About Ivan Parke

Ivan Parke is an immigrant. At the age of two, he accompanied his parents in their pursuit of the “American Dream.” The family landed at LaGuardia Airport enroute to Ohio where Kelly, his dad, began the training to be a physician.

Although born in Bombay, Ivan did not have a typical Indian upbringing. His parents were Christians, not Hindus. They relied exclusively on English to communicate. In 1974, the Parkes became American citizens.

Ivan was like many boys. He wanted to be like his dad. The aspiration to be a doctor, however, ended when God called him into the ministry. At the age of fourteen, Ivan delivered his first sermon. He still wonders how the dear folk of First Baptist Church Ormond Beach survived his best attempt to preach!

After graduating from high school in Central Florida, Ivan went 1,100 miles west to attend Baylor University. He declared psychology as his major to complement future graduate work in Biblical Studies. He prepared to be a pastor.

After college, Ivan relocated to South Louisiana. While earning a Master of Divinity degree at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, he met Mary Ann Jones at First Baptist Church New Orleans. They married at that church—located on the corner of Napoleon and St. Charles—in 1990.

Louisiana remained Ivan and Mary Ann’s home until 1996. Ivan began his Ph.D. at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary while serving as the minister of youth at First Baptist Church Denham Springs, just east of Baton Rouge. Anne Marie was born three months before Ivan’s oral exam and Jonathan was born during chapter three of his dissertation on the book of Job.

In December 1995, Walkers Chapel Baptist Church in Fultondale, Alabama, called Ivan to be their pastor. He had no pastoral experience, but God grew the church. Sixteen years had passed since that first sermon.

A better pastorate would have been hard to find, but an unanticipated, long-distance phone call on a Monday afternoon in 1997 changed the trajectory of Ivan’s life once again. Dr. Les Hughes, a friend from seminary and chairman of the Department of Christian Studies and Philosophy at Mississippi College, was searching for an Old Testament professor.

After months of prayer, Ivan moved his family to Clinton, Mississippi. On August 22, 2022, he began his twenty-fifth year at Mississippi College. He has taught thousands of wonderful students. He has written two books: Reclaiming the Real Jesus (2004) and When Life Meets the Soul: Everyday Lessons from the Book of Job (2022). Classroom responsibilities have not obstructed opportunities to preach and teach in the local church. Currently, Ivan serves as the interim pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Southwest Mississippi.

Ivan could not have orchestrated a better life than God has willed. God is “able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.” (Eph. 3:20)