About Us

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Mark Penn founded Driftwood Ministries in March of 2023 for the purpose of starting an off-grid Christian Retreat in the Florida Keys. A "Once lost, but now found" Believer in Jesus, Mark has a strong desire to use his gifts to help others in their faith journey.

Mark spent the last decade ministering to college athletes as a NCAA Lacrosse Coach. This fall, with the support of his wife Heather, Coach Penn stepped away from the sidelines and dedicated himself to establish this family ministry to help people draw closer to God.

Like many people, He struggled with bad habits, poor decisions and a wild lifestyle that led him away from his walk with Christ. After hitting a life changing fork in the road, Mark began his journey to redemption and began a quest to use his  talents for the Lord and help other young men from making these same mistakes. That led to a dedication to Coaching and ministering to athletes, and eventually to a Coaching  position at Westminster High School. While there, he helped implement a team Bible study and prayer that saw full team participation. In 2013 The Owls went 19-0 and won the school's first State Championship. The team's post game prayer and Bible themed shirts, and the controversy that surrounded them were a great witness to many. Ultimately, Coach Penn decided to follow his lifelong dream to coach in the NCAA, and in doing so, took the ministry  to a bigger platform. 

For the past 2 years, Coach Penn has been an Assistant Coach at The University of Tampa, and was part of the staff that led the 2022 Spartans to an undefeated season and the National Championship. During his time at Tampa, the Spartans were 34-4 and continually ranked as one of the top 5 teams in the Nation.

More importantly, Coach Penn implemented team Bible Study and prayer that helped build and strengthen the faith of the young men. This ministry, along with a campus wide initiative with FCA, was used by God to lead student athletes to a relationship with Jesus. The 2022 Spartans were the first team to take a knee in prayer after winning the National Title.

Prior to his time at Tampa, Coach Penn was the Head Coach at Florida Institute of Technology, where he coached from 2013-2021. During that time the Florida Tech lacrosse program maintained a strong Bible Study and became known for their Post Game Prayer Circles. They were blessed to see young men choose to follow Jesus.

While at Florida Tech, Coach Penn led the recruiting efforts from 2014-2021 and helped lead the program to National prominence. During his tenure, the Panthers consistently ranked in the top 20 and were ranked as high as #7. He recruited and developed 7 All Americans and many All Conference players, but is most proud of the lives that were influenced and paths redirected in the name of Jesus.

Before taking on a career in Coaching, Mark was a television producer from 2000-2011. He worked in the Baltimore-DC area and produced live sports news shows, coordinated and produced coverage for pro sports teams, created. and produced documentaries, TV Shows and News packages. Penn led the Baltimore Bureau for Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic and coordinated coverage for the Ravens and Orioles. He also spent time as the PA  spotter for the Ravens and produced numerous stories and interviews. 

Mark graduated from Towson University in 2000 with a degree in Communications. He is currently seeking his Masters in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary.

As a college athlete, Penn was a Lacrosse Goalie and was a decorated  starter and team captain at Essex CC. There he helped lead the Knights to an appearance in the National Championship in 1996.

Mark and Heather currently reside in Melbourne Beach Florida and attend First Baptist Church Indialantic. Their sons Nolan and Tanner are both active in working for this ministry. Their daughter Delaney is attending McDaniel College in Maryland where she is a freshmen and member of the women's Lacrosse Team.