Who I am
Raised the son of a Southern Baptist Minister, I grew up with an intimate knowledge of Church life both domestically and on Mission Field. Spending many of my formative years in Bremen, Germany serving alongside my parents in the kingdom work. It was however, not until March 8, 2005, that I gained the experiential knowledge of who Christ really was at a youth event and surrendered my life to Him. From there my life had a myriad of twists and turns and then while ministering on the porch of a tattoo parlor, I felt the call to full time ministry. My wife, Amanda, our two young children and I have since been growing as God has been shaping us for His purpose to love, serve and equip His people.
Ordination Status
Licensed to the Ministry via Evangel Fellowship International
Evangel Fellowship International is a fellowship of churches and ministers dedicated to developing and promoting unity and strength among its members through Christ.
Membership with Evangel Fellowship International provides recognition by a body of international leaders, attesting to integrity, both personal and professional. The EFI Family provides fellowship and strength for ministers, missionaries, and communities of faith.
https://efiglobal.org
EXPERIENCE
The Gonzo Bible Study Productions, LLC Jefferson, SC— Founder
October 2017 - PRESENT
The Gonzo Bible Study is an internet ministry structured around the simple concept of making Biblical truth available to everyone. The slogan makes that clear-“Read the Word, Ride the Ride”. To date, the ministry has reached over eleven thousand people in over eighty-three different countries via blogs, video sermons, and podcasts.
Image Church, Matthews, NC - Media Coordinator/Youth Director/Young Adult Discipleship Lead
October 2020-November 5, 2023
I served as the head of the audio visual team at my local church, overseeing all video, audio and lighting for the church. I also created and distributed all ministry media content across social platforms and have and maintained the Church website. In addition to this I facilitate leadership meetings as a pastoral aid. I was also privileged to serve as the Youth Director at Image serving the next generation of the church by planning curriculum, leading a team of four adult volunteers and counseling our youth. I led the primary discipleship meetings throughout the week as well as oversaw all mission outreach activities. As the Young Adult Discipleship lead, I facilitated discipleship programs including writing curriculum focused on equipping people within their giftings. I also served as lay counselor, including premarital counseling, marriage counseling, and depression prevention etc..
Ace Custom Tattoo, Charlotte, NC — Studio Manager
September 2011 - December 2018
While at Ace Custom Tattoo I oversaw the daily business operations for the studio which included public relations, booking appointments for seven artists, as well as curating and selling fine art. I also designed and ran the company website.
EDUCATION
Liberty University- Rawlings School of Divinity, Lynchburg, VA — B.S. Christian Counseling
October 2018 - August 2020
Liberty University- Rawlings School of Divinity, Lynchburg, VA — MCM Master of the Arts in Christian Ministry
January 2021-October 2022
Other Experience
Youth leader — Abner Baptist Church, Spartanburg, SC
I served as a volunteer youth teacher for two years at my local church leading both Sunday school lessons as well as Wednesday evening discipleship classes for a small group of teenagers.
Audio Visual Chair—Abner Baptist Church, Spartanburg, SC
I served as the chair of the audio visual chair for four years at my local church, overseeing all video, audio, and lighting for the church.
Questions frequently asked about my Beliefs
Last name Clark
First name Robert
age: 34
family status: Married with two children
Tell us a little bit more about your personal life (interests, hobbies, values, family, etc)
Blessed with a loving wife named Amanda and two beautiful children, Obadiah and Hadassah. I am first a Christian, then a husband and father. Beyond the privilege of parenting, I enjoy watching films, making faith based podcasts and researching content for my website the gonzobiblestudy.com. Our family values center around the living Word of God. Our family verse is Romans 12:9, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good.” I am also an avid reader enjoying learning.
Personal:
How did you become a Christian? When did you accept Jesus Christ? Five days before my sixteenth birthday our youth group went to a Youth X event being held at a skatepark in Georgia. They had Christian punk and hardcore bands I’d been listening to and a spectacle of talented skaters and BMX riders. Then the speaker, who was also playing music, named Todd Agnew, got up and delivered a message based on Revelation chapter three. I began to be moved by the scripture and realized that although I knew the stories, I had not heard the Message. That night, I went forward at the altar call, and I prayed at the foot of the stage and felt the weight of sin get lifted off my shoulders and a peace filled my soul. I spent the remainder of the evening singing songs of praise.
2. How do I Preach? Extemporaneously; I prepare diligently throughout the week in whatever the Lord has laid on my heart and then follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit come time for delivery. I often have outline notes with the bare minimum outside of the scripture and my Bible in front of me when I preach.
Examples:
Behavior:
Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get the job done. This is hard to qualify, as above and beyond really does not exist in the Kingdom. In the ministry I’ve answered phone calls at every hour of the day and night, I’ve stood in parking lots until 3 am counseling people. I’ve carried soiled couches out of homes. I’ve carried buckets of concrete up ladders. I’ve had conference calls during dinner time with teens in strife. I’ve helped disabled men off toilets. Where He leads, I’ll go.
2. Tell me about a time you were able to successfully deal with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa). When I first began at Image Church, I did not care for one of the key members of the staff. He and I clashed personality wise, and it took quite some time until we got just comfortable with one another. He came from the world of politics and had a beta nature with the bluster of a class clown, but eventually the Lord saw to it that our differences were overcome by common purpose. This eventually turned into a friendship, and a brotherhood was founded.
3. Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures? I’ve always striven to be part of the solution, not the problem. When working with church technology and media, one must anticipate those who are technologically challenged. I always made sure that each undertaking and new implantation of technology also has an analog parallel. I created a physical sign up sheet for the digital calendar events and would input the information of those unable or willing to do so digitally. I would always train up new and willing individuals so that in my absence there would be no evident discrepancies in production.
Also when dealing with youth and youth parents, I strive to never allow youth parents to teach or go on youth trips, because this prevents those youth from freely expressing themselves within the youth group. Favoritism, nepotism and family strife, or whatever can prevent youth from learning, seeking and hearing what they are meant to.
4. Describe for me the efforts you have made in the past year to develop your skills.
A quote from one of my classes as Liberty has stuck with me on the matter of skill development. “The world can offer its best theories on leadership and provide the most extensive training possible, but unless God sets the agenda for a leader's life, that person, though thoroughly educated, will not be an effective spiritual leader.” As an autodidact, I' m always seeking and searching out knowledge and skill developing tools. Over the last few months I have striven to deepen my walk with the Lord devoting more time to mediation on His word as my form of skill improvement. I’ve read various books, sermons, and articles from the past six centuries to further develop my understanding of being a leader. Over the past year, I’ve also developed my scheduling skills and time management.
Theological:
What is the Gospel? The Good News, the power of God unto salvation. God’s mercy poured out on us. The Son of God who was with and a part of God from the Foundation who became flesh. Jesus, the Messiah, lived a sinless life, fulfilling the law, was crucified, dead and buried, physically resurrected, and was seen by hundreds of witnesses. Apart from this there is no Christianity. This life and sacrifice on behalf of the Messiah brought mankind back into familial relationship with God. Jesus came to bring salvation as a gift for guilty sinners, not as a reward for the righteous, as there are no persons who fit that description.
2. Do you believe in the doctrine of grace? Why or Why not? Yes, we are born dead on arrival, due to the first Adam and it is only through the grace and mercy of the second Adam, that we are redeemed back into fellowship with the Father. As to why I believe this, it is my belief that this is what the Word of God imparts to us. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast” Ephesians 2:8-9.
3. What are things that you believe are essential to the faith? Romans 10:17, the Word of God is essential to faith. Salvation is through Jesus Christ alone. Jesus was fully man and fully God. God is a triune being, and we are likewise made in His image.
4. What is evangelism? How should Christians evangelize? The believing body of saints must be prepared to share the good news of the Gospel. “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying ‘whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And then I said, ‘Here am I send me.’” Discipleship prepares people to share the gospel whenever called upon and having a willing spirit to share comes from the loving knowledge of what Christ has done for and in us. “People need the Lord. And many are ready to receive Him when they hear the Gospel in such a way that they can understand it and in a way that it makes sense to follow Christ.” The world is hurting and in need of the Savior to heal them in the same way each believer was healed. “I pray that you be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” The manner in which believers should evangelize is with their lives, exuding the love of God to everyone.
Church:
How do you cultivate a sense of biblical, godly community in the local church? The purpose of a church, the koinonia, is to equip believers to serve the kingdom's purpose to go out into all the world and make disciples of all men as outlined in Matthew 28:19-20. As such, God has placed in my heart that we should become a church of training and equipping. This is to be accomplished by having discipleship classes geared towards every stage of the believers’ walk, discipleship classes geared towards specific giftings and led by people who are functioning in those giftings. All of this should be overseen by the church leadership, so that whatever is happening in each individual discipleship class is functioning in unison of purpose and vision. Bringing together for corporate worship on Sunday, all of us with one mind and all functioning in the glorified unity of the Savior, as outlined in Romans 15:4-6. The discipleship classes will function as threads, all pulled together into a single cord to be used at the discretion of the Holy Spirit to rig sails, to weigh anchors, to move the Kingdom forward. This will produce a culture of servanthood and secure the future of the Kingdom Work in our area. By equipping those that are called to missions beyond our borders, we will extend the reach and capabilities of our ministry to be able to answer the call whenever the Lord prompts. When visitors come to the church, they will be met with fully equipped believers, ready to love and care for them in whatever way possible. Fueled and led by the Holy Spirit will be fulfilling the mission of the church. God is sending a great harvest. We must be prepared to take it in to properly tend to it, so that no fruit spoils as the Master said in Matthew 9:36-38.
2. How do churches grow according to the Bible?
The biblical description of a living and growing church is found in Acts 2:42-47 where the believers “devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Faith, obedience, discipleship, evangelism and servanthood grows the fellowship of believers, aka the Church.
Leadership Style:
What is your vision/plan for community outreach and in reach?
Keep it simple and do what the Word says to do. Jesus said, “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’”. Welcome, feed, clothe and visit the broken, beaten and seeking. Also the modern ministry field of the internet is a great way to reach the unreachable especially amongst the emerging generations. The church must start to interact within the digital world as a new and vital minion field, with intentionality towards spiritual formation and growth. Let's set our “firewalls” to God’s Word, protecting and filtering the weapons formed against us. Thus, allowing for the promotion of community and growth amongst the body of believers and the engagement in our digital Koinonia, our fellowship that resides in gifs, hashtags and keystrokes.
How will you care for the church?
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Surrendering to the service of the Spirit and the Word. I fully understand that serving others in love requires humility and tenderness, a sacrifice of self to the glory of the Kingdom work this should be a natural byproduct of an effective discipleship ministry focused on Christ. Obedience and submission are acts of love to the Father not compensation for salvation. “If you love me, you will keep my commands.” Love prompts the disciple to obedience , not guilt or fear of reprisal, but ardent love for Christ. The Church is the bride of Christ and I want her to be healthy and joyfully awaiting the bride groom. I will serve the church in whatever way I can according the giftings God has given me.