Rev. Dr. Mark R. Holland is a third generation United Methodist pastor, notably, with three generations in three different denominational structures: M.E. South, M.E., and U.M.C. Mark has served in the Kansas East/Great Plains Conferences since 1994. He has served as an alternate or delegate to each South Central Jurisdictional Conference and each General Conference since 2000. At the 2016 General Conference, in the midst of another bitter division around human sexuality, Mark made the motion on the floor asking the Council of Bishops to come back with a plan to build consensus in the church. That plan became The One Church Plan.
Mark has demonstrated leadership in elected office, serving as both Commissioner and Mayor of Kansas City, Kansas. He was also the Nominee for US Senate in Kansas in 2022. He graduated with a BA and a BS from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He has an MDiv from Iliff School of Theology. He has a DMin from Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri. He has four children: Daniel, Gabriel, Luke, and Esther.
Mark co-founded Mainstream UMC in 2018 with Rev. Dr. Nanette Roberts and he served full-time as Executive Director through May 2020. Mainstream UMC suspended operations due to Covid 19 and the postponement of General Conference. The Mainstream UMC Advisory Board voted unanimously in May 2023 to resume operations and to hire Mark again as the full-time Executive Director. Mark is under appointment to Mainstream UMC as an extension ministry through the Great Plains Annual Conference.