Mark Hendrick, a 2008 graduate of Clemson University, has joined the staff of the South Carolina Baptist Convention as associate director of the office of public policy.
HendrickThe Conway native began work March 2 and will coordinate with the SCBC’s Christian Life and Public Affairs (CLPA) Committee to communicate with members of the South Carolina legislature and other elected bodies regarding issues of social, moral and cultural importance.
Hendrick, 25, assumes the responsibilities previously held by Joe Mack, who retired at the end of 2010. Hendrick will serve the SCBC as a contract worker.
Skip Owens, chairman of the CLPA committee, in a letter to The Baptist Courier, expressed “profound indebtedness” for Mack’s “effective ministry” and referred to Hendrick as “another servant [led by the Lord] to our convention to represent South Carolina Baptists in our state capital.”
Owens said Hendrick “is already making an impact with legislators as they contemplate how to vote on gambling, pro-life issues, and other social and moral concerns.”
Hendrick previously served as executive assistant to former Lt. Gov. Andr? Bauer and was a grassroots campaign volunteer for Bauer’s gubernatorial campaign in 2010. He also previously worked as public relations director for SCPR Associates of Irmo, where he oversaw day-to-day operations for more than 20 local, state and national political campaigns.
As a political science major at Clemson University, he was president of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and served as an intern for U.S. Rep. Henry Brown of Myrtle Beach.
Hendrick said he sees his new role as that of a “liaison between our church members and the men and women they have elected to serve them in the local, state and even federal arenas.”
“It is our goal to be a Christian, biblical voice to influence legislation and issues that our elected officials debate,” he said.
Hendrick grew up at Langston Church in Conway, where he became a Christian at age 8. His mother is church secretary and his father is a deacon, and his family was “a huge influence on me [and] shaped me into who I am today,” he said.
“I’m honored and thankful that the South Carolina Baptist Convention gave me the opportunity to serve,” he said. “It’s great to actually get paid to do something that you feel wholeheartedly passionate about. If a bill or some legislation goes our way, it’s rewarding to know that you had something to do with it.
“I think God has had a plan for my life,” said Hendrick, adding that he hopes to run for elected office someday.