Mark Huber performs during a weekday chapel service at Wittenberg in November.

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Imagine waking up in a different place every day. Wittenberg alumnus Mark Huber, Wittenberg Class of 2004, does just that, along with his guitar and music ministry team.

Huber, of Pataskala, Ohio, travels across the nation playing guitar with Rainbow of Promise, one of five international music ministry teams sponsored by Youth Encounter, an evangelical Christian organization. Founded in 1965, the global ministry serves churches of various denominations throughout the United States and more than 40 countries. Rainbow of Promise is comprised of six people from different states who share a passion for music and ministry.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” said Huber, who was inspired to audition for Rainbow of Promise after watching another music ministry team perform. “It’s a powerful experience.”

This past August, Huber embarked on a year-long, cross-country tour with Rainbow of Promise, launching from Minneapolis, Minn., and staying with host families and various congregations along the way. The group has visited parochial schools, colleges, nursing homes and senior centers to share music, puppet shows and drama. Huber even squeezed in a visit to his alma mater for a presentation during a weekday chapel service last month.

In January, Huber will travel with Rainbow of Promise to India and Nepal for three-and-a-half months to play music in various churches. He anticipates the experience as “an exciting opportunity.”

Before joining Rainbow of Promise, Huber, a history major, enrolled at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. Though he took a year off to join the music ministry team, Huber intends to pursue his master of divinity degree with the help of a full-tuition Fund for Leaders scholarship from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). The organization awards two scholarships per year for each seminary, and in its first five years, the Fund has awarded 78 full-tuition scholarships, totaling more than $1 million.

Other Wittenberg alumni have received the highly selective award, including Kevin Penvose ’00, who is currently studying for a doctorate in systematic theology, and Dana Hendershot ’99, a partial scholarship recipient.

- Sarah Gearhart, '06

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