A Diocese Committed to Mission: The Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes
Leadership Rooted in Calling
On January 6, 2021—the Feast of the Epiphany—the College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America consented to the election of the Rt. Rev. Mark A. Engel as Bishop Ordinary for the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes (ADGL). He was consecrated on February 13, 2021, becoming the third Diocesan Bishop.
Bishop Mark’s journey into ministry began with the strong influence of a Christian family, but it was during his time at Malone University that he fully surrendered his life to Jesus as Lord. After graduating in 1978 with degrees in Business, Economics, and Christian Ministries, he quickly discerned a call to ministry. He went on to earn his Master of Divinity from Ashland Theological Seminary in 1982 while beginning pastoral work.
Over the next several decades, Bishop Mark and his wife, Terri—married for more than 43 years—served faithfully in pastoral ministry across the United States and spent ten years in Taiwan engaged in church planting and evangelism with the Friends Church. Their ministry continued to evolve, including launching a prayer-focused ministry in 2008 and planting a non-denominational church in 2009, which later became Gateway Anglican Church in 2015. This journey ultimately led them into the Anglican Church.
In addition to pastoral and missionary work, Bishop Mark has served as an instructor for the U.S. Center for World Missions’ Perspectives Course and as adjunct faculty at Malone University and Regent University, teaching missions, cross-cultural ministry, and Christian leadership.
A Diocese with a Global Vision
Under Bishop Mark’s leadership, the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes has cultivated a deep commitment to mission—both locally and globally.
The Diocese supports a sister diocese in Burundi, missionaries serving in multiple regions around the world, and several Anglican mission partner agencies, including Anglican Mission Africa, Church Army Africa, Ekklesia, United Adoration, and New Wineskins Missions Network. A Global Mission section in the diocesan newsletter regularly highlights this ongoing work and encourages engagement. Yet the heartbeat of this mission is not limited to diocesan leadership—it is reflected in the life of local parishes.
Mission in Action: Local Churches, Global Impact
Across the Diocese, congregations are actively engaged in ministry that extends far beyond their walls. At St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Lapeer, Michigan, outreach includes supporting global ministries such as ARDF and Samaritan’s Purse, while also serving the local community through initiatives like a weekly Community Closet providing clothing to approximately 50 people and a weekly coffee hour open to all. The church also partners with local organizations addressing homelessness, family literacy, and crisis support.
Lifesong Anglican Church in Akron supports international missions in Kenya through the Umala Mission, contributes to a food pantry connected to Livingstone Monastery, and partners with missionaries serving through Youth With A Mission (YWAM).
St. Anselm Anglican Church in Lakewood, Ohio, supports mission work through Anglican Frontier Missions and serves locally through outreach partnerships such as the Twice-Blessed Store and Love INC.
His Church Anglican in Michigan extends its mission globally by supporting ministries in Rwanda, Jordan, Egypt, and church planting efforts in Dayton, Ohio, while also partnering with United Adoration.
These examples represent a broader reality: nearly every parish in the Diocese is actively engaged in mission, both locally and globally.
Clarity, Commitment, and Capacity
In the April 2025 diocesan newsletter, Bishop Mark reaffirmed three essential pillars of the Diocese’s mission: Clarity of Mission, Commitment to Mission, and Capacity for Mission.
Clarity of Mission: “The mission of the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes is to extend the Kingdom of God by so presenting Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit that people everywhere will come to put their trust in God through Him, know Him as Savior, and serve Him as Lord in the fellowship of the Church. The chief agents to extend the Kingdom of God are the people of God.”
Commitment to Mission: Fulfilling this mission requires both clergy and laity to live as faithful, witnessing disciples—devoted to prayer, generosity, sending, and going. It calls for investing time, talent, and resources in evangelism, church planting, renewal, and revitalization. True fruitfulness flows from lives fully committed to Christ and communities marked by spiritual vitality.
Capacity for Mission: Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6 to store up treasures in heaven and to seek first the Kingdom of God. As the Diocese aligns its priorities with this calling, it trusts that God will provide what is needed to sustain and expand His work.
A Living Witness
The Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes stands as a living witness to what happens when a community is united around the mission of the Gospel. Through faithful leadership, engaged congregations, and a shared vision for God’s Kingdom, the Diocese continues to extend its reach—locally and globally—bringing the hope of Christ to a world in need.
The Reverend Canon Joshua Gbenga Ajayi
The Reverend Canon Joshua Gbenga Ajayi is an Anglican priest, ordained twenty-three years ago in the Church of Nigeria, where he faithfully served in many parishes as a curate, assisting priest, and vicar. He first visited the United States through New Wineskins in April 2016 and moved there in 2019 to continue his pastoral ministry with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) in the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes. He is the Rector of All Saints Anglican Church in Rochester and the Canon for Global Missions in the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes. He is married to an ever-radiant wife, Mabel, and they are blessed with three girls and two boys. The youngest is 11, and the eldest is 19 and now in university studying nursing. Canon Joshua has a prayer and prophetic ministry that continues to make him a blessing to his congregation. He is a good teacher of the word of God, with signs and wonders following his ministry.
