Bill Parker

Bill Parker was born in 1965 in Lisburn, County Antrim. His first exposure to the Gospel came as a result of attending Wilson Street Sunday School, a Sunday afternoon evangelistic interdenominational Sunday School which was held in a stable before moving to more comfortable premises in a near-by Methodist Church!

He came to follow the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord in 1984, just before commencing a three year Bachelor of Science degree in Economics at Queen’s University Belfast. In July 1987, after graduating and marrying Esther in the same month, Bill lectured in Business Studies at Lisburn College of Further Education and Banbridge College of Further Education.

In 1989 both he and Esther began to sense the call of the Lord to work among children and young people under the auspices of Child Evangelism Fellowship of Ireland and after completing CEF’s 3 month leadership training institute in Switzerland in summer 1990 were accepted into the mission. In the years that followed Bill was blessed with opportunities to train teachers, to preach the Gospel to many children, young people and adults and to speak at conferences in Ireland, Germany and USA.

In 1996 Bill began to sense God’s call to ordained ministry and after successful application to PCI undertook his training at Union Theological College, Belfast from 1998-2001, where he gained his Master of Divinity degree. He served his assistantship in First Portadown Presbyterian Church before accepting a call from Castlewellan and Leitrim Presbyterian Churches where he was ordained and installed in September 2002. He came to First Antrim in April 2009 in answer to the Lord’s call.

Bill and his wife Esther have four children, Louise, William, Rachel and Abigail. He enjoys playing guitar, following sport – especially football, rugby and tennis – and plays league tennis for a local club.