Bishop Joseph Parks Sr., service

2025-2026 Bill 5679: Bishop Joseph Parks Sr., service - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 5679
STATUS INFORMATION
House Resolution
Sponsors: Reps. Henderson-Myers, Alexander, Anderson, Atkinson, Bailey, Ballentine, Bamberg, Bannister, Bauer, Beach, Bernstein, Bowers, Bradley, Brewer, Brittain, Burns, Bustos, Calhoon, Caskey, Chapman, Chumley, Clyburn, Cobb-Hunter, Collins, Cox, Crawford, Cromer, Davis, Dillard, Duncan, Edgerton, Erickson, Ford, Forrest, Frank, Gagnon, Garvin, Gatch, Gibson, Gilliam, Gilliard, Gilreath, Govan, Grant, Guest, Guffey, Haddon, Hager, Hardee, Harris, Hart, Hartnett, Hartz, Hayes, Herbkersman, Hewitt, Hiott, Hixon, Holman, Hosey, Howard, Huff, J.E. Johnson, J.L. Johnson, Jones, Jordan, Kilmartin, King, Kirby, Landing, Lastinger, Lawson, Ligon, Long, Lowe, Luck, Magnuson, Martin, McCabe, McCravy, McDaniel, McGinnis, C. Mitchell, D. Mitchell, Montgomery, J. Moore, T. Moore, Morgan, Moss, Neese, B. Newton, W. Newton, Oremus, Pace, Pedalino, Pope, Rankin, Reese, Rivers, Robbins, Rose, Rutherford, Sanders, Schuessler, Scott, Sessions, G.M. Smith, M.M. Smith, Spann-Wilder, Stavrinakis, Taylor, Teeple, Terribile, Vaughan, Waters, Weeks, Wetmore, White, Whitmire, Wickensimer, Williams, Willis, Wooten and Yow
Document Path: LC-0286PH-RM26.docx
Introduced in the House on May 7, 2026
Adopted by the House on May 7, 2026
Summary: Bishop Joseph Parks Sr., service
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

5/7/2026

House

Introduced and adopted (
House Journal-page 64
)

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legislative information
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VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
05/07/2026

A
house
RESOLUTION

TO HONOR BISHOP Joseph Parks Sr. FOR HIS
FAITHFULNESS IN GOSPEL MINISTRY; TO THANK HIM FOR HIS SERVICE TO HIS CHURCH,
THE COMMUNITY, AND OUR STATE; AND TO WISH HIM GOD'S RICHEST BLESSINGS AS HE
CONTINUES TO SERVE THE LORD.

W
hereas, it is entirely
appropriate to celebrate those individuals who give tirelessly of themselves to
nurture the souls of men. Bishop Joseph Parks Sr. stands among their number as
an outstanding minister of the gospel, one much admired by colleagues,
congregations, and area residents at large; and

W
hereas, Bishop Joseph
Parks Sr. has been a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ for over forty
years. In addition to serving at the Grace Community Baptist Church of
Spartanburg, he is also president of Dothan School of Ministry and Church
Leadership Institute. Having been trained in counseling, arbitration, and other
disciplines and having been awarded a doctoral degree in strategic leadership,
he is now serving as president of the National Employment Counseling
Association, an affiliate of the American Counseling Association. He is a
motivational speaker, counselor, and a certified church consultant and trainer
who conducts workshops on church arbitration, Christian education, and the
future of the black man in America; and

W
hereas, academically
prepared for the work of ministry, Dr. Parks is well trained with a Master of
Divinity from the Virginia Union University and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor
School of Theology. Bishop Parks serves as an intentional interim, spiritual
overseer, and consultant for five different congregations in South Carolina,
North Carolina, and Maryland. As an intentional interim and pastor, he guides
churches through their periods without a pastor and trains churches for
Christian service; and

W
hereas, all these
activities have been demonstrated through his work with such churches as Reeder
Memorial of Charlotte, North Carolina, Elm Grove of Reidsville, North Carolina,
Connexion Point Church of Baltimore, Maryland, Emmanuel Baptist Church of Thomasville,
North Carolina, and now Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Asheville,
North Carolina, to name only a few. In each of these situations, he has been
attributed with "setting in order the things that are wanting" to smooth the
transition for, and the acclimation to, a new senior pastor and to strengthen
the household of faith for service through individual Christian growth; and

W
hereas, on the
national level, he served in official capacities in the Southern Baptist
Convention, National Baptist Congress, and National Baptist Convention. He is
also active with many other city, state, and national civic and religious
organizations, including the Spartanburg Clergy Initiative and the National
Clergy Initiative (a consortium of more than ninety-three various faith
institutions and denominations), which he serves as director. On a global
level, he serves on the board of directors of Global Missions, an ecumenical
mission institute that provides aid to hospitals and schools abroad. Having
traveled quite extensively throughout the United States and many other
countries, including El Salvador, South Korea, Grenada, Germany, Nigeria, Ghana,
South Africa, and Israel, he has preached at the Religious and Government Forum
sponsored by the United Nations Faith Institute for the sole purpose of
preaching and sharing the gospel; and

W
hereas. Dr. Parks and
his wife, Evelyn, have been married for thirty-four years. As a husband, proud
father, and doting grandfather, he considers himself richly blessed to have a
wonderful family. With all he is involved in, he is, most of all, a willing
servant of the Lord to preach His powerful gospel, and he is humbled that God
would still consider him a worthy vessel. As a persevering minister who truly
loves people, he simply wants to be known as a friend of God and a messenger
for Christ; and

W
hereas, because of his
many years of spiritual nourishment of the people of South Carolina, Bishop Parks
is due grateful thanks and best wishes as he continues to run the race the Lord
has set before him. Now, therefore,

B
e it resolved by the
House of Representatives
:

T
hat the members of the
South Carolina
House of Representatives
,
by this resolution, honor Bishop Joseph Parks Sr. for his faithfulness in
gospel ministry; thank him for his service to his church, the community, and
our State; and wish him God's richest blessings as he continues to serve the
Lord.

B
e it further resolved
that a copy of this resolution be presented to Bishop Joseph Parks Sr.

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This web page was last updated on May 7, 2026 at 2:17 PM