Dr. Mark Hostetler of Portage receives Olivet's 2013 Ministerial "O" Award

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Dr. Mark Hostetler (L) accepts Olivet's 2013 Ministerial "O" Award from Denny Williamson, Alumni Association president

BOURBONNAIS, IL (11/15/2013)(readMedia)-- Olivet Nazarene University's Alumni Association recently honored Dr. Mark Hostetler of Portage as an outstanding alumnus by presenting him with the 2013 Ministerial "O" Award. Since its beginning in 1957, this is the highest honor that the University gives to its alumni. The award was presented as part of the 2013 Homecoming & Family Weekend activities.

"Dr. Hostetler embodies the ideals of the University, and has contributed to the Kingdom of God, the Church and Olivet," said Dr. John C. Bowling, University president, during the presentation. "He has done what few pastors of any denomination have done: serving his entire career at his first assignment."

On May 13, 1973, Dr. Hostetler became senior pastor of Grace Church of the Nazarene, Portage, Ind., and still pastors that congregation today. In his more than 40 years at Grace, he has given leadership to a growing and health congregation that has a global reach. He has led the way in the financing and construction of a sanctuary in 1975, the Family Life Center in 1994, and a second new sanctuary that just opened in fall 2013.

Denominationally, he has been a member of Olivet's Board of Trustees since 1983, secretary of the Board of Trustees since 1993, and a member of the Board's Executive Committee for two decades. He has served as a delegate to the Church of the Nazarene's General Assembly eight times. He has also served as the secretary of the Northwest Indiana District of the Church of the Nazarene since 1982.

His bachelor's degree in theology and master's degree in church management are both from Olivet, as well as his honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.

He and his wife, Sharon (Koji), have a daughter, Jennifer, who is a 1997 Olivet graduate. Jennifer and her husband, Jason Hamilton, have two daughters.

Olivet Nazarene University is an accredited Christian, liberal arts university offering more than 100 areas of undergraduate and graduate study, including the Doctor of Education in ethical leadership. Olivet has one main campus in Bourbonnais, Ill. - just 50 miles south of Chicago; three additional sites: Rolling Meadows and Oak Brook, Ill., and Hong Kong; and more than 100 School of Graduate and Continuing Studies learning locations throughout Chicagoland and the Midwest. From Oxford to Tokyo, hundreds of Olivet students also experience the global classroom each year, whether through study abroad opportunities or worldwide mission trips.

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Contact:

Laura Warfel

Public Relations Specialist

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Ill.

www.olivet.edu

815-928-5403

lwwarfel@olivet.edu