Rod Parsley
Dr. Rod Parsley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Parsley at World Harvest Church in 2015 | |
| Title | Senior Pastor |
| Personal | |
| Born | Rodney Lee Parsley January 13, 1957 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Nationality | American |
| Home town | Columbus, Ohio |
| Spouse | Joni Parsley (m. 1986) |
| Children | Ashton Blaire Parsley, Austin Chandler Parsley |
| Parent(s) | James and Ellen Parsley |
| Denomination | Non-denominational Christianity, Pentecostal, Evangelical |
| Organization | |
| Church | World Harvest Church |
| Senior posting | |
| Based in | Columbus, Ohio |
| Period in office | c. 1977 – present |
| Website | RodParsley.com |
Rodney Lee Parsley (born January 13, 1957) is a prominent American Christian minister, author, television host and evangelist. He is senior pastor of World Harvest Church, a large nondenominational church in Canal Winchester, Ohio; a suburb of Columbus, which has a sister campus in Elkhart, Indiana.
Parsley is the founder and chancellor of Valor Christian College. He is the founder and president of The Center for Moral Clarity, a Christian grassroots advocacy organization, as well as the founder of Breakthrough (a media ministry), the Bridge of Hope missions organization, Harvest Preparatory School, World Harvest Ministerial Alliance, The Women's Clinic of Columbus, and RODPARSLEY.TV, a 24/7 online streaming channel. His television program, Breakthrough with Rod Parsley, airs daily on the Daystar TV Network, and The Word Network.
Early life and education[edit]
Parsley was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was raised primarily in the Columbus area. His parents had grown up in eastern Kentucky, and his family traveled there often to visit relatives when Parsley was a young boy. He still speaks with a noticeable Kentucky accent.
Parsley was raised as a Free Will Baptist. At 8 years old, Parsley had a salvation experience during a revival in a small Pentecostal church outside of Columbus. As a teenager, Parsley encountered the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at Christian Center Church in Gahanna, Ohio, Giving him a wider perspective of the church and his eventual call to the ministry
After graduating from high school, he worked in real estate and at a pet-food factory. Through a series of various events, Parsley made the decision go into the work of ministry. He enrolled at Circleville Bible College (now Ohio Christian University),[1] but dropped out after two years.[2]
As a young pastor, Parsley was strongly influenced by Lester Sumrall, an Indiana-based evangelist, missionary and broadcaster. Sumrall became Parsley's mentor, and the two traveled together often.[1]
He is married to Joni Parsley. They have a son, Austin, and a daughter, Ashton, now grown.[3] They live near Pickerington, a suburb of Columbus.