OUR PASTOR & FIRST LADY

Dedicating his life to sharpening the spiritual aptitude and expanding the theological proclivity of some of the nation's most accomplished pastors, preachers and teachers, The Reverend Dr. Aaron L. Parker is most appropriately described not as a preacher, but as an educator who answered the divine call to preach. A young, serious professor and preacher, Rev. Dr. Aaron L. Parker, was installed as Pastor of Zion Hill Baptist Church in 1994. Having served as the church's former Youth Minister, he had both a heart for the people and a vision for the church's future. Within his first year as pastor of the historical church, God led the Mississippi preacher to hit the ground running, establishing the Care to Love Outreach Ministry, implementing four new music ministries including the Voices of Oluwa and Azizi Children's Choir, establishing the now nationally-recognized Rites of Passage Program for youth ages 13-18 and designating what would be the church's declarative creed, Living to Love and Loving to Serve. The following years resulted in history-making ministry after ministry to include more than 50 ministries designed to impact the world! Now, with a rapidly growing congregation of over 3,000 members, Dr. Parker is leading the church to deepen its focus on service to the community through the church's expansive outreach ministries and its support of the Zion Hill Community Development Corporation, a non-profit organization devoted to spiritual, economic, and educational enhancement of those in need. Dr. Parker is the visionary and shepherd of Zion Hill's "Rock Project," a $20 million building program that completed first of three phases in December of 2010 and relocated Zion Hill from the historical Southwest Atlanta community to a 43.5 acre site in South Fulton County at 6175 Campbellton Road. In addition to serving as Pastor of Zion Hill, Dr. Parker is currently an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Morehouse College, where he has spent over 30 years molding and shaping daring youth into Morehouse Men. He is the author of several articles including "African Religion in African American Religion," "Revisiting the Concept of God in Light of the Thought of Henry Highland Garnet," "The Joy of Molding Morehouse Men," and “The African American Church: Major Role Player in the African American Struggle for Freedom." Prior to accepting the pastorate of Zion Hill, Dr. Parker served as Pastor of Butler Street Baptist Church, Adjunct Professor of Theology at the Interdenominational Theological Center, and Assistant to the Pastor of Grace Covenant Baptist Church. Doctor Parker is a member of the Concerned Black Clergy of Atlanta, the Society for the Study of Black Religion, the American Academy of Religion, among other leadership positions. The seventh of seven children born to the late Reverend P. F. Parker and the late Mrs. Amy C. Parker of Canton, Mississippi, Pastor Parker was a serious child who knew early that God had a plan for his life. At the age of eight he accepted Jesus Christ into his life at the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Canton, where his father served as pastor. At the age of eighteen, he heard and answered the call to minister. After completing elementary and secondary school in Canton, he attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he received the Bachelor of Arts Degree, majoring in Philosophy and Religion. As a student at Morehouse, Doctor Parker received several academic awards, including induction into the Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society. He furthered his formal education at Emory University, earning the Master of Arts Degree in Religion and the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Systematic Theology. Doctor Parker is married to Shelia Smith Parker, his high school sweetheart, and they are the parents of two children, Aaron Larry Parker, Jr. and Asha Parker, and one granddaughter, Laila Marie Parker Booth .

Zion Hill's Leading Lady, Mrs. Shelia S. Parker, is known for her commanding presence in every facet of her life. Born the fifth of six children to James and Ruth Eva Smith in Canton, MS, this analytical intellectual was serious about her life at an early age. Chosen as one of a small group of advanced students to leave high school following her 11th grade year, she attended college early, to earn both a B.A. in Math from Spelman College and a M.A. in Math from Atlanta University. During the span of her 30-year corporate career, Mrs. Parker has worked with some of the nation's leading companies including General Motors, Hewlett Packard and AT&T. As a computer programmer and network analyst with AT&T, formerly Bellsouth, and Electronic Data Systems, she has managed some of the largest network accounts in the digital age including the nationwide 9-1-1 Emergency System. Her scope of influence does not end there. Putting her analytical skills to work within the church setting, Mrs. Parker is a phenomenal organizer and planner, often behind the scenes leading the execution of the church's major events and managing the integration of new technology and database management for the steadily growing congregation. A strong advocate for women's empowerment, she has also been instrumental in helping to shape some of Zion Hill's most integral ministries for women including serving as former leader of S.I.S. (Sisters in Sync), Zion Hill's ministry for women. A confident, compassionate and assertive leader and teacher, Mrs. Parker has helped to shape the futures of generations of young women throughout this community and beyond. Mrs. Parker is currently the Program Director for the church's Rites of Passage Program, a widely recognized program implanted by Dr. Parker in 2004, which invites community teens to participate in a 13-week program that teaches them skills and values for becoming successful, productive adults. Her example has inspired young women to greatness and her legacy is fabulously fashionable, fortunately fruitful and most of all, fundamentally faithful. She is a powerful and supportive force beside her husband and high school sweetheart, Pastor Aaron L. Parker, and the proud mother of two adult children Aaron Larry, Jr. and Asha Liana.