Ministry Summary
Friday, June 23, 2006
The Parkers have been in ministry since 1971 and ministering in the Spanish speaking world as career missionaries since 1974. They have planted 18 churches in Mexico and Spain, primarily in virgin territory (places where there previously was no Gospel witness) and have led countless others to a vital living relationship with Christ. Many of their spiritual children are now active in full time ministry as pastors or missionaries as a result of their focus on discipleship.
SUMMARY
I became a Christian on June 7th, 1971. I was 17 years old. This was during the course of the famed Jesus People revival and I was in my senior year of high school. I soon realized that my greatest joy was found serving the Lord. I devoured the Scriptures and began to share my faith and win souls for Christ. Our church began to be filled with young people that I had led to the Lord at school and on the streets. It was not long before my pastor recognized my knowledge and agility in the Word and began to ask me to take responsibility of Bible studies in the church.
I was contented with all that I was doing until some time in June of 1973. While sharing on the streets of San Jose, California, I clearly saw that I was unable to share Christ effectively with millions of people in this hemisphere because I only spoke English. This broke my heart and caused me to pray earnestly, with tears, that God would help me to become fluent in a second language. God answered my prayers. Because of this prayer, the course and known purpose of my entire life changed. The Lord gave me the Spanish language and a burden for the Spanish-speaking world.
After finishing my basic secular education (I was a school teacher for several years) I went on to study missions as International teams in Prospect Heights, IL, in preparation for a life on the mission field as a professional career missionary.
Since then I have established 18 churches in four different countries (all but one of them Spanish speaking congregations) and oversee several others in different countries. I have recorded five albums of contemporary Christian music in Spanish and have written a book and numerous articles for Christian periodicals in Spanish. I've been blessed to share both the Word of God and song to many, many thousands of people in hundreds of conferences and churches services in Spanish-speaking countries on both sides of the Atlantic. At least once a year I am invited to give lectures to students at Universities in Spanish speaking countries on topics a varied as abortion, evolution and history.
My command of the Spanish language is (considered by many to be) perfect to the point of being considered native in some Spanish Speaking countries. I have been learning Arabic to amplify our ministry to the Islamic world in the future.
My lovely wife, Guillermina (a native of Mexico) and I were married November 6, 1976, and have four adult children and three grandchildren.
BRIEF MINISTERIAL HISTORY
(2004 – Present)
Position: Senior Pastor
Name of Church: Iglesia Evangélica “Nuevo Amanecer”
Where: Caceres (Capital), Spain
We are planting a new church in this provincial capital of 130,000 inhabitants.
(9/98- 2004)
Position: Associate Pastor /
International Conference Speaker / Teacher /
Name of Church: Iglesia Vida Nueva
Where: Ponce, PR
We, along with a national pastor, helped to plan this new cell – discipleship based church. I wrote Bible study guides, articles and books, travel extensively (Europe, Africa, Latin America and the United States) in response to invitations to teach Biblical principles and minister the Word of God.
(10/95-6/98 Extended Furlough)
Position 1: Associate Pastor; Pastor of Hispanic Ministries
Position 2: Administrator / Principal / Teacher of "All Nations Academy of Excellence”
Name of Church: Zoe Christian Fellowship
Address: 10252 Mills Ave., Whittier, CA 90604 Phone: (562) 906-5000
Our responsibility was to establish a Spanish speaking/Hispanic attendance in the already existing congregation which was 98% African American. Today, Zoe Christian Fellowship is 33% Hispanic. We gave Bible studies in Spanish and provide simultaneous translation for those whose primary language is Spanish in all of our services. I assisted in all other ministerial obligations of this congregation of over 3000 people.
Also, we established All Nations Academy, a preschool through 12th grade private Christian school. I built the entire school from scratch and in two years we've gone from non existence to over 100 students and a staff of fourteen (self included).
(1988 - 1995)
Position: Church Planter / Senior Pastor
Name of Church: Centro de Nueva Vida, Las Asambleas de Dios de España
(Assemblies of God of Spain)
Daimiel, Cindad Real, Spain
Our purpose was to establish an Evangelical church in a previously unevangelized city of Spain. After six years of arduous labor the church was firmly established. Today, this church has a strong and growing congregation with their own church building.
In Spain, my ministry in music, Hueste Celeste, was able to impact thousands of lives by ministering with original and known worship and praise music in live concerts and music cassettes all over the country. By way of these cassettes, our ministry has traveled to almost every Spanish speaking country of the world, including Guinea Equatorial. The royalties from the sale of these cassettes have gone entirely support to support our ministries in Mexico and Spain.
(1984 - 1988)
Position: Church Planter/Pastor
Name of Church: Centro de Nueva Vida Tecpan de Galeana, Guerrero, Mexico
Our mission was to open up an entire region of unevangelized territory in the State of Guerrero for the Gospel. We established a strong church of over one hundred people and five satellite churches in the surrounding mountainous region. We also established a small church in a neighboring town called Tetitlan. We had a bookstore that supplied Christian material for most of the coastal and inland region of the state. The church had its own Christian school, k-6 and Discipleship Training Institute.
Many young people that were saved in this church are at present in full time ministry; one is a missionary to Spain. We raised all of the funds to construct and repair the church building, an additional two-story discipleship training institute building and dormitories.
During my time there, we became a source of edification for pastors and smaller churches in the entire state by providing literature, conference and major Christian events such as music concerts for young people.
(1979 - 1984)
Position: Church Planter / Pastor Name of Church: Iglesia Emanuel
Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico
We assisted a national pastor rebuild a small church congregation that was on the brink of closing its doors. Together we built the church up to several hundred new converts. We established a strong Bible school to train national pastors and had noted speakers such as Gary Smalley and many others come to share with the students. We also built the new church building and all of the buildings pertaining to Bible school. During this time we established several churches in the mountainous region of the state of Michoacan.
(1979)
International Teams missionary training and seminary
Prospects Heights, IL
Studied missions, church planting, team ministry, cultural anthropology and lenguistics. We were discipled and trained in missions by both classroom, study and teaching sessions as well as on location ministry.
(1976-1978)
Position: Associate Pastor
Name of church: Cornerstone Assembly of God
Where: Sunnyside, Washington.
During this same period of time we were the Senior Pastors of a small Spanish Assemble of God church in Mabton, Washington Under Cornerstone AG.
(1975 – 1976)
Latin American Youth Missionary Crusades
A missionary training institute of the missions department of the Latin American District of the Assemblies of God (USA)
We were discipled and trained in missions by classroom, study and teaching sessions as well as on location ministry. We were blessed to be able to sit at the feet and learn from such distinguished servants of God such as Alex Bazan, Demetrio Bazan, Juan Carlos Ortiz, Loren Cunningham, Francis Schaeffer and many others.
posted by Prince and Gina Parker @ 2:35 PM,
