before we go to the testimonies: there are guys that do drop out. That's always the case. Is it people that were coming there on their own, or court-ordered? The ones that are court-ordered, are they more likely to stay through the whole 12 months?

Mark Walker: Yeah, the court-ordered ones usually do stay longer, but we lose some of both. I would love to say that, "Hey, it's a 99% success rate," but it's just not. It truly is a spiritual battle, and the devil is busy. He knows his time is short, and he's working hard. But it's kind of like the boy that was throwing starfish back into the sea: there's millions of them, but it made a difference to that one. And that's what we just keep doing.

Bert Harper: Okay. And drugs and alcohol—man, Satan has got that, and ruining lives and ruining families because of that. But here, we're talking about hope through The Master's Way in Paragould, Arkansas. And our guest today, again, is Mark Walker. And Mark, I understand we've got some guys there that want to share what God's done in their lives. Would you mind introducing them and letting them speak?

Mark Walker: Yeah. So I will start with my overseer. Dexter Birks has been in our program and stayed and graduated, and he just has a true heart for the Lord. I'm sure he's called into the ministry, and he is pouring into these guys. So I will hand it off to him and let him be first.

Dexter Birks: Good morning.

Bert Harper: Good morning, Dexter. Thank you for joining us. We appreciate what God's done and your willingness to share with others. Tell us your story, brother.

Dexter Birks: Yes, sir. First of all, my name is Dexter Birks, and I am a faithful believer in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. I lived a life of 20-plus years in addiction and repeated cycles in and out of jail, isolation, neglect, by trying to do things my own way. August the 24th of 2024, I was laying in my jail cell rack, and I mean, it's the repetition. And I was tired of being in this place and going through the same things over and over. And I cried out to God, and I told Him I needed His help. I couldn't do it by myself. And immediately, He knew that my heart was sincere when I said that, and He started making a way for me. And I got accepted to The Master's Way program. And from that point on, it's been all of Him. All I had to do was surrender. And I came to the program October 24th of 2024. I graduated October 25, 2025. As I'm overseer, I'm a witness to Matthew 6 and 33: "Seek ye first the kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added." I mean, God shows me something every day, you know? But it's only because I'm obedient. Scripture tells us to be still, and that's a hard thing for guys like us to do when we're so caught up in the world, the things of the world. But this program has definitely saved my life. It's given me the chance to be hope to people back where I'm from, where I come from. I come from a place that's—it's like the Sodom and Gomorrah of Arkansas, you know? Mississippi County. There's a lot of people that need hope. I want to be that guy to be able to go over there and show them that with God, all things are possible.

Bert Harper: Amen. Amen. Dexter, let me ask you this. A scripture came to my mind while you were speaking, and about every day: His mercies are new every morning. Is that real? Is His mercy of deliverance every morning—is it blessed?

Dexter Birks: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. You know, we fall short every day. We fall short every day, but thank God His mercy renews every day.

Bert Harper: Amen. Well, Dexter, I want to say thank you, brother, and I appreciate you staying on and helping others. And that's—on this program, Exploring Missions, we do... we talk about that quite a bit. We're not to keep it to ourselves. But Dexter, thank you.

Dexter Birks: Yes, sir. I'm honored to be on here. Thank you.

Bert Harper: Thank you, Dexter.

Mark Walker: So, another one I'd like for you to visit with is Jamie Smith. He's our assistant overseer. He's been through this program, and he has a good testimony to share, too.

Bert Harper: Jamie, thank you for being with us, brother. We appreciate you sharing your story with us. Go right ahead, brother.

Jamie Smith: Okay. My name's Jamie Smith. I'm from Harrisburg, Arkansas. I came to the program through the courts, and I got here of last year of May. When I got here, I just wanted a change. So when I got here, I was at church one day, and they had the altar call. And I just went to the altar, and I asked God to take this sin away and take this addiction from me. And everything changed that day. Something told me to trust the process. You know, just give it to Him, and He'll take it. So every day since then, I've just tried to live a better life, and just every day wake up thinking that I can do better than I did the day before. So all I've done is trust the process. I came here, and if I'm asked to do something, I do it. And I keep saying trust the process because that's the main thing here is they're planting seeds in us, and we just have to trust that process to go forward. So all I've done is just been a servant as best as I can in everything. And that's it. I come from a single mom, and I never had a man around to teach me things. She did the best she could, but for this... I'm 51 years old, and I've learned more in this last year to be a man than I have the 50 before. So I owe everything to God and this program for planting that seed in me. So all I want to do is help this program succeed, change men's lives and everything. So that's my story.

Bert Harper: Amen, Jamie. Let me ask you one more thing, and I really want to stress this because there's people out there, "Oh, if God did it, there'd be immediate deliverance." Well, deliverance is an event, but it better be followed by discipleship or a process like you're talking about. So you prayed for God's way, and then discipleship started taking place in the process. Is that what I hear you saying?

Jamie Smith: Yes, sir. When I went to that altar, I went to the altar like everybody does, but I just stayed there, and I left it there. I didn't bring it back with me. And that second I got up off that altar, I felt like a relief off of me. And every day after that, I learned more about the Bible. I learned how to be a man. And then I started to plant my own seeds with these other men, you know, showing that this does work. That all you have to do is trust the process. God is speaking to you every day; you just have to listen.

Bert Harper: Amen. Jamie, thank you for sharing your story with us. And Mark, how can someone who is interested in getting help—we've got people in Arkansas that are listening, and they've got someone on their mind—how can they get in touch with you at The Master's Way?

Mark Walker: My cell phone number is 870-476-1838. And I'll be honest, I'm on my phone all day. So if you don't—leave a message if you don't get me, and I will call back.

Bert Harper: Give that number one more time, because people didn't have their hand on a pen, they didn't have it. But now those that are interested and listening have it. Give that number one more time.

Mark Walker: 870-476-1838. And please, if I don't answer, please leave a voicemail, because I will call you back.

Bert Harper: And you can go to The Master's Way, Paragould, Arkansas, and get on Facebook with them, and you can see some of the victories that God has won in these men's lives. Mark, I just want to say thank you, brother, for the ministry you have. Thank you for being with us on Exploring Missions, and we're praying that God would just continue to bless you, brother.

Mark Walker: Thank you very much. We appreciate you and what you guys do getting the word out.

Bert Harper: Well, thank you. Those of you who are listening, we thank you. We pray that God would use you, and let God use you in His way to bring more people to the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, thank you for listening to Exploring Missions.