The Early Years

I grew up in Edmonds, WA, the youngest of 4 siblings–3 sisters and me–the closest in age being my twin sister, Susan who proudly holds the distinction of being 7 minutes older than I.  Dad was a Junior High School wood shop teacher and football coach in the Shoreline District.  Mom went back to teaching High School English after Susan and I hit Junior High.

Unlike many kids today, I had the same parents, lived in the same house, had the same friends, and went to the same church for 18 years.  I loved my parents and got along with my sisters for the most part.  Because my folks were teachers, we spent weekends, holidays, and summers together.  Many of those weekends were spent on the Washington coast, and summers were spent traveling and camping all over North America.  I’ve driven through nearly every state in the Union, and every province in Canada, and I’ve seen most of the sights along the way.

Growing up with sisters, I wasn’t much of a tough guy—I had the soul of a poet.  But, I participated in most of the organized sports available: wrestling, football, baseball, basketball, tennis, track, and swimming.  My love was always music.  I sang and played saxophone and guitar most of my school years.  I was a good student, a fair athlete, and compared to most of my peers, I was a “good kid”.  Operating from a stable family foundation, my childhood was characterized by “A little bit of everything, and a little bit of everywhere”.  My adult life can be characterized in much the same way.

Faith Journey

Having grown up in the Lutheran church, I felt like I knew Jesus, and what He had done for me, but never “connected the dots.”  My sophomore year at the University of Washington, a girl in the sorority I worked and lived in as a house boy, invited me to attend The Inn college ministry at University Presbyterian Church.  During communion that night was the first time I had ever heard anyone “connect the dots” about a saving relationship with Jesus.  I turned my life over to Him, and that’s when things began to change.

My passion for God’s Word and for telling others about Jesus grew.  After three years at the University of Washington, I decided my life needed to go in a different direction, so I left the UW, and the following September began attending Trinity Lutheran College.  My very first day there, from the end of the long main hallway, I saw Kim walking through the front doors.  It was at that moment that I turned to a new friend and said, “That’s the woman I’m going to marry.”  Six months or so later we were engaged, and the following year we were married.

From the beginning, Kim and I determined to dedicate our marriage and family to serving the Lord together, whatever that would mean, and wherever He would take us.   As our first act of service together, we decided to serve communion to those attending our wedding.  Little did we know that over 500 of our friends and family would show up!  The ceremony was as long as a Mars Hill baptism service!

Twenty Years of Wedded Bliss

I will confess, and as Kim will tell you, it ain’t all been bliss.  Starting a family right away, trying to finish school, and trying to figure out who we were and how to communicate with each other was rough.  We’ve never lived “well” by the world’s standards, and those first four years were pretty lean.  Three of our four children were born in those first four years—Caitlyn, Joanna, and Elizabeth.  Ben came along in 1994.   During that time my passion for God’s Word and for lost people continued to grow into a desire for vocational ministry in the local church.

In 1992 I became a pastor with the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church, and since served four different churches as a youth pastor, children’s pastor, worship pastor, and most recently, from 2003-2005, as the solo pastor of a little church in a town of 900 people in central Montana.  Some of those years were supported solely by the church, and some of those years were spent “tent-making” as a UPS driver,  a seafood department manager for QFC for nearly 11 years, and even as a Starbuck’s barista (I even worked summers in Alaska for 5 years to pay for school).

God is Faithful

In all those years there have been some highs, and some real lows, but in all of it God has been faithful, and has always met our every need with His limitless grace.  In all that time, Kim and I have kept our vow, and have served Jesus together, as a family.  I am so proud of my wife and children who have always served along side me, not because Dad’s the pastor, but because it has been their desire (most of the time!).  And now that the kids are all teenagers, I am grateful that serving the Lord, and serving together as a family remains their desire.

Then and Now

Having grown up in the metropolitan Seattle, Kim and I have always had a heart for this city.  Our first passion in ministry was in fact for the heart of the city—urban missions.  The first two years of our marriage was spent at a downtown church with a homeless men’s shelter, and Kim and I and baby Caitlyn spent many Friday nights sharing a meal with those men.  One of our most treasured possessions is a portrait of the three of us drawn in pencil by “Cowboy”, one of the regulars at the shelter.  It would seem that God has brought us full circle, from the heart of the city, to the neighborhoods, to the suburbs, to rural America, and back again to the city we love.  It is our privilege and joy to be serving alongside the Lake City Family of MHC, bearing witness to His grace, and spreading His fame in NE Seattle, seeing lives transformed to live for Him.

Some of the Stark family’s favorite things—walking around Pike Place Market, breakfast at Luna Park Cafe, a ballgame at Safeco Field, shopping Uwajimaya, singing in the car, old musicals, Discovery Channel shows, chillin’ & grillin’, wrestling with God’s Word together.  Some of Eric’s favorite things are playing guitar & singing, cooking, dining out, hunting & fishing, entertaining friends, and a dry and tasty IPA.