The Gospel Truth

Whether through the church, music, prisons, or Moody Radio, Moody alumnus Mark Stradiot’s passion is sharing the good news of Jesus

by Nancy Huffine  /  February 14, 2025

“Maybe I’m just a ‘One-Tune Tommy,’” Mark Stradiot laughs, “but the main thing for me is the gospel.” It was the gospel and Mark’s desire to study the Bible that brought him to Moody Bible Institute in 1978.

“I come from a musical background,” Mark says. “My dad was a drummer. My older brother's a drummer. I’m a drummer. When I was a senior in high school, I was playing four or five nights a week. I was in a musician’s union and in a music group.”

In 1977, Mark heard the gospel message at a Christian outreach called The Gospel House. “I believed it, and I went forward there after a service. I was 19 years old. That led to me ending up at Moody the following year. I knew I needed to study the Bible, so I went to Moody Bible Institute because, after all, their middle name is Bible!”

Mark’s major at Moody was Christian Education/Church Music, and he was active in several music groups. He served as the student conductor for the Moody concert band for a year, traveling to perform concerts and fundraisers. He also led the senior ensemble.

“I have very fond memories of my years at Moody,” Mark says.

Unexpected career twist

After graduating in 1981, Mark took a position on the staff at The Gospel House where his salvation story had begun. He also followed a lead that had started at Moody. “One of my Moody instructors had a unique teaching style, and it turned out that he was also a Walk Thru the Bible instructor, so I went to a Walk Thru the Bible seminar in Wheaton, Illinois, while at Moody,” Mark says. “Afterwards, I thought, I want to do this!”

“At that time, Jim Wilkinson, the father of Walk Thru the Bible founder, Bruce Wilkinson, was part of the hiring team. “You had to fill out some paperwork and send them tapes of yourself teaching. Jim Wilkinson got back to me, and he kind of said, ‘Well, you're not quite what we're looking for.’ I talked to him on the phone, and I said, ‘This is God’s will for my life!’

“And he said, ‘OK. Send me another tape.’ So I sent another tape, and they invited me to Atlanta to a training. I got trained, and I’ve been with them for about 35 years.”

The Gospel House became a church, and Mark served in a number of capacities while with the organization. During his tenure at The Gospel House, he was in charge of children's ministry, became the minister of music, and then served as an associate pastor.

Keeping the main thing the main thing

After more than three decades, he left The Gospel House to pastor a church in Twinsburg, Ohio. But throughout his ministry work, his primary focus remained the same.

“The main thing for me is sharing the gospel,” Mark says. “It's the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins because without Him, we ain't gettin’ to Heaven. It’s a ‘bottom line’ kind of thing for me.”

Ministering through music and Moody Radio

In the 1990s, Mark used his skills as a musician to write and produce two children’s records that featured Bible verses set to music. Mark, who calls himself “always a Cleveland guy,” was also a WCRF listener. He connected with Moody Radio Cleveland and was invited to be a guest on the station’s Saturday morning show for children.

“It was called the Children’s Radio Fun House,” Mark says. “I was a guest there a number of times on Saturday mornings, and we’d have kids come into the studio and sing live. It was a fun experience.”

More than 20 years later, Mark has again found himself back in the WCRF studios. He has joined the Mornings with Brian show several times as part of the staff with True Freedom Ministries (TFM), an organization dedicated to bringing the gospel message to Ohioans experiencing homelessness, addiction, and incarceration.

On his latest visit, Mark accompanied True Freedom Ministries founder and executive director, Michael Swiger, into the studio. “Michael Swiger—he's the brains, he's the visionary, he's the guy. Man, that cat is sharp!” Mark says.

Bringing the gospel behind bars

Mark considers himself blessed for the ministry God has given him through TFM. “I’m not into the administrative side of things,” he says. “What I get to do is share the gospel!

“I go into a number of Ohio prisons with True Freedom Ministries on a regular basis. I also occasionally do what I call ‘road trips’ to places like Ross Correctional, which is about three hours away.”

Ron Eastwood, part of the Mornings with Brian team, has seen Mark’s love for the message of salvation firsthand. “It doesn't take much exposure to Pastor Mark to see that he is gospel-centric,” Ron says. “No question asked of him ends without somehow coming back around to Jesus. There are incarcerated folks who listen to Mornings with Brian. We have gotten messages and sometimes phone calls from various institutions.”

“We are definitely passionate about the work of True Freedom Ministries and other ministries to incarcerated people,” host Brian Dahlen adds. “Men like Mark Stradiot and Mike Swiger are making a huge difference for the kingdom inside Northeast Ohio prisons!”

Along with Bible studies, Mark teaches inmates about spiritual growth and Christian character development. In one penitentiary he presents a 10-week, Bible-based addiction recovery program. But what he enjoys sharing the most is the true and undiluted gospel.

‘The men in jail need Jesus, and we need Jesus’

Mark has been married to his wife, Tina, for 35 years, and the couple has eight children, most through adoption.

“My children need Jesus. The people at church need Jesus. The men in jail need Jesus, and we need Jesus. [These inmates] are people. I don't know all their crimes or how big, bad, and ugly their crimes are. I know that ‘all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.’ And God is merciful.

“I’ve gone to Chillicothe Correctional where they had men on death row. They bring them in—all shackled this way and that, and I get to share with them. In the Ohio State Penitentiary, a super maximum security facility, the guards bring them shackled hands and feet and put them in what I call ‘cages’ that are not that big. But I can talk to them in there. They're just like us. They need the gospel. I keep coming back to this because the Bible says the gospel is ‘the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes; (Romans 1:16).’”

How does Mark relate to men in prison?

“I’ve told them we're all on death row, so to speak; we’re all in this together. We all need Jesus. And it’s a privilege and an honor that I get to go into these prisons. God provided, through His Son, the death penalty payment that our sin deserves; and God raised Christ from the dead! Jesus Christ took our punishment for sin on Himself, and His death penalty payment can be credited to our account as we trust in Him, repent, and believe the gospel.”