The New Testament mentions three Marks, namely, Mark the Evangelist, John Mark, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas, but traditionally these all refer to the same person. John Mark lived in Jerusalem with his mother Mary in a house that served as a gathering place for the church (Acts 12:12). Mark served as an assistant to Barnabas and Paul on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:4), but for an unknown reason he was unable to finish the journey and headed back to Jerusalem early (13:13). Later, when Paul and Barnabas decided to revisit the churches they had established, Barnabas wanted to take Mark along. Paul objected, and their disagreement was so serious that they parted ways. Mark accompanied Barnabas to Cyprus (Acts 15:39). Mark and Paul must have come to an agreement later, since he was with Paul when he wrote to the church at Colossae; Paul spoke of John Mark as a “comfort” (Col 4:11). Paul also calls Mark a “fellow laborer” in Philemon 24 and, sensing the end was near, requested that Timothy bring Mark to Rome, calling him “profitable” in ministry. Mark wrote the gospel bearing his name probably sometime between A.D. 65 and 70. It is widely held that Mark wrote down Peter’s recollections of the life of Jesus to form his Gospel. According to Egyptian church tradition, Mark came to Egypt and founded the church there.