Bio

Mark was raised as a Roman Catholic; he knew of God and Jesus Christ but thought that he had to live a good life and go to church in order to go to Heaven. At the age of 18, he joined the army and started to indulge in worldly pleasures. By the time he got out of the army, the masters of his life were alcohol and drugs. In misery, Mark began searching for answers.

When Mark was 30, the Lord brought the Gospel to him in August 1996 by way of a free book given to him at a Christian bookstore. He read the book, and at the end of the book was the plan of salvation. He knew this was the truth, knelt down, and asked Christ to save him. The next day he committed to do whatever and go wherever the Lord wanted. He attended a discipleship class the Christian TV station offered and was led by the instructor to a good, Bible-believing church.

Through the counsel of Pastor Dean Taylor in Brookfield, Wisconsin, Mark realized God was calling him into the ministry. After getting out of the regular army, he had joined the Wisconsin National Guard and spent time in Honduras and Panama. He had seen firsthand the lack of a true gospel witness and the way the Catholic Church had enslaved those countries in a false gospel. Mark believed that the Lord was calling him into missions and wanted him to return to Central America. At Pastor Taylor's suggestion, Mark enrolled at Bob Jones University in the fall of 1997. He met Lynnette during his sophomore year.

After their first date, they discovered that Pastor Dean Taylor had influenced both of their lives toward missions. When Lynnette was in high school, Pastor Taylor (her youth pastor in Indianapolis, Indiana) began taking the youth group on mission trips. The Lord used one of those trips to call Lynnette to be a missionary in Mexico. After she graduated from college, the Lord allowed her to go to Mexico to work with some missionaries and teach in a Bible institute. Although Lynnette thought she would spend the rest of her life in Mexico, the Lord had a different plan. After seven months, the Lord closed the door for her there. He then led her back to Greenville to work in the office at GFA. As Mark and Lynnette's relationship grew eventually culminating in their marriage on August 12, 2000, Mark came to know GFA well since Lynnette worked there. The Lord confirmed in his heart that this was the board to go with.

The Hyneks arrived on the field in May 2006 and began by working in the two churches that were started by Allen and Bella Lund. After a little over a year in the northern region, they moved to San Jose to focus on language study. Upon finishing language school, they began working with a church in Sarchi assisting in the church ministry and in the training of nationals. They continued with that church for the next 6 years. In June of 2014, God led them to work with another national church in Grecia.

Baptist and Baptistic Bible churches exist throughout Costa Rica. The greater problem is that their pastors have never received any training. Currently, the Hyneks are working with an elderly pastor who is unable to do all the work of the ministry. They now have a ladies’ Bible study, a men’s Bible study, a small Bible institute to train the church leaders for ministry, a young adults ministry, a senior adults ministry, a music ministry, and Sunday school classes. Mark preaches frequently on Sundays and all Wednesdays. They also minister to the national park guards on the volcano where they live and to their neighbors. 

To view Mark and Lynnette Hynek's photo gallery, click the picture below.