On March 31, 2019, I closed the PR firm that bore my name for 28 years. As head of the first PR firm in the country to work exclusively with faith-based organizations and causes, I was privileged to occupy a front-row seat to nearly three decades of evangelical history.

Closing the business I loved and saying goodbye to my professional family and clients has filled me with a range of emotions, but none more profound than gratitude. Indeed, it seems I spent much of the beginning of this year saying thank you—thank you to clients, team members, vendors, reporters, advisors and friends across the country.

Throughout my career I have been struck by the image of a turtle on a fencepost and what it represents. If you see a turtle on a fencepost, you know it didn't get there by itself—someone put it there. Well, I didn't get here by myself either—I was placed here by people who believed in me, encouraged me, worked for me, hired me, recommended me, counseled and advised me. For those people I will forever be thankful and grateful.

I didn't close my firm because I don’t like PR anymore; I closed it because after spending exactly half my life running an agency and being just two years removed from cancer treatment, I decided I didn't want to own and manage a firm any longer. So, while I have retired from the DeMoss firm, I am not retiring from Kingdom involvement. After enjoying a sabbatical—something I provided my employees every five years but never took myself—I will decide what my next chapter will look like.

In the meantime, here are some observations on my PR career that I wrote for Christianity Today. I’d love to hear from you.

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 1:17

Mark DeMoss
Founder, DeMoss
(Sept. 3, 1991 – March 31, 2019)